Posted on 01/22/2019 3:37:35 PM PST by DFG
A few years ago, someone on this forum made the statement that Rose was the greatest switch-hitter of all-time. Obviously, that offended me by failing to recognize the greatest of my first hero, Mickey Mantle, so I did a comparison of the two. Absolutely, no contest. Although Rose had a slightly higher career BA, Rose had mostly singles while Mantle had a huge proportion of extra-base hits, Rose seldom walked, Mantle walked all the time. This is easily seen in the career OPS+: Rose 118, Mantle 172.
Joe DiMaggio was a flawed person but he was a fine baseball player. Yes, his credentials speak for themselves.
We were being goofed, for sure.
PS I was a die-hard Dodger fan and had to watch Joltin Joe from nearby North Jersey. He rarely disappointed the Yankee fans.
Excellent point about the left-handed hitters. I saw a fascinating article about that subject a few years ago, and I was astonished at the conclusions they reached. Just a couple of highlights:
1. The dominance of left-handed hitters has nothing to do with the fact that they are closer to first base. The shorter distance to first base is offset by the higher likelihood that they'll pull the ball to the right side of the infield. This means that a right-handed hitter has a slightly longer distance to run to first, but is more likely to hit a ball to the left side of the infield where most infield hits are made. Historically, right-handed hitters are MORE likely to beat out infield hits than left-handed hitters.
2. The lefty-righty matchups are a contributing factor in the modern age (i.e., hitters tend to hit better against the "opposite" pitcher, and there are simply more right-handed pitchers than lefties), but that wasn't likely to be a factor 80+ years ago.
3. The single biggest factor in the dominance of left-handed hitters over the years may be what the study called "positional bias." There are 4-5 positions where a typical baseball team is likely to accept a lower-caliber hitter in favor of a better defensive player: catcher, the two middle infielders, the centerfielder, and sometimes the third baseman. For all of these positions except the centerfielder, the player has to throw right-handed.
For the remaining positions -- like first base and the corner outfielders, the player should either be left-handed (first base), or it doesn't matter (the outfielders). What this means is that over the course of a career from childhood through the major leagues, players who are right-handed will have a higher probability of migrating to positions on the field where their defensive skills are more important than their hitting, while left-handed players will migrate to positions where their defensive skills are considered secondary to their hitting ability.
Absolutely fascinating, eh?
To that, I say
ED......Gar!!
1. Since baseball statisticians started recording count-by-count statistics in 1988, Tony Gwynn's .302 batting average with two strikes against him was the highest of any hitter. Wade Boggs comes in a distant second ... at .260.
2. Tony Gwynn had 107 plate appearances against Greg Maddux in his career -- the most times he faced any pitcher. He hit .415 against Maddux ... and never struck out.
He has some ridiculous stats that seem like you couldn't even generate them if you planned out your entire career. He retired with 3,630 hits -- exactly 1,815 from each side of the plate, and exactly 1,815 at home and 1,815 on the road!
Next thing you know, they'll be including batting cage stats.
Yes, Edgar was a third baseman early in his career and a good fielder at that. Injuries forced him into the DH position.
Don’t they count Home Run Derby stats now? :-P
Harold Baines was a damn good line drive hitter, but certainly not a five-tool player. I always saw similarities between Baines and Al Oliver, except Oliver was a decent defensive player and was a key member of a strong team in Pittsburgh.
Oliver was passed over without a lot of notice but Baines always hung in there, with his homer total close to 400, a ton of RBI’s and very close to 3,000 hits. Being a DH extended his career. Oliver, to his credit had over 2,700 hits and a career .303 batting average. Damn good hitter.
Your points have merit. Murph’s career deflated after the Braves traded him to Philly, can’t argue that. He missed out on the pennant years in the 90’s. In his prime he carried the Braves when they started to rise in the early 80’s but they didn’t have the great pitching results till after Dale’s time.
Are you thinking of someone else? Stan Musial wasn't a switch-hitter. He batted left-handed.
He absolutely despised Bill Clinton, and on several occasions went out of his way to make that known to his friends and Clinton's cronies. The most infamous incident occurred when they both attended the game where Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig's record consecutive-games streak. DiMaggio adamantly refused to let Clinton come anywhere near him, and told people he didn't ever want to be photographed with Clinton.
Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?
There’s definitely a positional bias against those guys. 400 home runs and 2700 hits are good numbers for an outfielder. They are almost certain Hall of Fame numbers for a catcher or middle infielder.
Forget the man's flaws. This was an epic, larger-than-life character here.
Very true and interesting. And then there is the case of Joe Carter. Very similar numbers to Murphy, except he has a World Series winning homer for Toronto.
I would think Fred McGriff would get into the HOF before Murphy. He kind of just played in the shadows of some dominant players and put up very good numbers over a long career.
Crime Dog was a great player. He played in small markets, was not flashy and seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Was part of the Braves World Series team in ‘95. The absolutely worst years to have a major achievement like winning the series were 1981 and 1985, both years affected by a strike.
The owners and players union really screwed their own businesses over with the 1994 strike and cancellation of what was a really good season. I was still a Braves fan at the time but was so turned off by the ‘94 fiasco I refused to follow in ‘95. In truth my love for baseball was never the same after ‘94. This kind of stuff didn’t help Fred McGriff’s noticeability when it counted, unfortunately.
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