Goalie. I've seen some really hot goalies carry teams much farther than they belong in the playoffs. Can't be qb. Average or better than average QB looks pretty damn good when you've got a dominant offensive line (Redskins under Gibbs). Safe qb that just doesn't blow the game can also win you SB when you've got dominant defenses (Bears & Ravens).
The hockey goalie argument is solid. I have to agree. Without a good goalie, you are screwed, and a great goalie can carry a team. But a good goalie is just good without a great defense. I have to say, there is no most important position in sports. You can get by with good at any position as long as it is surrounded with great players. A better question would be this: At what position is it most important to have the best player in any sport? Slightly different question, but geared to get the answers the first question was intended to receive. To answer my new question, it has to be hockey goalie. The team with the best goalie always goes deep in the playoffs. The top offensive team can easily be bounced from the playoffs by a great defense/goal keeping.
This is the correct answer, an elite Seeker and shitty beaters/chasers/keeper can still go all the way.
The REFS! After that it's gotta be NFL QB or starting pitcher in baseball. Goalies in hockey and soccer can get by if their defense is good.
If we're talking purely about the position itself, this is the correct answer. A top starter controls a game more than any other singular position in sports, mostly because if a starting pitcher executes at the top of his game he can (almost) completely control an outcome. A hockey goalie would be a close second/tie for first. That said, I don't truly believe that any position is truly the "most important" in sports. In any team-based sport at least multiple positions must execute to ensure wins. A pitcher can throw a no-hitter and lose due to errors and lack of run support. A goalie can play great, but if the opposing one does as well, it comes down to who has a guy to score. A QB can throw for 300 yards, but if every drive ends in a FG and the defense doesn't hold, it's a loss. In the end, I'd say an individual QB or goalie is probably most important to his respective team. However the position of pitcher is more important if you view each position in a complete vacuum.
I don't even like hockey, but this guy was unreal. The guy Buffalo had in the 90's was insane too. I would have said pitcher, if I thought baseball was an actual sport.
That guy in Buffalo was Dominik Hasek. I was lucky enough to be a Sabers season ticket holder during those days. The guys was not only insanely skilled, but did it going against the popular style Roy brought to the forefront in the NHL. Hasek had no specific style which made him a bit of a puzzle to most shooters. Roy changed the way the position was played in good and bad ways. Pure size combined with proper technique became the fad and made most young goalies little more than robots. Its still very popular today with Loungo in the finals being a carbon copy of the style. Tim Thomas is a bit more like Hasek. The make the save at all costs guy who looks akward at times but seems to make the save a lot more often than he should. I can see the pitcher argument for a single game event, I was looking at it in more of a championship series way. I pitcher may throw 2 or 3 games for his team and a goalie plays all of them, unless he happens to be the goalie for Philly.
The head cheerleader. Or the cheerleader that gives head. I can't remember but it's one of those two.
That's a great question.. I think you'd have to pick the best basketball player, whatever position it is that that player plays in a given era. The reason is because a superstar basketball player can impact a game, a series, or season more than a player in any other sport because it's only 5 players on the court at a time and they play both offense and defense. A pitcher only goes one out of every 5 days, A qb doesn't play defense, etc.
Derek Fisher Ron Harper Jason White Chocolate Williams Avery Johnson Kenny Smith B.J. Armstrong and soon, a 25% shooting, old-ass Mike Bibby say hi. PG is the most overrated position in the NBA. It is essential in NCAAB, but not since the 80's has a great PG been a necessity in the pros. Furthermore, Rondo was alright, but didn't close games for the Celtics in 2008 b/c he was mistake prone, and Tony Parker was merely 'meh' in 2003. So good/great PG play has been a huge factor in deciding the NBA Champion just 3 times (2004, 2005, 2007) since the days of Magic, DJ, and Zeke. In 2005 Parker was clearly the Spurs' 3rd best player too, Manu and Tim dominated that series.
You make an excellent point. A superstar basketball player can take his team deep in the playoffs without a good supporting cast, but that player could be playing any of the 5 positions on the court. If the question was, "What sport can one player influence a match the most?", then basketball is it.
Think it was Hasek. Roy was great too. Hands down NFL quarterback. An MLB Pitcher doesn't have to access the muscle memory and situational analysis to the extent an NFL QB has to every play.
Really? It's all about muscle memory (consistently repeated motion and delivery) and situational analysis.
No one in baseball should count because it's just a giant clusterfuck of boredom. A really dominant pitcher can win 20 games in baseball but will only see 20% (maximum) playing time throughout the season. If he's in the American League he will rarely even swing a bat.
