Ichiro has been the best leadoff hitter in all of baseball over the last 10 years, but this year he has been one of the worst. He is hurting his team by batting at the top of the lineup. His on base percentage is only .311. For his career he's been a .372 on base percentage. His OBP is being pulled down by his un-Ichiro-like batting average of .269. He's a career .327 hitter. It would be better for the team if he was batting 8 or 9 in the lineup and have a guy like Dustin Ackley or maybe even Trayvon Robinson batting leadoff. Obviously 2 games of Trayvon is too small a sample, but he has shown an ability to take walks and get on base in the minors. He's also fast enough to steal a base.
It is sad to witness the end of a great career, but smart franchises don't let what someone has done for the team in the past dictate what course they take in the future. Baseball is about winning games and if Ichiro batting leadoff hurts a team then he should be taken out of that spot.
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