Skin & Bones
08-16-2007, 08:42 PM
He may have a chance to become a member of the "50/50" club. 50 Doubles and 50 steals.
The 50-50 Club
One of the sharpest scouting minds we know was talking the other day about Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez -- and uttered a sentence we can't get out of our heads:
"Other than Alex Rodriguez," he said, "Hanley Ramirez may be the best all-around player in the game."
Yes, sir. He really said that. About Hanley Ramirez.
Now if we posed that question to most of America -- "Who's the best all-around player in the game not named A-Rod?" -- how many answers do you think we'd hear before Ramirez made it into the conversation? Sheez, for that matter, how many other shortstops do you think we'd hear before Ramirez made it into the conversation? He sure wouldn't be the first name uttered. We can all agree on that, right?
But maybe, if Ramirez completes his journey to the 50-50 Club room between now and October, that conversation could change a bit.
This particular 50-50 Club -- 50 stolen bases, 50 doubles -- is about as exclusive a group as you'll run across. OK, it's not as exclusive as the 511 Win Club, but it's close.
Craig Biggio (50 SBs, 51 doubles in 1997) is one member. To find another, you have to power up the way-back machine all the way to 1912, to drag in Tris Speaker (52 SBs, 53 doubles). But that's the entire membership -- just those two.
Ramirez actually missed joining them by only four doubles last year, as a rookie. And now he's charging in that direction again. Through Wednesday, he was on pace for 51 steals and 48 doubles. So only one extra gapper every three weeks would get him there.
Brian Roberts, incidentally, also has a shot. He currently projects to 47 doubles and 50 steals, so we wouldn't want to leave him out of this opus. But while Roberts is clearly as underrated as any second baseman around, it's Ramirez who appears destined to become one of the biggest stars in this sport.
Earlier this season, another scout predicted this guy could become "an all-time great." So pay attention. This march to history just might not be the last for Hanley Ramirez.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2976815
What I really liked is what Stark wrote at the end...
The 50-50 Club
One of the sharpest scouting minds we know was talking the other day about Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez -- and uttered a sentence we can't get out of our heads:
"Other than Alex Rodriguez," he said, "Hanley Ramirez may be the best all-around player in the game."
Yes, sir. He really said that. About Hanley Ramirez.
Now if we posed that question to most of America -- "Who's the best all-around player in the game not named A-Rod?" -- how many answers do you think we'd hear before Ramirez made it into the conversation? Sheez, for that matter, how many other shortstops do you think we'd hear before Ramirez made it into the conversation? He sure wouldn't be the first name uttered. We can all agree on that, right?
But maybe, if Ramirez completes his journey to the 50-50 Club room between now and October, that conversation could change a bit.
This particular 50-50 Club -- 50 stolen bases, 50 doubles -- is about as exclusive a group as you'll run across. OK, it's not as exclusive as the 511 Win Club, but it's close.
Craig Biggio (50 SBs, 51 doubles in 1997) is one member. To find another, you have to power up the way-back machine all the way to 1912, to drag in Tris Speaker (52 SBs, 53 doubles). But that's the entire membership -- just those two.
Ramirez actually missed joining them by only four doubles last year, as a rookie. And now he's charging in that direction again. Through Wednesday, he was on pace for 51 steals and 48 doubles. So only one extra gapper every three weeks would get him there.
Brian Roberts, incidentally, also has a shot. He currently projects to 47 doubles and 50 steals, so we wouldn't want to leave him out of this opus. But while Roberts is clearly as underrated as any second baseman around, it's Ramirez who appears destined to become one of the biggest stars in this sport.
Earlier this season, another scout predicted this guy could become "an all-time great." So pay attention. This march to history just might not be the last for Hanley Ramirez.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=2976815
What I really liked is what Stark wrote at the end...