Post by sansterre - Milwaukee Brewers on Mar 30, 2019 20:49:28 GMT -5
Let's start things off with Billy Herman! Herman came up with the Cubs in 1931 at age 21 and played with them for ten years, before being traded to the Dodgers in 1941. World War II consumed his age 34 and 35 year old seasons but afterwards he came back and played two more years. He made ten All-Star games over his career, demonstrated a quality glove at +55 runs and put up an OPS+ of 112 over 8638 plate appearances. His final JONS (slightly bumped for missing two seasons to World War II) is 33.0.
His low-ish (for this building and position) OPS+ contradicts his career batting line of 304/367/407. Just remember that offense from the early 20s through the 30s was fairly out of control. In 1935 for example he hit 341 (his highest mark), but 277 was league average that year and the NL leader finished at 383. He was a good hitter (five top tens in AVG) but not quite as good as a career 304 AVG looks like. He had other skills; he had decent patience for the era with three seasons in the top ten in walks and eleven seasons in the top ten for doubles. It was well that he had good doubles power because he hit only 47 home runs in his entire career. Herman was a good contact hitter with excellent gap power, decent patience, a good glove and no home run power. He had several very nice seasons, specifically a three-year peak from ages 25-27 where he put up 6.9, 6.8 and 5.7 WAR seasons. He was a high-quality second baseman for his era.
Playing around the same time, the "silent captain" of the Red Sox, Bobby Doerr! Doerr actually broke into the majors at 19 in 1937 with the Red Sox. He played with them through 1944, missed 1945 (on account of the war), and played until 1951, when he retired due to spinal problems at the surprisingly young age of 33. Doerr was pretty comparable to Herman, with a slightly worse glove (+43), a slightly better bat (115 OPS+), slightly shorter career (8028 PA) and one fewer All-Star game (9). Doerr was never dominant but routinely excellent, from age 24 to 31 putting up six 5+ WAR seasons in seven years (not counting 1945 because he was otherwise engaged). His final JONS of 32.2 gets a bump for the fact that his missing year was right in his prime. Doerr's bat was a little more diverse than Hermans. While only a 288 hitter (respectable but not great in those days), he walked slightly more than Herman and had considerably more power, with nine seasons in the top ten of extra base hits and seven seasons in the top ten of home runs. Who knows what might have happened in a more home-run friendly era, with medical science sufficient to prevent his retirement?
Playing three plus decades later, Willie Randolph! Randolph is, to my mind, wildly underrated. His JONS of 35.9 is the second highest in the Honorable Mention section at his position, yet he gets little love historically. And even that's strange, as he played with the Yankees for most of his career (ages 21-33, from 1976-1988). He won a Silver Slugger, made six All-Star games and even won a ring (in 1977). Much of his lack of respect, I'd imagine, arises from his bat. Simply put, he was only a decent hitter and the worst hitter in this building at second base. He has a 104 OPS+ over 9,461 plate appearances, meaning he was just barely better than a league average hitter. While he was a respectable contact hitter (276 career average), and walked a ton (eight top tens in walks, six in OBP) he had limited power, hitting only 54 home runs in his career and never breaking the top ten in doubles, finishing with a slugging of 351 (lower than his OBP of 373). What he did have going for him was excellent base-running (271 steals, only 94 caught, with +33 runs) and an extraordinary glove, worth +114 runs (the third highest total for second basemen in this building). These two skills added enough value to actually make him quite good. He had a distinctive 6.6 WAR peak year (294/427/407 line, +11 runs from fielding and running). He had three seasons in the 5 WAR range and six seasons in the 4 WAR range. In other words, he was worth 4+ WAR ten times during his career, which is quite good. He just did it without the two skills that grab the most attention; home runs and batting average.
A little later, a career built almost totally of peak value, Chuck Knoblauch! He broke into the majors in 1991 at the age of 22 and played seven seasons with the Twins before being traded to the Yankees, where he was part of their late 90s juggernaut. He retired early at 2002 at the age of 33. Knoblauch won a variety of awards: a Rookie of the Year, two Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, four All-Star games and four rings (one with the Twins, three with the Yankees). He finished his career with an OPS+ of 106 over 7387 plate appearances, +26 runs with his glove and +45 runs as a runner. His JONS is right on the borderline, at 30.1.
It's an unusual combination of factors; how can a hitter play for a short career, have a low OPS+ and only a decent glove? Part of it is the running; he stole 407 bases and only got caught 117 times. But much of is the fact that he was very good for a narrow window of time; from age 31 on he was close to replacement level. But from age 23 to age 30 he had an 8.7 WAR year, two 6's, along with a 5 and a 4. In terms of total WAR he wasn't particularly good, but no other honorable mention had 22+ WAR between his best three seasons. A career 289/378/406 hitter, he had good contact, good patience and good gap power. At his peak he was a 300/400/500 second baseman who played solid defense and stole 45 bases a year. It didn't last long, but at his best Chuck Knoblauch was damned good.
