A Collection of Career Batting Leaderboard Tidbits
Some interesting observations from the career leaderboards
Larry Walker (with only ~400 more plate appearances) ranks higher than Mark McGwire. Throw in defense and positional considerations and there’s a legitimate case to make that Walker was the more valuable player despite lacking the accolades and popularity of McGwire. If you consider McGwire a Hall of Famer, I think you have to include Walker as one too.
Manny Ramirez could potentially break into the top 15 over the next two seasons and should pass Billy Hamilton for 20th all-time this season. Alex Rodriguez is likely to pass Carl Yastrzemski for 24th all-time as Rodriguez essentially tails Manny.
Brian Giles will never replace Tony Gwynn as Mr. Padre, but Giles one-upped Gwynn last season by accumulating 393 career wRAA, one more than Gwynn. Speaking of misters, Ernie Banks sits two runs above Sammy Sosa.
Jay Buhner and Ray Lankford rank back-to-back. I think that is appropriate.
Dusty Baker and John Kruk rank back-to-back. I think that is appropriate.
A former Yankees first baseman and a new Yankees first baseman take slots 329 and 330 as John Mayberry and Mark Teixeira sit just shy of 200 career runs.
Albert Pujols has the chance to pass Shoeless Joe Jackson, Wade Boggs, Duke Snider, George Brett, and Reggie Jackson within the next season. Pujols needs about 60 wRAA to crack the top 50 all-time. CHONE has Pujols projected at 63 wRAA, ZiPS is about the same, and Marcels says 47. In other words; there’s a real, real good chance it happens this year.
Bill Bergen, Alfredo Griffin, Ozzie Guillen, Tommy Corcoran, and Tommy Thevenow round out the list as the worst hitters. The lesson to be taken from this is to simply not name your son Tommy.
Oh, and how’s this for fun. If Evan Longoria wants to break Babe Ruth’s all-time wRAA record, he needs to get a move on. It would take Longoria about 70 consecutive seasons of Longoria’s 2008 to reach Ruth. Longoria figures to top Ruth and celebrate a 100th birthday within the same decade.
We are not talking about the Hal Of wRAA or even the Hall of WAR here. We are talking about the Hall of Fame. In the history of baseball Larry Walker’s fame can’t hold a candle Mark McGwire’s fame. Stats are not what matters here. What matters here is actually who impacted the history of the game them most.
If that’s the case then I expect to see Brian McNamee, Greg Anderson and Kirk Radomski on the next ballot.
These are not players. We are not talking about non players here. Your point is silly.
All right, then let’s kick out the five dozen members who weren’t elected as players. More room for Larry.
I am not making the point that there is not another section of the Hall of Fame for non players (there is). I am making the point that we are talking about the players section here so bring up non players in not relevent to this discussion and therefore is “silly”.
Your original “point” was “silly.”
so Jose Canseco belongs in the Hall of Fame?
I think you’re taking the “Fame” part a bit too literally.
Eric:
The fame of Canseso as a baseball player is no match for McGwire’s either. Canseco’s claim to fame you seem to be thinking about is all about what he did after his career was over not what he did during his career. This is hardly the case with McGwire.
MPC:
We don’t need a Hall of Fame to maintain a list of career wRAA leaders or career WAR leaders or career leaders in any other stat you wish to select. If this is all the Hall of Fame did then it would be the Hall of Fame that is “silly”.
Uh, no one’s saying it should be the Hall of wRAA. But if the Hall of Fame is for the game’s greatest players (and the fame, as someone else said, is bestowed upon the player AFTER he’s inducted), then shouldn’t stats that show how good a player was be utilized in determining who’s worthy/not worthy?
The Hall of Fame isn’t meant to honor “fame.” What the hell would the point of that be? There are many players, famous during their playing careers, that are not Hall of Fame caliber…Steve Garvey, Maury Wills, and the like. The HoF is meant to bestow fame on the greatest baseball players. Stats help us evaluate who the greatest are.
No offense, but I don’t understand why people with your point of view on baseball and statistics read Fan Graphs. I’m not trying to be a jerk, I just seriously don’t understand.
No, the Hall of Fame’s purpose is to honor those who defined excellence in the sport, regardless of whether or not they were “famous” or not.
If you want to play that card, Roger Maris = in, Edgar Martinez = out.
I’m going to be so disappointed when Edgar doesn’t make it in…
This warrants a single query: “If stats don’t matter … why are you even browsing Fangraphs?”