Austin Riley

Carp said:
Thie "hustle guys" like David Eckstein are generally the type that have below average natural talent, so they have to try harder than everyone else to make up for it. Chipper rarely hustled down to 1st. McCann too. I saw Freeman lollygag down to first plenty of times on a soft grounder to first.
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there is a balance, but you are right and it is funny to watch in kids. My daugther was gifted in competitive cheer. Flyer/tumbling/ and all around stage dominance. She moved quickly up the levels and she knew she didn't have to try hard to be better than a lot of the other girls.. but that burned her as she advanced and the 'try hards' caught up to her skill level and she finally realized she actually had to work to stay ahead.. I saw it on my other daughter's soccer team. She was a try hard and other girls were really gifted, but that gap closes for a lot of them because they take it for granted.

Now super stars like Acuna will always be better and they usually have a level of 'try hard' in them, but it is more effortless than others.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
there is a balance, but you are right and it is funny to watch in kids. My daugther was gifted in competitive cheer. Flyer/tumbling/ and all around stage dominance. She moved quickly up the levels and she knew she didn't have to try hard to be better than a lot of the other girls.. but that burned her as she advanced and the 'try hards' caught up to her skill level and she finally realized she actually had to work to stay ahead.. I saw it on my other daughter's soccer team. She was a try hard and other girls were really gifted, but that gap closes for a lot of them because they take it for granted.

Now super stars like Acuna will always be better and they usually have a level of 'try hard' in them, but it is more effortless than others.
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Yep. Acuna, Chipper, Druw, etc. Many of the greatest players ever were guys that didn't have to put in a lot of effort, or at least not as much effort as other guys. These type of guys have always been several levels of talent ahead of their peers. They don't have to put in as much effort to their craft because they were always going to be stars. That doesn't mean they don't try hard. That doesn't mean they are lazy. They are just that damn good and they do what works for them.

We all know that guy/girl in school that never went to class and rarely seemed to study and still got straight A's. It was infuriating to the rest of us. That doesn't mean they didn't try hard, it just means they didn't have to try nearly as hard everyone else to get the same result.
 
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What people seem to miss is that you don’t become what Ronald has become without extremely hard work. Yes he may not bust it on the field every single play, and he’s got a ton of natural talent, but natural talent alone won’t make you one of the best hitters in professional baseball. It requires hard, diligent work to become that good at this level.
 
bravesfanMatt said:
there is a balance, but you are right and it is funny to watch in kids. My daugther was gifted in competitive cheer. Flyer/tumbling/ and all around stage dominance. She moved quickly up the levels and she knew she didn't have to try hard to be better than a lot of the other girls.. but that burned her as she advanced and the 'try hards' caught up to her skill level and she finally realized she actually had to work to stay ahead.. I saw it on my other daughter's soccer team. She was a try hard and other girls were really gifted, but that gap closes for a lot of them because they take it for granted.

Now super stars like Acuna will always be better and they usually have a level of 'try hard' in them, but it is more effortless than others.
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Well said. My daughter was a gymnast (and quite good), but it was interesting to watch how many of the natural talents in the lower levels were surpassed as they moved up in levels. Part of it, of course, is where each girl was in terms of physical development at each level, but the gymnasts who worked hardest to master the skill part of the sport seemed to rise to next echelon as they matured in terms of strength.

Acuna wouldn't be where he is if he hadn't worked hard. The history of all sports is littered with guys who possessed great physical attributes but could not get them to translate into higher performance levels. That can be attributable to poor work habits or just physical issues that arise when trying to acquire a skill (and baseball is a skill sport). And not all toolsy athletes can get their tools to translate even with hard work. Sometimes there are just barriers that can't be overcome.

It's probably an apocryphal story, but I remember reading an article way back when (and remember that I am old) that two scouts were watching a Reds' game and Pete Rose was playing right field. After he made a diving catch in the outfield, one scout turned to the other and said "I don't think Hank Aaron could have done that." The other scout responded, "He wouldn't have had to. He would have been standing in the same spot waiting for the ball to come down."
 