Speaking of short careers, the best of the Honorable Mention second basemen, Chase Utley! Utley didn't break into the majors until 24, didn't win a starting job until he was 26, yet had a remarkable career in spite of this. Playing with the Phillies for most of his career, he won a Gold Glove, four All-Stars, finished with an OPS+ of 128 in 7148 plate appearances and a JONS of 38.2. After our time with the first basemen an OPS+ of 128 may not seem that good, but for a second baseman it is. In fact, it is considered average for a second baseman in this building, better than any Honorable Mention or Bronze second basemen, and one silver. Some could argue that this is fueled by his low career plate appearances (high PA tend to mean getting lots of at bats either when very young or very old, and so drag the average level of performance down). It is true, Utley has fewer PA's than any second baseman in this building besides Jackie Robinson. But he sure could hit.
And yet, at what was Chase Utley so remarkable? His top tens are diverse: one batting average, two doubles, one triple, one home runs, eight hit by pitch, three on-base percentage, two slugging. Aside from being hit by pitch (in which he led the league three times) there was no one dominant skill. Yet these combine for four top tens in Runs Created and five in Offensive WAR. He was a career 277/377/476 hitter, which is damned good for a second baseman. His set of quality skills and no weaknesses combine to actually be very capable. But he excelled in every other area of the game as well. His baserunning was worth +69 runs, the third highest total for second basemen in this building. And his glove worth +124 over his career, including an astounding +117 in his first seven years. Put all of these together and they combine for a 9 WAR, two 8s, three 7s and two 5s. Make no mistake, Chase Utley was one of the top five players in the NL for five straight years. His career fizzled by his early 30s as his glove work regressed, but at his peak Chase Utley was one of the very best. The only thing keeping him from Bronze is how narrow his peak is. It is a shame; because of how diverse his skills were nobody in his time realized how good he was.
***This is your friendly writer. The above is the PBL Utley; the real Utley kept his value up longer. At least on the basis of JONS, the real Utley has a 46.3, which is easily in the Bronze range. By the numbers, real Utley should be a no-brainer in Cooperstown. Alas.***
A contemporary with a similar skill set, Dustin Pedroia! Pedroia came up for the Red Sox in 2006 at 22 and became a mainstay of their lineup, putting up 5+ WAR four times by age 31. Afterwards he played for another of other teams at a solid level, with another 4+ years. A good fielder (+57 runs) he averaged an OPS+ of 111 over 9857 plate appearances and finished with a JONS of 31.5. He won an MVP, a Rookie of the Year, two Gold Gloves, six All-Stars and one ring. Pedroia walked an average amount and hit for modest home run power (198 over his career). His two strengths were doubles (544 career) and hitting for average (retiring as a career 296 hitter, with five times in the top ten). This is primarily a product of exceptional bat control; he struck out on only 8.2% of his at-bats, which is an exceptionally low number. Unfortunately, his lack of dominant power or patience placed a serious limit to his peak. Consider his 2008 season, for which he won an MVP (finishing 2nd in WAR to Nick Markakis). That year he hit 326/376/493 and added 13 runs with his glove, for a total WAR of 6.9. The 326 batting average is impressive, but it's only an OPS+ of 123, because hitting in Fenway certainly helped him (that year at home he hit 344/393/519, away just 309/359/468). And without walks and home runs, it's really hard to get to 7+ WAR, even with a good glove playing second base. He was a scrapper, just 5'9'', and defied expectations his whole career.
Starting his career around the time Pedroia retired, Duncan Macias! Macias came up with Toronto at 23 in 2023 and played with them for most of his career, retiring in 2037 at age 37. He averaged a 117 OPS+ over 8020 plate appearances, making five All-Star games and ending his career with a JONS of 31.5. His glove was average, his bat quality but not overwhelming. He finished top ten in average twice, top ten in walks three times, finishing with a line of 275/351/423 and showed limited gap power but did hit 265 home runs. It's not a terribly impressive resume, so how does he end up here? From ages 26 to 30 (2026-2030) he hit leadoff for the Blue Jays, missed no time to injuries, appeared in 155+ games each year and hit an average of 293/373/465, putting up WARS of 6.1, 6.4, 7.2, 6.4 and 5.0. For that five year stretch he was an excellent player, and a run of years like that merits an Honorable Mention, if nothing else. Interesting tidbit: Macias was terrible in the postseason. In 2033 plate appearances he hit 201/263/262.
