Posted on 01/06/2016 3:05:02 PM PST by Jolla
When he set the all-time record (at the time) with 118 stolen bases in 1974, he was 35 years old. That is remarkable.
Don Mattingly was the best all-around player in baseball in his prime. His problem was that his “prime” lasted six years, and outside those six years he was no better than a decent player. If you don’t have dominant power numbers as a hitter you have to make your reputation as a solid contact hitter with a high batting average. Mattingly lost his power after he injured his back in 1987, and you really can’t call him a great contact hitter after that since he never hit over .300 for a full season after he turned 28.
I know that about Don Mattingly. He had a short “great” period, but those were 6 AWESOME seasons.
That’s the point I was making: It’s the Hall Of Fame, not the Hall Of “Very Good”, which is what it becomes when those types of players are voted into it, like Jim Rice and especially Tony Perez.
You’re either a “no question, get voted in the first time up” type or you’re not. If you have to ask, the answer is probably “No”.
I’m not sure about these two at all.
Listened to Hank Aaron on MLB radio the other day, I think he is Griffeys Godfather and even he said that Jr. was injured a lot.
Piazza wasn’t even mentioned, they were talking about Raines.
Totally agree with your Raines breakdown. He’s another “Very Good” player. Great? Ehhhh...
Griffey is one of those players who career statistics actually look more impressive when you consider his injury history. Even with some limitations with his durability, he still finished his career with 630 home runs (#6 of all time), 1836 RBIs (#15 of all time), 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards, and 13 All-Star Game appearances. He also finished #33 all-time in both games played and at-bats, so it's not as if he was completely debilitated by injuries.
Good point. For both of those guys, I suspect their election was as much about their contributions to dominant teams of that era as it was about their own individual accomplishments.
What’s disappointing is that he definitely had all the tools to be an all-time great player. Things just didn’t work out for him — and it wasn’t for lack of effort.
OK, 630 HR is enough for me.
Yes. I’ll add that Jim Rice (who I have nothing against), was a “makeup” call to stick a finger in the eyes of the PED users.
Exactly. Although I was young when he was in his prime, I do remember him being injured a lot...not his fault, he played hard.
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