Comparing MLB’s best players at every position from the 2000s and 2010s
Comparing the best MLB players of the 2000s and 2010s: Right field
Right field: Ichiro Suzuki vs. Mookie Betts
Right field is one of the most interesting decisions in this debate for multiple reasons. First of all, the 2000s does merit a little discussion because, while Ichiro Suzuki appears to be the favorite, Bobby Abreu and Vladimir Guerrero also have strong cases. Suzuki is the WAR leader at 51.1; he’s also the batting average, hits, and stolen bases leader. He also was known for strong defense.
However, Guerrero had the much more potent bat. He was the decade’s leader in home runs and RBIs, while his OPS of .960 blows away Suzuki (.811). Abreu, meanwhile, was the decade’s doubles leader, while he drove in nearly as many runs as Guerrero did (1,037 to 993) despite taking almost twice as many walks.
All that being said, I am going to go with Suzuki, whose skill as an overall hitter, along with the impact he had on the game, is hard to overlook.
Meanwhile, the 2010s present yet another debate between a guy who was around all decade vs. a guy who arrived later and their overall outputs were similar. So far, I’ve tended to go with longevity. Should we do that here?
Mookie Betts (41.8) and Giancarlo Stanton (40.4) are similar in WAR; Betts arrived in 2014, while Stanton was around the whole time. Stanton has the slightly higher OPS (.905 to .893). Betts gets the edge on defense. It’s a really tough call. However, after going back and forth a few times, I decided that the impact Betts has had on the game is too great. I’ll go with him, barely, over Stanton.
We get a similar dilemma in Suzuki vs. Betts for 2000s vs. 2010s supremacy. However, in this case, I feel that the longevity of Suzuki will win out. He was a better all-around player and again, his overall impact on the game is just too strong. It’s pretty close, but I’ll go with Suzuki.