Random MLB News And Discussion 2012

[Funketown]

On PTI, I'm fairly certain I heard Wilbon say Derek Jeter is the greatest SS of all time.

 

Yeah, he's way better than Honus Wagner.

 

He's a great player, and he might make the tail end of my top 5. Wagner, Ripken, Appling, Vaughan, Young,...Ironically, Rodriguez would be ahead of him as well if Jeter hadn't been the major reason for his move to 3B.

[brettac1]

Though I would have never believed it 20 years ago, I've actually become a fan of the Hawk. Maybe it has something to do with the switch to the N.L. or something. As for his outburst, I have no problem with it. A lot of these umps think they are bigger than the game.

For me, I always have a soft spot for him because as a kid I watched a ton of White Sox games on WGN and whatever the Chicago sports station was on the old C-Band satellite dishes was (I think it might have just been Chicago Sports Network), so I heard lots and lots of Hawk and Wimpy. Even though I don't generally see the game the same way he does (or even close) I enjoy him for nostalgic purposes. The "he gone!" and "put it on the board... YES!" stuff is a fun gimmick.

[3and2Fastball]

On PTI, I'm fairly certain I heard Wilbon say Derek Jeter is the greatest SS of all time.

 

Yeah, he's way better than Honus Wagner.

.

 

I think there are some credible arguments that could be made for Jeter being the best SS of All-Time. Certainly it could be argued that he's the best hitting SS of All-Time

 

Jeter has played against way tougher competition than Wagner. I would adjust Wagner's career BA down to .308 from .328 for not playing in an integrated league (Jeter has a .313 career BA). Wagner's career OBP was .391 (Jeter is at .383) so Jeter is way better at taking walks. Wagner was a better baserunner, better stolen base threat, hit more doubles but way less HR's.

 

Wagner gets a lot of credit for being an "incredible fielding SS" but his Fielding % at SS is worse than Jeter's (.976 to .940). Jeter's lack of range has long been his downfall but that is still a pretty significant difference in fielding %. Wagner played almost 1000 games at other positions, too (1B, 2B, 3B, OF). Jeter has actually played more games at SS than Wagner now, and has been way more durable too as Wagner missed a lot more games than Jeter.

 

Wagner hit .275 with a .766 OPS in the postseason. Jeter has been at his best in the clutch (.321 BA and .839 OPS in the World Series)

 

Ripken, a lot of people hype up Ripken but Ripken disappeared in the World Series hitting .167 with a .452 OPS! When I compare the best I like to look at how they did in the postseason especially the World Series. Ripken is lauded for his offense but other than HR's and Doubles he is behind Jeter in BA, OPS, OPS+ OBP, steals even Slugging %

[RockCoCougars]

Though I would have never believed it 20 years ago, I've actually become a fan of the Hawk. Maybe it has something to do with the switch to the N.L. or something. As for his outburst, I have no problem with it. A lot of these umps think they are bigger than the game.

For me, I always have a soft spot for him because as a kid I watched a ton of White Sox games on WGN and whatever the Chicago sports station was on the old C-Band satellite dishes was (I think it might have just been Chicago Sports Network), so I heard lots and lots of Hawk and Wimpy. Even though I don't generally see the game the same way he does (or even close) I enjoy him for nostalgic purposes. The "he gone!" and "put it on the board... YES!" stuff is a fun gimmick.

 

Maybe it's because, to me.... Steve Stone >>>>>>> Paciorek. I don't know, but I used to detest Harrelson with a passion, and now I get a kick out of him.

[3and2Fastball]

I'm not real big on WAR as a comparison stat, but even in WAR Jeter has accumulated way more offensive WAR than Ripken, in 3 less seasons (89.9 to 72.8)

 

I grew up part of the time in Baltimore, and I think Ripken's D was overrated. Yeah he was good, and maybe I was spoiled by seeing Brooks Robinson & Mark Belanger before Ripken came along, but Ripken didn't have a ton of range either and by the age of 35 had already moved to 3B.

[pitchleague]

Wagner gets a lot of credit for being an "incredible fielding SS" but his Fielding % at SS is worse than Jeter's (.976 to .940). Jeter's lack of range has long been his downfall but that is still a pretty significant difference in fielding %. Wagner played almost 1000 games at other positions, too (1B, 2B, 3B, OF). Jeter has actually played more games at SS than Wagner now, and has been way more durable too as Wagner missed a lot more games than Jeter.

%

 

 

of course, Jeter had the luxury of using the modern ballplayer's fielding glove, while Wagner used the old old old 5 finger version that was barely bigger than your hand. So I'd probably say they're even, regardless of what the statistics say.

[Funketown]

Yeah, I think places 2-10 are up for debate, but Jeter doesn't sniff Wagner's mitt.

 

Wagner's career wOBA was .414; Jeter's .369.

 

We don't know much about Wagner's defense, but we know that Jeter is and has been a poor defensive SS for his entire career.

 

Wagner had 62 PA's in the playoffs, so that really doesn't have any bearing (though his career playoff wRC+ is higher than Jeter's).

