Rating athletes is tough, especially in team sports. In baseball the perfect 6-4 combo doesn’t mean a thing if 3 has a glove of stone or the range of pebble. (6=shortstop, 4=second baseman, 3=first baseman for those who don’t follow the game.) A catcher with a great glove and a hot bat doesn’t help his team if he cannot read opposing batters or understand the limitations of his pitcher. Every player on the field has to know his obligation to the team on every pitch by the pitcher, and on every swing of the bat by the opposition. Most casual fans consider right field to be the position of the extra guy that can’t really play anywhere else. Most coaches and managers want their right fielder to be the guy with the best understanding of the game, the guy who knows instinctively where to play every hit ball, because he has the most responsibility in backing up first base, second base and calling base of play for the center fielder making the running catch.
I was just trying to point out that rating players of team sports is very difficult because there are so many variables and intangibles which skew the results. I get very involved in baseball probably because it is the most complex sport.
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