Most Important Position in ALL Sports?

[Kosher Ham]

GACOLB, as someone else posted prior. The OP says position. The Pitcher is tops in my book when it comes to baseball.

[Wrong Direction]

For the value of a pitcher, I present Justin Verlander.

22-5 on the season. The Tigers as a team are 23-8 when he pitchers

The Tigers record this season 81-62. Verlander has accounted for 1/4 of his teams wins and when he doesn't start, they are just 58-54.

So the team's winning percentage is .518 without Verlander. They'd still be in first place in their division without him.

Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young last year and his team finished as one of the worst in MLB. Can you imagine a year where Peyton Manning is the best QB in the league and the Colts are still picking in the top 5?

[Enter Apotheosis]

So the team's winning percentage is .518 without Verlander. They'd still be in first place in their division without him.

Felix Hernandez won the Cy Young last year and his team finished as one of the worst in MLB. Can you imagine a year where Peyton Manning is the best QB in the league and the Colts are still picking in the top 5?

The fact that pitchers can't play in every single game is what effectively rules them out of this discussion, otherwise they're right up there with goalies and quarterbacks.

[mbws]

Ball Washer

[Spaceman Spiff]

Pitcher, hockey goalie. Not necessarily in that order.

In baseball, if you don't have good pitching, you're probably not going to be in the game. Same with hockey.

In football, you can get by without good QB play, look at Dilfer. While it plays a huge part and it makes life easier if you have a really good one, it's not a make it/break it situation.

[Skin'Em84]

Just a star. There's a few positions that they have more of an impact; goalie/defenseman, qb/mlb, pitcher..etc.

You could be Dan Cater/Johnny Wilkinson/Percy Montgomery, Peyton Manning/Tom Brady, Adam Vinatieri, Lincicum, Orr or Roy, if you are a star in a couple positions, someone can make a legitimate argument for your position being the most important ever...

[December90]

COMPLETELY disagree.

Peyton Manning makes some receivers who aren't so good look great.

Meanwhile, Tarvaris Jackson probably won't be able to get the ball to Sydney Rice.

Are you implying that receiver is just as important as QB? A serviceable QB is not equal to a serviceable receiver.

Trent Dilfer has a Superbowl ring and Dan Marino does not. Did Dilfer earn his because he was the difference in his teams win?

[KDawg]

Trent Dilfer has a Superbowl ring and Dan Marino does not. Did Dilfer earn his because he was the difference in his teams win?

You stopped reading at that post, didn't you? Here's my next post, on the same page:

They're not all equal. This is coming from a football coach. You can get by much easier with a serviceable OL. You can get by much easier with a serviceable WR. You can get by much easier with a serviceable defense. It's a lot harder to get by with a serviceable QB. It's only happened a few times in NFL history. Serviceable, by the way, means average here.

Key word being "a lot harder" not impossible, and if you're talking about a group of players I'd say OL is extremely important as well. There are exceptions to every rule. But anyone who thinks that a punter is as important as a QB is loopy (And yes, that's implied when someone says that no one position is more important as another)

[Corcaigh]

[Elessar78]

The difference is that goalie and pitcher are mainly "defensive" positions. They can't score goals or runs for you. So they can't "win" you a game. Their impact is indirect. But the question is "most important".

[Warhead36]

Trent Dilfer has a Superbowl ring and Dan Marino does not. Did Dilfer earn his because he was the difference in his teams win?

Dilfer was the exception. If you look at the history of the NFL, the teams that sustain success are the ones with franchise QBs. If you have a franchise QB, you're pretty much a lock to be good every year. There is no guarantee you'll win but at least you'll have a chance every year.

If you're talking in the context of one game, Pitcher is probably more important. But like others have said, even the best Pitcher is only going to pitch every 5 days. You could win every game you start but your team still may not have a shot at a ring. But when you factor in long term, a stud QB pretty much guarantees you'll be a playoff contender every year. Marino may not have won a ring but his Dolphins were pretty much always a playoff team.