Hot Stove Rivalry: Better shortstop - Jimmy Rollins or Jose Reyes

Jeff Freier, Hot Stove New York - This year it’s clearly Jose Reyes. He towers over Jimmy Rollins in every statistical category, and leads the league in hits, multiple hit games, triples, is fourth in runs scored and second in stolen bases. His OPS is .854 to Rollins’ .778. And the fielding slump Reyes was in at the beginning of the year has disappeared long ago. So statistically and talent-wise, Reyes is obviously superior. And Rollins’ intangibles – leadership, hustle, etc. – have disappeared this year. The one issue Reyes had was the night in Anaheim when he tweaked his hamstring and was pulled from the game, but got pissed (and pissy) because he wanted to stay in. Meanwhile, Rollins shows up late for a game and gets benched for not hustling. He seems to have an MVP hangover.

J Platt, Hot Stove Philly – Statistically this year it’s Reyes. If you look at the numbers, Reyes surpasses Rollins in all major categories. Talent-wise it’s also Reyes. As much as I loathe Jose Reyes, he has enough talent to be the best player in the league. But if talent alone made you an elite player, Darryl Strawberry would be in the Hall of Fame. Jose Reyes’ biggest enemy is Jose Reyes. His immaturity and cockiness get in the way of taking his game to the next level. He dances when the Mets win and pouts when the Mets lose. If he makes an error, he just might through his glove. This isn’t little league, it’s major league baseball, sometimes you need to control your emotions. Unfortunately, I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

What Rollins doesn’t have in sheer talent he makes up for in smarts. Reyes might be faster than Rollins, but Rollins is a better base runner. He’s also a better base stealer. Rollins is also a superior defender, with a stronger arm. This isn’t to say Rollins is perfect. I’ll be the first to say that one of the worst thing Rollins could have done is hit 30 home runs last year because now he thinks he’s a power hitter, which has hurt him this season. As a leadoff batter, he needs to put the ball in play and get on base. He’s also had bouts of not running hard on plays, which I honestly can’t defend.

While I can see why a Mets fan would take Reyes over Rollins, I’ll take Rollins in a heartbeat.