FanNation - The Republic of Sport

rstowe said 06/16, 11:53 AM
Entire career counts major league service only (not minors)

I changed the 3 OF to 1 for each position to make it more interesting.

C - Johnny Bench - probably the best overall C ever
1B - Lou Gehrig - could have been one of the best overall players ever
2B - Bobby Doerr - not to many options here
SS - Cal Ripken - this was tough, but can't argue his hitting and the streak
3B - George Brett - another close one, but his batting takes the cake
LF - Ted Williams - one of the best hitters ever
CF - Joe Dimaggio - one of the best
RF - Roberto Clemente - another tough position but a great overall player
Bench - Mickey Mantle - injuries cut his career short
SP - Walter Johnson - in my opinion the best pitcher ever

rstowe said 06/16, 12:48 PM
Okay, so the differences are 2b, SS, 3B, Bench and SP.

2B - Doerr versus Robinson: Off the field and for what Robinson did for the game he wins hands down, however that's not for this TD :
14 seasons for Doerr, 10 for Jackie: due to the seasons played difference, lets look at the 162 game averages:
Doerr: 616 ABs, 95 R, 177 Hits, 19 HRs, 108 RBIs, .288 BA, .362 OBP and .461 Slugging
Jackie: 572 ABs, 111 R, 178 Hits, 16 HRs, 86 RBIs, .311 BA, .409 OBP and .474 Slugging

SS - 21 seasons for Cal, 19 for Barry. 2 MVPs for Cal, 1 for Barry.
162 game averages:
Cal: 624 ABs, 89 Rs, 172 Hits, 23 HRs, 91 RBIS, .276 BA, .340 OBP, and .447 Slugging
Barry: 590 ABs, 99 Rs, 174 Hits, 15 HRs, 71 RBIs, .295 BA, .371 OBP, .444 Slugging
Once again close, but in this case I think Cal and his consecutive games gets the edge here.

3B - this is close as well, Brett had the average, Schmidt the power...I say push.

Bench - Mantle over Gwynn...Gwynn may have had the better average put Mickey has him in almost all other categories.....edge goes to Mickey here.

So it is a wash at 2B and 3B, I have a slight edge at Bench and SS....SP in 3rd

rstowe said 06/16, 02:51 PM
You bring up good points about the balance of the lineup and defense. I have probably 2 of the smoothest outfielders even in Dimaggio and Clemente and probably the strongest arm from RF in Clemente.

With guys like Williams, Gehrig, Dimaggio batting 2 - 4 with Bench and Ripken batting 5 and 6th I wouldn't have to worry about speed. I would also have Brett and his super high BA probably leading off just to get on base ahead of Williams, Gehrig and Dimaggio.

As for my bench player of Mantle....I would rather have a switchhitting power guy to platoon or late-innning situations - he would be able to bat with the odds in his favor against any pitcher the opposing team would bring in.

As for Larkin - I don't even think he is the 2nd best SS to play for one team behind Ripken, I think that would go to Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks....

Quick mention about the pitchers - Walter Johnson was "the Bob Gibson" of his time....all Bob did was what Walter was doing years before....they were both dominant, fastball pitchers.
I hope the voters aren't voting just because of what Jackie did off the field, his on the field numbers ONLY are what should be considered here, it is very close to mine.