Reply to "Hitting...the most important tool"

I think the original topic "Hitting ... the most important tool" is intended to apply to the individual player, i.e., not everyone on the team is going to be a great pitcher, but really goood teams have an abundance of individual good hitters, and elite position players are first and foremost great hitters before their other atheletic attributes come into play. This doesn't mean they can only hit ... just the most important attribute of being an elite position player is hitting, then your defensive abilities.

In viewing the success of an entire team in comparing the importance of team pitching versus team hitting you can simply ask: How many teams that have dominant and deep pitching but average or worse hitting are successful? Lots ... because in a 0-0 or 1-1 game, luck does have a role. How many teams that have average or worse pitching but dominant hitting are successful? Not many ... you just can't consistently put up double-digit run games or make up 7+ run deficits while your pitchers are throwing BP.

Of course the best teams try real hard to have both good pitching and hitting .

Speed? Can't use it if you can't get on base. I've seen several kids come up that had blinding speed but couldn't hit the broad side of a barn ... they quit baseball and stuck to football where their speed was a great asset and their lack of hand-eye coordination wasn't a liability ... the hard part is holding onto the football while someone cleans your clock.