Jason Kendall - Oakland's Catcher. His Batting average is never impressive, but his on base perecentage is always goodDerek Jeter - More of a 2 Hitter, but he does some lead-offJimmy Rollins - Consistent hitter, can expect huge hit streaks out of him
Ichiro is about the only one that pops into my mind anymore. Michael Young is another good guy that can hit for average. I kinda feel like the classic "leadoff hitter" is dead now... people like Kenny Lofton (I know he still plays).
Ichiro and Juan Pierre are good. Too bad Furcal is going to be moved down in the lineup to make room for Pierre.
Wow I forgot all about Jimmy Rollins and Micheal Young. I forgot a lot about baseball during this off-season.
A couple of the younger guys like Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez but they all will have to make way for Chris Young in a couple years :happy0144:
Reyes.... then again they also bat him at 2 and 3, so the only good legit lead off would be Hanley Ramirez IMO
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (boykinsforpresident @ Feb 11 2007, 10:39 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>yah I forgot all about eckstein...he has really been the best leadoff hitter in the last 2-3 years.</div>No way man. He's been solid, but the best is really pushing the bill.
And because Soriano shouldn't/isn't be a lead-off guy. Yeah he's got speed, but hes alot more of a weapon in the 2,3, or 4 slots.
Soriano's abilities put him as a greater threat as a 3-4 hitter, not a leadoff guy. I really like Grady Sizemore and Jose Reyes, but I'll say that Ichiro is the best leadoff hitter.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KCX @ Feb 12 2007, 09:57 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>why wouldnt anyone say soriano?</div>As people have mentioned he strikes out way too much. That is in large part due to him looking for the longball whenever he is at the plate. He becomes overly agressive at the plate sacrificing walks among other things for that chance at a home run. While it pays off whenever he does go yard which for him happens about once every 20 plate appearances it hurts him in roughly 13.5 of those same 20 plate appearances which he doesn't hit a home run, which leads to those high strikeout rates which in turn leads to a low OBP which is vital part of lead off man's role. Soriano's career OBP .325 is pathetic for a lead off role (granted he wasn't a lead off man for much of his stay in New York). He did however post a career best .351 OBP last season by starting to take more pitches which correlated with an additional 30 walks over the season.
Not one person has mentioned Johnny Damon (although I despise him), unbelievable lead off hitter. Hits for average and hits those little clunker singles all the time. Not to mention he's got good speed once he hits the base path.
