Clearly it's A-Rod. Let's start with the "traditional" offensive categories (an * means leads league):
A-Rod Soriano
BA .318 .304
HR 47* 31
RBI 116* 82
Runs 105* 105*
A clear advantage for Rodriguez. For those who would argue that Rodriguez derives an RBI advantage from hitting in the 3- or 4-hole, Soriano gets one in Runs from hitting first for a very efficient run-scoring team. And yet Rodriguez is tied with him in Runs Scored.
Now let's look one step up at the more common metric numbers:
A-Rod Soriano
OBP .404 .332
SLG .651 .554
OPS 1.055 .886
TB 318* 304
169 points of OPS is a huge difference ... A-Rod's 1.055 is somewhere between Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig; Soriano's .886, though respectable, is down around Eddie Mathews/Goose Golsin country. Quick -- MVP vote: Foxx or Goslin? Gehrig or Mathews?
Finally, the exotic calculations of the dedicated Sabermetricians at Baseball Prospectus: Runs Above Replacement (RAR) is how many more runs a player generates than the baseline major-league player; Equivalent Average (EQA) measures total offensive performance adjusting for both era and park; and Equivalent Runs (EQR) infers the number of runs the player has contributed to his team, adjusted for era and park. Since Soriano and Rodriguez share an era, that's beside the point.
A-Rod Soriano
RAR 76.2* 51.4
EQA .343 .302
EQR 120.5 103.7
The only edge Soriano has is in SBs (35* to 8), but that's mall potatoes, especially when you consider Rodriguez' large advantages in run production. Also consider Soriano's 18 errors with Rodriguez' 6.
Many fans make some weird argument about "value" by noting team performance. I offer this simple suggestion: imagine if Soriano were playing for Texas and A-Rod for the Yankees. Which team would be improved? That's value. And that's A-Rod.
A-Rod Soriano
BA .318 .304
HR 47* 31
RBI 116* 82
Runs 105* 105*
A clear advantage for Rodriguez. For those who would argue that Rodriguez derives an RBI advantage from hitting in the 3- or 4-hole, Soriano gets one in Runs from hitting first for a very efficient run-scoring team. And yet Rodriguez is tied with him in Runs Scored.
Now let's look one step up at the more common metric numbers:
A-Rod Soriano
OBP .404 .332
SLG .651 .554
OPS 1.055 .886
TB 318* 304
169 points of OPS is a huge difference ... A-Rod's 1.055 is somewhere between Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig; Soriano's .886, though respectable, is down around Eddie Mathews/Goose Golsin country. Quick -- MVP vote: Foxx or Goslin? Gehrig or Mathews?
Finally, the exotic calculations of the dedicated Sabermetricians at Baseball Prospectus: Runs Above Replacement (RAR) is how many more runs a player generates than the baseline major-league player; Equivalent Average (EQA) measures total offensive performance adjusting for both era and park; and Equivalent Runs (EQR) infers the number of runs the player has contributed to his team, adjusted for era and park. Since Soriano and Rodriguez share an era, that's beside the point.
A-Rod Soriano
RAR 76.2* 51.4
EQA .343 .302
EQR 120.5 103.7
The only edge Soriano has is in SBs (35* to 8), but that's mall potatoes, especially when you consider Rodriguez' large advantages in run production. Also consider Soriano's 18 errors with Rodriguez' 6.
Many fans make some weird argument about "value" by noting team performance. I offer this simple suggestion: imagine if Soriano were playing for Texas and A-Rod for the Yankees. Which team would be improved? That's value. And that's A-Rod.