Well, that's it for Honorable Mention second basemen! Up next, before you ask me "Who's on third?" (the answer, technically is "I don't know") it's time for some history. Welcoming to the dawn of the century, the History of 1901-1909!
His low-ish (for this building and position) OPS+ contradicts his career batting line of 304/367/407. Just remember that offense from the early 20s through the 30s was fairly out of control. In 1935 for example he hit 341 (his highest mark), but 277 was league average that year and the NL leader finished at 383. He was a good hitter (five top tens in AVG) but not quite as good as a career 304 AVG looks like. He had other skills; he had decent patience for the era with three seasons in the top ten in walks and eleven seasons in the top ten for doubles. It was well that he had good doubles power because he hit only 47 home runs in his entire career. Herman was a good contact hitter with excellent gap power, decent patience, a good glove and no home run power. He had several very nice seasons, specifically a three-year peak from ages 25-27 where he put up 6.9, 6.8 and 5.7 WAR seasons. He was a high-quality second baseman for his era.
Playing around the same time, the "silent captain" of the Red Sox, Bobby Doerr! Doerr actually broke into the majors at 19 in 1937 with the Red Sox. He played with them through 1944, missed 1945 (on account of the war), and played until 1951, when he retired due to spinal problems at the surprisingly young age of 33. Doerr was pretty comparable to Herman, with a slightly worse glove (+43), a slightly better bat (115 OPS+), slightly shorter career (8028 PA) and one fewer All-Star game (9). Doerr was never dominant but routinely excellent, from age 24 to 31 putting up six 5+ WAR seasons in seven years (not counting 1945 because he was otherwise engaged). His final JONS of 32.2 gets a bump for the fact that his missing year was right in his prime. Doerr's bat was a little more diverse than Hermans. While only a 288 hitter (respectable but not great in those days), he walked slightly more than Herman and had considerably more power, with nine seasons in the top ten of extra base hits and seven seasons in the top ten of home runs. Who knows what might have happened in a more home-run friendly era, with medical science sufficient to prevent his retirement?
Playing three plus decades later, Willie Randolph! Randolph is, to my mind, wildly underrated. His JONS of 35.9 is the second highest in the Honorable Mention section at his position, yet he gets little love historically. And even that's strange, as he played with the Yankees for most of his career (ages 21-33, from 1976-1988). He won a Silver Slugger, made six All-Star games and even won a ring (in 1977). Much of his lack of respect, I'd imagine, arises from his bat. Simply put, he was only a decent hitter and the worst hitter in this building at second base. He has a 104 OPS+ over 9,461 plate appearances, meaning he was just barely better than a league average hitter. While he was a respectable contact hitter (276 career average), and walked a ton (eight top tens in walks, six in OBP) he had limited power, hitting only 54 home runs in his career and never breaking the top ten in doubles, finishing with a slugging of 351 (lower than his OBP of 373). What he did have going for him was excellent base-running (271 steals, only 94 caught, with +33 runs) and an extraordinary glove, worth +114 runs (the third highest total for second basemen in this building). These two skills added enough value to actually make him quite good. He had a distinctive 6.6 WAR peak year (294/427/407 line, +11 runs from fielding and running). He had three seasons in the 5 WAR range and six seasons in the 4 WAR range. In other words, he was worth 4+ WAR ten times during his career, which is quite good. He just did it without the two skills that grab the most attention; home runs and batting average.
A little later, a career built almost totally of peak value, Chuck Knoblauch! He broke into the majors in 1991 at the age of 22 and played seven seasons with the Twins before being traded to the Yankees, where he was part of their late 90s juggernaut. He retired early at 2002 at the age of 33. Knoblauch won a variety of awards: a Rookie of the Year, two Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove, four All-Star games and four rings (one with the Twins, three with the Yankees). He finished his career with an OPS+ of 106 over 7387 plate appearances, +26 runs with his glove and +45 runs as a runner. His JONS is right on the borderline, at 30.1.
It's an unusual combination of factors; how can a hitter play for a short career, have a low OPS+ and only a decent glove? Part of it is the running; he stole 407 bases and only got caught 117 times. But much of is the fact that he was very good for a narrow window of time; from age 31 on he was close to replacement level. But from age 23 to age 30 he had an 8.7 WAR year, two 6's, along with a 5 and a 4. In terms of total WAR he wasn't particularly good, but no other honorable mention had 22+ WAR between his best three seasons. A career 289/378/406 hitter, he had good contact, good patience and good gap power. At his peak he was a 300/400/500 second baseman who played solid defense and stole 45 bases a year. It didn't last long, but at his best Chuck Knoblauch was damned good.
