Joe Morgan does chats every week. The folks over at “FireJoeMorgan” do recaps of every one, question-by-question. Thanks to Joe’s magical abilities, they find something to criticize about almost every single thing he says. For me, I prefer to read with an open mind, and only write something if I am slapped in the face by stupidity. Today, I was:

Rob (Portland, OR): AS a former player, can you tell people just how tough ti is to get 200 hits in 7 straight seasons? Is Ichiro a hall of famer even if he doesn’t get 3,000 hits?

Joe Morgan: I cannot tell you how tough it is because I never got there. But I did play with Pete Rose who reached 200 hits in a season a couple times. The keys are you have to be a good hitter, avoid injuries, and be a guy who does not walk much. Which is something Rose did and Ichiro does. I think Ichiro will make the HOF even without 3,000 hits, because I think he will continue putting up his numbers for the next few seasons.

So according to Joe Morgan, there are three keys to getting 200 hits in a season:

1) Be a good hitter.
2) Avoid injuries.
3) Don’t walk much.

The first two are pretty much common sense. If you miss a healthy chunk of the season with injuries, you probably won’t get enough at-bats to reach 200 hits. If you are a lousy hitter, you definitely won’t get enough at-bats to reach 200 hits. But this third one … do you really have to choose between walks and hits? Let’s see:

Ichiro was the topic of the question, and he certainly doesn’t walk much, ranging from 30 to 68 walks per season, with an average of about 45. So yep, he fits the bill.

Pete Rose had 200 hits in ten different seasons, with an average of 66 walks per season. It’s not a ton, but it’s not “a guy who does not walk much.”

What about Wade Boggs? He had 200 hits in seven straight seasons, with an average of 103 walks per season.

Since 1960, there have been 193 instances of a player having 200 hits. In 69 of those, the player had at least 60 walks. Only 58 times did the player have fewer than 40 walks. Most of the time (119 out of 193), the player had between 40 and 80 walks. You know, about average. So yeah, if you’re going to walk 100 times a season, you better be as good a hitter as Wade Boggs if you want to get 200 hits. But you can definitely walk an average number of times and still get the magic number.

JC: What are David Wright’s chances for MVP? He’s been on an absolute tear the last couple of months…

Joe Morgan: This is a year when the NL MVP is very open. Usually you have a sure guy like Pujols, or Howard last year. It is really wide open this season and Wright has a great chance. Last year there was a debate between Wright and Reyes, but this year I think Wright is the best MVP candiate on the Mets. But there are still 20+ games to go, and if he finishes strong and the Mets win the East he would be a favorite.

Only in Joe Morgan’s world was Ryan Howard “a sure guy” last year. A lot of people (including me) think Albert Pujols had a clearly better season.

Oh, and Pujols? Morgan uses him as an example of “a sure guy,” but the only time he won the award, he only barely beat out Andruw “Look Ma, I Added A Second Dimension” Jones. What did Joe have to say that season?

Andruw Jones, Albert Pujols and Derek Lee — I mean, any of those guys could win it. And there could be a tie, that has happened before. I will clap for whoever gets it and feel bad for who doesn’t . So let’s hope for a tie … even a 3-way tie!

So anyway, not Joe’s worst chat ever, but a couple doozies. Now I will head over and read what Ken Tremendous had to say at FJM.