Debating Magglio Ordonez

I’m not going to argue the Tigers should release Magglio Ordonez . I’m not going to argue they shouldn’t. But sometimes when reading forums or comments, here or elsewhere, I think an incomplete picture of the player is painted, so I thought I’d try to paint a better one. Thus, it follows. In baseball, there’s always talk about five-tool players. Simplified, that’s hitting for average, hitting for power, running speed, fielding ability, and arm strength. (Personally, I like to replace “hitting for average” with “ability to get on base” and add in the ability to take walks, but that’s not part of the traditional five.) So, how does Ordonez stack up on the tools? Ability to get on base — Lifetime average of .311, this year’s average is .275. Lifetime on-base  percentage is .370, this year it’s .349. I think it’s safe to say Ordonez still knows how to get himself on base. Even during his ... (link)