Speaking of short careers, the best of the Honorable Mention second basemen, Chase Utley! Utley didn't break into the majors until 24, didn't win a starting job until he was 26, yet had a remarkable career in spite of this. Playing with the Phillies for most of his career, he won a Gold Glove, four All-Stars, finished with an OPS+ of 128 in 7148 plate appearances and a JONS of 38.2. After our time with the first basemen an OPS+ of 128 may not seem that good, but for a second baseman it is. In fact, it is considered average for a second baseman in this building, better than any Honorable Mention or Bronze second basemen, and one silver. Some could argue that this is fueled by his low career plate appearances (high PA tend to mean getting lots of at bats either when very young or very old, and so drag the average level of performance down). It is true, Utley has fewer PA's than any second baseman in this building besides Jackie Robinson. But he sure could hit.
And yet, at what was Chase Utley so remarkable? His top tens are diverse: one batting average, two doubles, one triple, one home runs, eight hit by pitch, three on-base percentage, two slugging. Aside from being hit by pitch (in which he led the league three times) there was no one dominant skill. Yet these combine for four top tens in Runs Created and five in Offensive WAR. He was a career 277/377/476 hitter, which is damned good for a second baseman. His set of quality skills and no weaknesses combine to actually be very capable. But he excelled in every other area of the game as well. His baserunning was worth +69 runs, the third highest total for second basemen in this building. And his glove worth +124 over his career, including an astounding +117 in his first seven years. Put all of these together and they combine for a 9 WAR, two 8s, three 7s and two 5s. Make no mistake, Chase Utley was one of the top five players in the NL for five straight years. His career fizzled by his early 30s as his glove work regressed, but at his peak Chase Utley was one of the very best. The only thing keeping him from Bronze is how narrow his peak is. It is a shame; because of how diverse his skills were nobody in his time realized how good he was.
***This is your friendly writer. The above is the PBL Utley; the real Utley kept his value up longer. At least on the basis of JONS, the real Utley has a 46.3, which is easily in the Bronze range. By the numbers, real Utley should be a no-brainer in Cooperstown. Alas.***
A contemporary with a similar skill set, Dustin Pedroia! Pedroia came up for the Red Sox in 2006 at 22 and became a mainstay of their lineup, putting up 5+ WAR four times by age 31. Afterwards he played for another of other teams at a solid level, with another 4+ years. A good fielder (+57 runs) he averaged an OPS+ of 111 over 9857 plate appearances and finished with a JONS of 31.5. He won an MVP, a Rookie of the Year, two Gold Gloves, six All-Stars and one ring. Pedroia walked an average amount and hit for modest home run power (198 over his career). His two strengths were doubles (544 career) and hitting for average (retiring as a career 296 hitter, with five times in the top ten). This is primarily a product of exceptional bat control; he struck out on only 8.2% of his at-bats, which is an exceptionally low number. Unfortunately, his lack of dominant power or patience placed a serious limit to his peak. Consider his 2008 season, for which he won an MVP (finishing 2nd in WAR to Nick Markakis). That year he hit 326/376/493 and added 13 runs with his glove, for a total WAR of 6.9. The 326 batting average is impressive, but it's only an OPS+ of 123, because hitting in Fenway certainly helped him (that year at home he hit 344/393/519, away just 309/359/468). And without walks and home runs, it's really hard to get to 7+ WAR, even with a good glove playing second base. He was a scrapper, just 5'9'', and defied expectations his whole career.
Starting his career around the time Pedroia retired, Duncan Macias! Macias came up with Toronto at 23 in 2023 and played with them for most of his career, retiring in 2037 at age 37. He averaged a 117 OPS+ over 8020 plate appearances, making five All-Star games and ending his career with a JONS of 31.5. His glove was average, his bat quality but not overwhelming. He finished top ten in average twice, top ten in walks three times, finishing with a line of 275/351/423 and showed limited gap power but did hit 265 home runs. It's not a terribly impressive resume, so how does he end up here? From ages 26 to 30 (2026-2030) he hit leadoff for the Blue Jays, missed no time to injuries, appeared in 155+ games each year and hit an average of 293/373/465, putting up WARS of 6.1, 6.4, 7.2, 6.4 and 5.0. For that five year stretch he was an excellent player, and a run of years like that merits an Honorable Mention, if nothing else. Interesting tidbit: Macias was terrible in the postseason. In 2033 plate appearances he hit 201/263/262.
Well, that's it for Honorable Mention second basemen! Up next, before you ask me "Who's on third?" (the answer, technically is "I don't know") it's time for some history. Welcoming to the dawn of the century, the History of 1901-1909!