Super said:
What people seem to miss is that you don’t become what Ronald has become without extremely hard work. Yes he may not bust it on the field every single play, and he’s got a ton of natural talent, but natural talent alone won’t make you one of the best hitters in professional baseball. It requires hard, diligent work to become that good at this level.
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This.

The idea that Acuna isn’t working as hard as other guys is stupid. Does he have enough talent to be a major leaguer without busting it all the time? Sure, for a few years at least.

Best player in the league? Lulz

His improvement in K rate alone tells you he is working his ass off.
 
smootness said:
This.

The idea that Acuna isn’t working as hard as other guys is stupid. Does he have enough talent to be a major leaguer without busting it all the time? Sure, for a few years at least.

Best player in the league? Lulz

His improvement in K rate alone tells you he is working his ass off.
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Damn where you been smoot
 
While I agree Acuna is likely a hard worker and picks his spots to go maximum effort, let’s not confuse him for a high baseball IQ player. He is the lowest baseball IQ star I can remember since Manny, and I suspect his decision on whether or not he hustles on a given play is based on a lot less critical thinking than most here are willing to admit.
 
Enscheff said:
While I agree Acuna is likely a hard worker and picks his spots to go maximum effort, let’s not confuse him for a high baseball IQ player. He is the lowest baseball IQ star I can remember since Manny, and I suspect his decision on whether or not he hustles on a given play is based on a lot less critical thinking than most here are willing to admit.
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I pretty much agree. He's an awesome physical talent, but he has his share of plays where the mental elevator isn't reaching the penthouse. But I don't question his work ethic, especially with his hitting.
 
Riley lost out on the Gold Glove to Ke'Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh.

Admittedly I haven't seen much of Hayes, but Riley has gotten much better over there. I thought he was plenty deserving.
 
Gold gloves are meaningless. I am continually surprised Derek Jeter didn't win all of them despite being retired for years.
 
Tapate50 said:
Riley lost out on the Gold Glove to Ke'Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh.

Admittedly I haven't seen much of Hayes, but Riley has gotten much better over there. I thought he was plenty deserving.
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Happ won over Rosario as well (not surprised). A little surprised on Doyle over Harris.
 
Tapate50 said:
Riley lost out on the Gold Glove to Ke'Bryan Hayes from Pittsburgh.

Admittedly I haven't seen much of Hayes, but Riley has gotten much better over there. I thought he was plenty deserving.
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Hayes' is defense absurd and was way more deserving.
 
GG is a pretty pointless award, and the main takeaway should be that Riley is a very rare player who has improved literally every single aspect of his game more than almost any player who has come before him.
 
Enscheff said:
GG is a pretty pointless award, and the main takeaway should be that Riley is a very rare player who has improved literally every single aspect of his game more than almost any player who has come before him.
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He should have won :Sad::Sad:
 
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Enscheff said:
GG is a pretty pointless award, and the main takeaway should be that Riley is a very rare player who has improved literally every single aspect of his game more than almost any player who has come before him.
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This sounds like copium for not believing in him. Lots of players improve for many different reasons from conditioning, to coaching, to physically maturing, or just trying harder because they want a big contract.
 
cajunrevenge said:
This sounds like copium for not believing in him. Lots of players improve for many different reasons from conditioning, to coaching, to physically maturing, or just trying harder because they want a big contract.
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It’s rare that a guy with Riley’s body becomes a much improved defender. I wouldn’t have bet on it
 
He wasnt a huge liability to begin with at the position. No reason to think he couldnt improve if he wanted to put the work in. A lot of players just dont think thats what gets them the big paycheck. He is in his physical prime and has been relatively injury free. I could even see him improving a little more and having a career year on defense before he hits 30. Probably all downhill defensively at that point.
 
Enscheff said:
GG is a pretty pointless award, and the main takeaway should be that Riley is a very rare player who has improved literally every single aspect of his game more than almost any player who has come before him.
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Thirty years from now all our kids are going to be invoking the name Austin Riley any time there is a talented prospect with critical flaws coming through the system.
 
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