What hitting stat is most necessary for hobby stardom?

[chisox3706]

Home runs.

No offensive statistic carries as much impact as home runs.

except for maybe hit by pitch...(see craig biggio lol)

 

[XdanX]

DINGERS.

 

[scotty21690]

I'm gonna have to go with sac flies.


Oh, noone cares about those?



Homeruns it is then.

 

[thefasterblade]

K:BB usually does it every time.

 

[The_ReverendAct2]

forget the steroid issue, because most people did not care until after the fact. not a stat, but personality also plays a major role in the general public. media friendly players will explode if they are talented, hr/avg/rbi. the greatest all around player was a will probably always be BARRY BONDS. like him are not he was amazing. had he had the personality of griffey, who is beloved, his stuff would be in pujols territory, save the overproduction of the '90's.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

SLG%

 

[Great Dealz Rob]

Like, chicks dig the long ball?

You stole my thunder. I may not mean they are the best, but Hobby wise HR's trump all. Just look at Josh Hamilton during the HR contest last year. His cards were going for CRAZY $$$. I know, I sold a bunch.

 

[jbhofmann]

Market
Age
HR
AVG

In that order.

 

[card-treasury]

Two words:

Ryan Howard

 

[abncollectsautos]

i think this is a question that will surely just be opinions with arguments. but i do think its a great question. most people will say HR's. alot will say OPS. i think its not one stat, its a multiutde of several good stats. if a player is hitting 45 homeruns and hitting .260 is he a star? think adam dunn. i think the player has to be good at most stuff. maybe thats why rickey henderson's stuff never jumped up, he didnt hit 40 home runs a year even though he was among the best in everything else. just my opinion.

 

[gomatt]

OPS is the key stat that I consider. Like someone mentioned before, you can hit home runs all day long, but to be a hobby superstar, the avearge has to be there. Now Dunn does have a high OPS b/c of his walks, but generally, batters with high OPS marks can hit.

 

[matfanofold]

OPS is the key stat that I consider. Like someone mentioned before, you can hit home runs all day long, but to be a hobby superstar, the avearge has to be there. Now Dunn does have a high OPS b/c of his walks, but generally, batters with high OPS marks can hit.

So to clarify, you think OPS is "most necessary for hobby stardom" as per the discussion here?

 

[Great Dealz Rob]

OPS is the key stat that I consider. Like someone mentioned before, you can hit home runs all day long, but to be a hobby superstar, the avearge has to be there. Now Dunn does have a high OPS b/c of his walks, but generally, batters with high OPS marks can hit.

The "hobby" is more than FCB'ers. The "hobby" is also eBay & Joe ESPN. The majority of people that buy cards are influenced by ESPN (and other media). When was the last time you heard Stuart Scott say BOOOO YA! Check out his OPS for the month of June?!?!?! Never gonna happen. The Hobby is influenced by HOME RUNS & MARKET. It has been that way for a long time and it will continue to be that way.

Think back to the late 80's/early 90's...the big craze (hyped up by Market & HR's I might add) were
Bam Bam Muelens & Butch Huskey. These players stunk in almost every aspect of the game. They were popular in the hobby because they played in the New York Market and hit HR's in bunches. Thats my 2 cents.

 

[MOFNY]

Yup it has to be the big three-RBI, HR, and AVG. Mostly because you see those stats displayed more than most. So you have a guy like Mauer with a huge average, or a guy like Howard with a ton of RBIs and HRs. Or Pujols or Hamilton who have high everything.

 

[jbhofmann]

To accurately assess this question, wouldn't someone need to post a list of the top 10 "hobby" stars to evaluate why they are on the list?

 

[pujolsjunkie]

Any stat accumulated while playing for the Yankees or Red Sox.

 

[HoustonTeams4Me]

As an example against homerun's people are using Adam Dunn & saying he gets "No Love" due to his low avg. (though if A.Dunn were in Boston or New York & posting those homerun totals he would be dating Madonna & ringing a bell every time he wanted D.Jeter to bring him his slipper's)!

 

[notoriousrmb]

Hype.

Players who get the most hype get the most hobby love. Playing in a big market gets you the hype. Playing in Toronto or Minnesota does not. Anyone who swings a good bat (over .290) and has some clutch, memorable hits will be the most popular. Bummer like guys for Mauer and V-Wells.

 

[Topnotchsy]

While a combination of power, batting average etc. is generally necessary for hobby super-stardom, and no single stat is enough, the only stat that IMO where a weakness pretty much precludes the possibility of hobby stardom is batting average.

Despite the fact that "chicks dig the long ball" there are tons of guys who have achieved stardom without it (Ichiro, Jeter, Gwynn etc. etc.) We can look at the all-time great homerun hitters, and it's only the ones with a reasonable batting average that get any attention. Adam Dunn, Greg Vaughn are some examples of big-time power hitters with no following. Ryan Howard plays in Phillie, is by far the best power hitter in baseball today, is outgoing and popular and won the WS last season, but his hobby popularity has dropped with his batting average. I'd even mention Grady Sizemore who is pretty popular, but is not a hobby superstar IMO because his batting average has been a bit low (despite the fact he was 30/30 last season with a great OBP.)

While there's no question that power helps, and the more positives (as far as personalyity, ballpark etc.) the better, but none is as integral IMO as batting average.

 

[bballcardkid]

While a combination of power, batting average etc. is generally necessary for hobby super-stardom, and no single stat is enough, the only stat that IMO where a weakness pretty much precludes the possibility of hobby stardom is batting average.

Despite the fact that "chicks dig the long ball" there are tons of guys who have achieved stardom without it (Ichiro, Jeter, Gwynn etc. etc.) We can look at the all-time great homerun hitters, and it's only the ones with a reasonable batting average that get any attention. Adam Dunn, Greg Vaughn are some examples of big-time power hitters with no following. Ryan Howard plays in Phillie, is by far the best power hitter in baseball today, is outgoing and popular and won the WS last season, but his hobby popularity has dropped with his batting average. I'd even mention Grady Sizemore who is pretty popular, but is not a hobby superstar IMO because his batting average has been a bit low (despite the fact he was 30/30 last season with a great OBP.)

While there's no question that power helps, and the more positives (as far as personalyity, ballpark etc.) the better, but none is as integral IMO as batting average.

The 2 go hand in hand. Your forgetting that Jeter is the face of the Yankees, Ichiro is the first Japanese superstar to make it big in America, and Tony Gwynn is a lovable teddy bear. What about guys like Derin Erstad, Todd Helton, Bill Madlock, Dave Parker, Willie McGee, Freddy Sanchez? Without the power, your not a stud. Without the average, your not a stud. You need a bit of both, but more importantly power.