[adambr2]

Random stat question:

 

Player A is up at the plate, in a 1-1 count. On the next pitch, he hits one down the line and sprints to first, but the ball lands just foul for a 1-2 count. Player A, however, pulled his hamstring running to 1st and has to be removed. Player B comes in and inherits player A's 1-2 count. On the first pitch to Player B, he strikes out swinging. Does the strikeout get put on the stat line of Player A, or B? How about if the count had been 3-1 and Player B walked on his first pitch?

[dlk9s]

Random stat question:

 

Player A is up at the plate, in a 1-1 count. On the next pitch, he hits one down the line and sprints to first, but the ball lands just foul for a 1-2 count. Player A, however, pulled his hamstring running to 1st and has to be removed. Player B comes in and inherits player A's 1-2 count. On the first pitch to Player B, he strikes out swinging. Does the strikeout get put on the stat line of Player A, or B? How about if the count had been 3-1 and Player B walked on his first pitch?

 

If the batter leaves with 2 strikes and the sub strikes out, the strikeout is charged to the original batter. Any other result, including the walk on the 3-1 count, goes to the sub.

[RightFieldCoder]

The same is true with the pitcher. If Pitcher A leaves after 1 strike, the K goes to Pitcher B. If there are 2 strikes, A gets credit.

[dlk9s]

I don't have a source for this, but someone on another forum said that Jake Odorizzi is getting called up next week.

[WV Brew]

What in the world is up with RA Dickey? Just played hooky yesterday to see the Nats' game. They didn't hit even one ball hard in fair territory. Total domination. Harper looked particularly bad. Dickey is 9-1 with a WHIP of 1.04. Wow.

[reillymcshane]

What in the world is up with RA Dickey? Just played hooky yesterday to see the Nats' game. They didn't hit even one ball hard in fair territory. Total domination. Harper looked particularly bad. Dickey is 9-1 with a WHIP of 1.04. Wow.

Gotta love a good story like this. He's probably on the all star team. First time at age 37 - pretty sweet.

[Funketown]

From 2010-2012, Dickey has thrown 464 innings with a 2.97 ERA. I love old junkballers and particularly knuckleballers when they get the job done, so I'm hoping his success continues for quite some time. It's a lot of fun to watch.

[monty57]

First time at age 37 - pretty sweet.

 

Isn't that pretty young for a knuckleballer

[pitchleague]

it's that climb of Kilamanjaro he did over the off-season. If he can do that, he can do anything. Throwing a baseball is peanuts compared to that. (okay, so that should be in blue or something.)

 

Good for him, I say. His book that he wrote was excellent and really gives the reader a look into his life and what he's put up with. Bravo to R.A.!

[pretendastronaut]

Greinke is the only pitcher to induce an infield pop-up from Joey Votto in almost 3 years.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/19294142/random-amazing-joey-votto-fact

[reillymcshane]

Greinke is the only pitcher to induce an infield pop-up from Joey Votto in almost 3 years.

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/19294142/random-amazing-joey-votto-fact

 

That is astounding. Kudos to Votto for turning up his game. Guy's been awesome.

[owbc]

Even more amazing is that Votto has only pulled one ball foul to right field his entire career.

[igor67]

I wonder with that kind of insane bat control if he could be a threat to hit .400 if he decided to give up on the long ball.

[Funketown]

I wonder with that kind of insane bat control if he could be a threat to hit .400 if he decided to give up on the long ball.

 

I'm going to be bold here and say I just don't see it. He's a great pure hitter and maybe he'll crack .330-.340 some day.

 

It's a neat discussion, whether we'll ever see another .400 hitter. You'd probably need a guy with a K%<10, 40 HR power, and the ability to carry a ~..375 BABIP to make it happen. It may happen, but there's probably not a single player in the league right now who I'd give a 1/100 shot of hitting .385, much less .400. The league is just so deep and teams seem to be a heck of a lot smarter about defensive shifts than they were even 10-20 years ago. I'd love it to happen though. It would put some of that boyish magic back into the game.

[3and2Fastball]

I don't think Votto will hit .400 in a season, but he could have several seasons of .350 or better, including this year. Barring injuries or a very steep decline, he could be the type of player who ends his career with a .325+ career batting average and 400 Home Runs and a .425+ OBP. I see him as somewhat of a modern day Stan Musial, though not quite as good as Stan the Man. I do think Votto is the best player in the game right now....

[3and2Fastball]

Just another day at the office today for Votto, as he has a Double and 2 walks today. He now has a .484 OBP on the season and has 26 Doubles already. The MLB single season record is 67, that would be amazing if Votto broke it....(he's on pace for 73)

[brettac1]

He's just an absolutely superb player.

[3and2Fastball]

A-Rod passed Eddie Murray today for #9 on the All-Time RBI list. He is now behind only Aaron, Ruth, Cap Anson, Bonds, Gehrig, Musial, Cobb, and Foxx. He'll pass Foxx with 5 more and pass Cobb with 21 more....