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Hall of Merit— A Look at Baseball's All-Time Best
Monday, November 12, 2007
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1. John (You Can Call Me Grandma) Murphy Posted: November 12, 2007 at 03:21 AM (#2611887)Biggio: 1515 games, .297/.386/.441, 6.51 RC/G
Alomar: 1421 games, .308/.382/.424, 6.49 RC/G
Knoblauch 1313 games, .298/.388/.424, 6.29 RC/G
I should revisit all of those numbers, with proper park factors, and league offense level corrections - including issues involving the DH (important for comparing AL player Knoblauch with two NL players.) And consider more fully the question of defensive value. And, of course, a decade is a matter of arbitrary endpoints. (By the way, that 1515 games played in the 90's for Biggio leads all major leaguers. Of the people I took seriously for the all-decade team, Ripken was second with 1475 games, Bonds third with 1434, Alomar fourth, and Griffey fifth with 1408.) Knoblauch's value did drop precipitously when he couldn't play 2B any more.
I did decide that the best player of the decade who was an infielder and had that general offensive shape was Barry Larkin - the best SLG of the bunch, the best basestealer, and he played SS. Knoblauch was the worst - the worst baserunner, the least defensive value - but he belonged in the conversation. And I cheated my way out of deciding between Biggio and Alomar by moving Biggio to 3B.
Alomar: 1421 games, .308/.382/.424, 6.49 RC/G
Knoblauch 1313 games, .298/.388/.424, 6.29 RC/G
That's a pretty good crop of second baseman. Is there an era that can rival that?
The rumors I heard in NYC was that Knoblauch was very close to his father, and had a great deal of difficulty dealing with his death (1999).
I think there may have been a divorce in addition to the loss of his father.
My guess would be that as a hitter he peaked at 27, was a decent hitter for a few years after that, and was pretty much washed up by his thirties. He had two very good years for the Yankees after he arrived in the Bronx, really making that 1998-99 bunch into a very great team -- not that he was a great player anymore, but that he could get on base at a Crosetti-like clip, and middle infielders who can do that are thin on the ground.
The throwing yips were something else, obviously, a total mental block, and indeed might have had something to do with family problems, but not with playing in New York per se.
Alomar 56 56 44 42 25 24 20 11 8 4
Biggio 81 68 51 45 41 39 34 29 17 3
Knblch 59 42 35 26 24 18 10 9 -5
Doyle 59 48 44 34 30 25 20 18 15 12
Wow - Biggio stands out a lot further than I thought he would. Of course, both Alomar and Biggio have contributions from outside this decade; Knoblauch not so much.
Chuck was very good in 1999 and that year would certainly be in the conversation about "best Yankee 2B season in 30 years" along with Willie Randolph's 1985, for instance. But even before he developed the throwing yip, Knobby's fielding wasn't what it had been, and he didn't have the speedy turf to help boost his singles and doubles output. I think Soriano in 2002 (much more power, offsetting poorer fielding) and Cano in 2007 (great fielding and slightly better power, offsetting inferior OBP) were both a shade better than Chuck's 1999.
As a Yankees fan, I recall people being impressed with his patience and the number of pitches he seemed to in every PA (if someone else has those numbers, I'd love to see them). But there was always some disappointment that the team didn't get 1995-96 Knoblauch. Of course, that was an unsustainable peak, but Chuck was SO good those years -- higher WARP3 than any two seasons that, say, David Justice produced. It's really too bad he had to move off 2B, but then it's generally not a position that engenders long careers (barring exceptions like Joe Morgan).
agreed - he was one of the peskiest hitters I've ever seen. Never mind his terrific eye and contact abilities, but he was so short and had such a hunched-over stance, I would argue he had the smallest strike zone in the game.
Save your stat macros, apostles of James. The Baseball Gods even things out.
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