Debating Magglio Ordonez

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

I’m not going to argue the Tigers should release Magglio Ordonez. I’m not going to argue they shouldn’t. But sometimes when reading forums or comments, here or elsewhere, I think an incomplete picture of the player is painted, so I thought I’d try to paint a better one. Thus, it follows.

In baseball, there’s always talk about five-tool players. Simplified, that’s hitting for average, hitting for power, running speed, fielding ability, and arm strength. (Personally, I like to replace “hitting for average” with “ability to get on base” and add in the ability to take walks, but that’s not part of the traditional five.)

So, how does Ordonez stack up on the tools?

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