tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post2930537244731863153..comments2024-02-17T04:00:25.925-06:00Comments on The Platoon Advantage: My Hall of Fame BallotThe Common Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09994070642805307798noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-15145163010216037342010-12-03T22:00:20.539-06:002010-12-03T22:00:20.539-06:00I think I would've given 'em both to A-Rod...I think I would've given 'em both to A-Rod.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-53599963457726064192010-12-03T21:02:00.681-06:002010-12-03T21:02:00.681-06:00belles mvp awards went to gonzaelezbelles mvp awards went to gonzaelezAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-49424736198021132222010-12-03T15:32:39.586-06:002010-12-03T15:32:39.586-06:00Thanks, Bill. I have to admit it depresses me to ...Thanks, Bill. I have to admit it depresses me to find out guys I thought of as dominant superstars, have overall values much lower.<br /><br />The whole thing also makes baseball card collecting confusing.Field of Cardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00627747756866557026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-51639337094877152212010-12-03T13:10:44.644-06:002010-12-03T13:10:44.644-06:00yikes, typos. "so the OPS overstates his case...yikes, typos. "<b>so</b> the OPS overstates his case. For a guy with a sub-.350 OBP in the..."<br /><br />OK, I feel better now.Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-83704371275450070762010-12-03T13:09:52.468-06:002010-12-03T13:09:52.468-06:00Thanks for the comments. Cy, I don't have an a...Thanks for the comments. Cy, I don't have an answer for that...I don't think anything really changed, so maybe Baerga was just never <i>really</i> as good as he looked for those two years?<br /><br />Field of Cards: I was probably a bit too harsh on Gonzalez. He was a good player. 338th all-time in WAR, in the neighborhood of Maury Wills, Ron Gant, Garry Maddox. He's certainly no Joe Carter. But it's exactly those numbers you cite that caused him to be wildly overrated. The RBI don't matter -- he batted fourth in a high-offense lineup in a high-offense league, he's going to get RBI. The average and homers are also inflated by the era he played in. But the inability to get on base consistently is a big thing--OBP is much more important than SLG, wo the OPS overstates his case. For a guy for whom offense is his only tool, a sub-.350 BA in the Home Run Derby era does not an elite offensive force make. <br /><br />And that's the big thing: offense, specifically hitting for power, was really the <i>only</i> thing he could do. In the field, he was something between a disaster and merely pretty bad, and he didn't give you anything on the basepaths. That's why, despite those big numbers in those 11 seasons you cite, he averaged 3.0 WAR in that time -- a good-but-unspectacular figure, but one bolstered tremendously by his three very good years in '93, '98 and '01. Outside of those three years, taking every aspect of his game into consideration, he was really pretty average (or worse).Billhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07840958382433052735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-55564339677303756602010-12-03T12:45:16.424-06:002010-12-03T12:45:16.424-06:00I'm not doubting you, but I'd like to see ...I'm not doubting you, but I'd like to see more information on why you are so unimpressed with Juan Gonzalez. <br /><br />From age 21-31 he averaged a .298 ba, 36 hr, 115 rbi. I know he didn't walk much and that's a problem, but his OPS over that span was still .919 and he won two MVP awards.<br /><br />Perhaps he isn't a Hall of Famer because he fizzled out so young, but you make him sound like Joe Carter.Field of Cardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00627747756866557026noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-57854283904795266452010-12-02T15:26:57.002-06:002010-12-02T15:26:57.002-06:00So I wonder what happened. He went way down after ...So I wonder what happened. He went way down after that. Was he hurt?Cyril Moronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07148864847009186694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5064547517730087223.post-28901931570195652932010-12-02T15:26:12.837-06:002010-12-02T15:26:12.837-06:00Baerga's 1992-3 seasons of WAR, 5.5 & 4.8,...Baerga's 1992-3 seasons of WAR, 5.5 & 4.8, are both in the top 50 for 2Bmen 25 and younger since 1901. Same for his OPS+, 127 & 124.Cyril Moronghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07148864847009186694noreply@blogger.com