Difference between an Ace and a #1 SP...

[koreancabbage]

An ace is one of the top 3-5 pitchers in baseball... A #1 pitcher is just the best pitcher on your team.

that's not how sports commentators or announcers use the term.

When did this term ace mean anything else other than the best pitcher on the team? or the mis-use of ther definition of the word. you can say the best "ace" in baseball today and you can have ranking of some sort. maybe a re-education of the word is in line.

[koreancabbage]

An ace is a pitcher who will consistantly put an end to a four game losing streak. They'll put up league leading numbers - the good kind and be counted on to lead by example.
A #1 pitcher is the best guy in your team's rotation. That does not necessarily make it the same as an ace.
Technically, a teram can only have 1 #1 pitcher, but a team can have a number of aces.

technically, you're wrong.

[theslick1]

technically, you're wrong.

And you are correct. I don't know why people continue to ignore the fact that the term "ace" is used by sportswriters to mean "the best pitcher on the team" and instead try to redefine the word.

[YoungStuna]

An ace is one of the top 3-5 pitchers in baseball... A #1 pitcher is just the best pitcher on your team.

You have it the other way around.

[Nomar]

You have it the other way around.

It's completely up to opinion lol. There is no strict definition in terms of baseball for either.

[Vampirate]

The Blue Jays, Tigers, Giants etc have #4 or #5 pitchers that could be the 'ace' on other teams starting staffs.

[jej]

I know this is wrong, but it makes SOOO much more sense for #1 to mean the #1 on a staff, and ace to mean top. You are basically saying a teams #1 pitcher isnt a #1 pitcher, and thats just illogical

[BadnewzNiners]

You said that a #1 starter is capable of being the best starter in the league, while an ace is capable of being the starter for a team. You said a #1 starter is always an ace, but a pitcher can be the top pitcher in the league and not be the team's number one.

Is a top pitcher in the league not capable of being the first pitcher on his teams rotation? A #1 is an ace, cause by my explanation, he is capable of being the best pitcher on his teams rotation.

If Felix were to be traded to the Dodgers, he would be one of the best in the league, but not best on his team. Thats how.

In your scenario they would have two #1's who are ace's, while both are capable of being the top pitcher in the league and both are capable of being the best pitcher in his teams rotation. In the wainwright/carpenter scenario both are ace's, cause both are capable of being the first pitcher in their teams rotation while none of us would say either is capable of being the top pitcher in the league anymore. Hence a ace isn't technically a #1

[adab]

If a team had a staff of Verlander, Price, Strasburg, Cain, and Hernandez, you could technically have a 5 man rotation of 5 aces. Would you not agree?

[theslick1]

If a team had a staff of Verlander, Price, Strasburg, Cain, and Hernandez, you could technically have a 5 man rotation of 5 aces. Would you not agree?

If a team had those five starters, you might see it referred to as a team with "five aces" but that would be an unusual case. Most teams have a clear cut "best" starter and that guy is commonly referred to by sportswriters as the team's "ace."

[koreancabbage]

If a team had a staff of Verlander, Price, Strasburg, Cain, and Hernandez, you could technically have a 5 man rotation of 5 aces. Would you not agree?

or you could say that rotation consists of the 5 best pitchers in all of baseball. or all-stars. or the one of the league's best pitcher. Everyone knows what you mean. Obviously there is a split in terms of the usage right now

why won't we use the term perennial all-star pitcher or something along that line. and stop twisting the actual definition of the word "ace".

[adab]

I could agree with this. But I was merely defending my initial post.

[Jeffy25]

or you could say that rotation consists of the 5 best pitchers in all of baseball. or all-stars. or the one of the league's best pitcher. Everyone knows what you mean. Obviously there is a split in terms of the usage right now

why won't we use the term perennial all-star pitcher or something along that line. and stop twisting the actual definition of the word "ace".

Yup