Majors' Five-Tool Players Who Are They? - skills of baseball players

Baseball Digest, June, 2001 by Kevin Acee

HIT FOR AVERAGE, HIT FOR POWER, STRONG THROWING ARM, RUN THE BASES SKILLFULLY, PLAY SOLID DEFENSE

THE PRECIOUS FIVE-TOOL PLAYER. The precious five-tool player? In a game full of such labels and rash generalizations, it may be the most overused and perhaps even overvalued.

Funny, considering the average baseball fan cannot identify even four of the five tools.

Before delving into how rare the five-tool player is and why having all the tools is not necessarily imperative for superstardom, let us identify the tools in question.

They are: hitting for power, hitting for average, running speed, arm strength, and defensive ability.

An informal survey of several scouts in both leagues yielded just eight legitimate five-tool players in the major leagues today.

A player can be a former five-tooler. Barry Bonds doesn't throw so well anymore. A player can be temporarily stripped of his five-tool status. Atlanta's Andruw Jones is widely considered a poster boy for five-tool players, especially with his batting average moving above the .300 mark in recent years.

A player can grow into being a five-tooler. New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter is considered the most valuable of the three premier shortstops--he, Texas' Alex Rodriguez and Boston's Nomar Garciaparra. But in today's game, his power numbers are not quite so powerful. His season-high in homers is 24 in 1999.

What is valuable about five-toolers? It would seem obvious. Most of the five-tool players in the game are their team's franchise players.

"With a five-tool guy," said one scout "he's got five ways to beat you."

But having five tools is not necessary to be a team's MVP.

"There are guys who are real good four-tool players and even three-tool players that are more valuable than five-toolers," said one scout.

Having just three or four tools can also be made up for by the way a guy plays. Anaheim outfielder Darin Erstad doesn't throw so well and shows only occasional power, but not only can he hit for average and run the bases, he attacks every facet of the game as if his life depended on it.

And a player can be so proficient with one or two tools--St. Louis' Mark McGwire's power, for instance--that a lack of other tools is not an issue.

"At the major league level, we're more concerned with his ability to play and perform," noted one scout.

What irks scouts and others is that the media--broadcasters who have to talk for three hours during a game, in particular--sometimes seem to reason: "He's so good at four things, we'll spot him the fifth tool."

Said one scout, shaking his head in disdain: "I'm always hearing guys say, `He's a five-tool player.' I'm like, `No way.' The media is way too easy with that label."

The confusion may lie in the qualifications.

Scouts say it is not enough that a player simply exhibit the tools.

"When I say five-tool player, I'm talking about a guy who has plus power, plus speed, a plus arm," said one scout, echoing the sentiment of his fellow talent assessors.

When a GM speaks of a five-tooler, especially one he signed, he may do so with some leniency.

The Padres have long touted Ruben Rivera as a five-tool player. He, at varying times, has dazzled with doses of each. But he has also frustrated by showing none.

"He hasn't put them to use," said one N.L scout. "He hasn't figured the game out." Which, really, is the most important tool of all.

"How does he apply what he's got?" said one scout. "That's what is important. There are plenty of guys who don't have all the tools but they can play."

5-Toolers--Are They or Aren't They?

LISTED BELOW ARE SELECTED MAJOR LEAGUE STARS WHO HAVE HAD POTENTIAL TO
BE REGARDED AS A FIVE-TOOL player. In other words, a performer who can
beat opponents in the five categories (hitting for average, power,
strong throwing arm, good defensively, skillful base runner). If a
player has a check mark under a specific "tool", then he has displayed
this talent consistently in his major league career, if the player
does not have a "tool" check-marked, then he either is weak in this
area of his game or has yet to perfect it in excellent fashion
according to major league standards.

                                   Hits       Hits      Strong
Player Team               Pos.   for Avg.   for Power     Arm

Darin Erstad, Ana.         LF    [check]                [check]
Nomar Garciaparra, Bos.    SS    [check]     [check]    [check]
Manny Ramirez, Bos.        RF    [check]     [check]
Carl Everett, Bos.         CF    [check]     [check]
Magglio Ordonez, Chi.      RF    [check]     [check]
Roberto Alomar, Cle.       2B    [check]                [check]
Juan Gonzalez, Cle.        RF    [check]     [check]
Jermaine Dye, K.C.         RF    [check]     [check]    [check]
Derek Jeter, N.Y.          SS    [check]                [check]
Bernie Williams, N.Y.      CF    [check]
Alex Rodriguez, Tex.       SS    [check]     [check]    [check]
Ivan Rodriguez, Tex.       C     [check]     [check]    [check]
Raul Mondesi, Tor.         RF                [check]    [check]
Jose Cruz, Tor.            CF                [check]
Andruw Jones, Atl.         CF    [check]     [check]    [check]
Chipper Jones, Atl.        3B    [check]     [check]    [check]
Sammy Sosa, Chi.           RF    [check]     [check]    [check]
Ken Griffey, Jr., Cin.     CF    [check]     [check]
Todd Helton, Col.          1B    [check]     [check]
Larry Walker, Col.         RF    [check]     [check]    [check]
Preston Wilson, Fla.       CF                [check]    [check]
Jeff Bagwell, Hou.         1B    [check]     [check]
Richard Hidalgo, Hou.      CF    [check]     [check]
Gary Sheffield, L.A.       LF    [check]     [check]
Shawn Green, L.A.          RF    [check]     [check]    [check]
Vladimir Guerrero, Mon.    RF    [check]     [check]    [check]
Edgardo Alfonzo, N.Y.      2B    [check]                [check]
Bobby Abreu, Phi.          RF    [check]                [check]
Brian Giles, Pitt.         CF    [check]     [check]    [check]
Barry Bonds, S.F.          LF    [check]     [check]

                                  Skillful        Good
Player Team               Pos.   base runner   defensively

Darin Erstad, Ana.         LF      [check]       [check]
Nomar Garciaparra, Bos.    SS      [check]       [check]
Manny Ramirez, Bos.        RF
Carl Everett, Bos.         CF                    [check]
Magglio Ordonez, Chi.      RF                    [check]
Roberto Alomar, Cle.       2B      [check]       [check]
Juan Gonzalez, Cle.        RF
Jermaine Dye, K.C.         RF                    [check]
Derek Jeter, N.Y.          SS      [check]       [check]
Bernie Williams, N.Y.      CF      [check]       [check]
Alex Rodriguez, Tex.       SS      [check]       [check]
Ivan Rodriguez, Tex.       C       [check]       [check]
Raul Mondesi, Tor.         RF      [check]       [check]
Jose Cruz, Tor.            CF      [check]       [check]
Andruw Jones, Atl.         CF      [check]       [check]
Chipper Jones, Atl.        3B                    [check]
Sammy Sosa, Chi.           RF
Ken Griffey, Jr., Cin.     CF      [check]       [check]
Todd Helton, Col.          1B      [check]       [check]
Larry Walker, Col.         RF      [check]       [check]
Preston Wilson, Fla.       CF      [check]       [check]
Jeff Bagwell, Hou.         1B      [check]       [check]
Richard Hidalgo, Hou.      CF                    [check]
Gary Sheffield, L.A.       LF                    [check]
Shawn Green, L.A.          RF      [check]       [check]
Vladimir Guerrero, Mon.    RF      [check]
Edgardo Alfonzo, N.Y.      2B      [check]       [check]
Bobby Abreu, Phi.          RF      [check]       [check]
Brian Giles, Pitt.         CF      [check]       [check]
Barry Bonds, S.F.          LF      [check]       [check]