10 Things In Sports It Would Be Cool To See—#10
(Sometimes the rules and strategy involved in a game can prevent us from seeing an athlete’s true skills in action. For example, the presence of teammates can prevent repeated one-on-one confrontations, and the flow of a game can prevent an athlete from repeatedly attempting a difficult challenge. My question is, if there were no rules, no games, no standings, no teammates, and no trophies to worry about, what kind of things would an athlete be able to do. In no particular order, here are 10 things in sports I’d like to see.)
#10–Albert Pujos vs. John Parrish………100 times
In his six and a half seasons in the major leagues Albert Pujols has put together a .331 career batting average. That .331 mark is a result of at bats against good pitchers, mediocre pitchers, and bad pitchers. What I want to know is what Pujols’ batting average would be if he hit only against the worst pitcher in baseball. That’s why I’d like to see is Pujols get 100 consecutive at bats against Orioles pitcher John Parrish (I’ve arbitrarily chosen Parrish because as any Orioles fan knows, he really really sucks.)
In my hypothetical fantasy Pujols gets five at bats against Parrish every other day for 40 days. A major league umpire is behind the plate, the showdown is held somewhere that is neither a hitters nor a pitchers park, and nine average defensive players are in the field behind Parrish.
What would the result be? Would Pujols do only slightly better than his career average? Would he hit .400? .450? .500? .600? How many home runs would he hit? This confrontation would finally reveal the nature of Pujols’ greatness. Is he a hitter who holds only a moderate advantage over most pitchers, or is he so skilled that only the most talented pitchers can keep from utter domination?
Also see…
#9—1 on 1 NBA draft workouts
#8—LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Brian Urlacher
#7—Tiger Woods shooting for a hole in one
#6—A real test for Vladimir Guerrero’s arm
#5—NFL-style workouts by non-NFL athletes
#4—A real NBA shooting contest
#3—A college basketball game with no three point line
#2—A 3 on 3 hockey game
#1—Albert Pujols vs. Johan Santana…100 times
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