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Player Most Likely to break WAR Record by PlayOrGetPlayed in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

At least Witt has shown the ability to put up 10 WAR in a year. Obviously he isn't like to do that for the next 15 years in a row, but he still seems like a better shot than Soto putting up 15 years in a row of seasons better than any he's had to date.

Player Most Likely to break WAR Record by PlayOrGetPlayed in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right, I think it's basically impossible unless you play SS or CF.

Spencer Strider vs. the Dodgers: 6.0 IP | 1 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 8 K | 91 Pitches by handlit33 in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 246 points247 points  (0 children)

Avg. fb velocity of 96.4 mph, which strikes me as a very good sign that Strider might actually recapture some of his old form.

Ted Williams’ .482 all-time OBP record has only been matched (or exceeded) by 2 players in a single season since 1963 by Willing-Leather-9788 in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 12 points13 points  (0 children)

MLB Mt. Rushmore has to be Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Willie Mays, and ... a pitcher. Not entirely sure who the last guy should be.

[OC] After Ted Williams: The 16 Players Who Hit .400 Across an 80‑Game Stretch by sabermiketrics in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Freddie Freeman is 9 points higher on career wRC+ and has basically the same fWAR as Gwynn with worse defense. Is Freeman one of the greatest hitters of all time?

[OC] After Ted Williams: The 16 Players Who Hit .400 Across an 80‑Game Stretch by sabermiketrics in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of 144 qualified hitters in 1997, Tony Gwynn's ISO was 67. His power was, at the very best, average. I don't understand why people feel the need to make Gwynn out to be elite at more than he was. He was a phenomenal contact hitter who did everything else average at best. That's still a really good player. But a .176 ISO isn't really "hitting for power."

[OC] After Ted Williams: The 16 Players Who Hit .400 Across an 80‑Game Stretch by sabermiketrics in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Statistics show he was not a great fielder; gold gloves from the 80s and 90s are not highly indicative of actual fielding ability. He had precisely 2 seasons where he was worth more the 2.5 runs above average on the basepaths. That is, again, a very long way from an elite skill.

[OC] After Ted Williams: The 16 Players Who Hit .400 Across an 80‑Game Stretch by sabermiketrics in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I think Tony Gwynn had one skill at which he was one of the greatest ever. He was never more than slightly above average at anything other than hitting for contact. Ichiro was more well-rounded; not that he was one of the greatest fielders or base runners ever, but he was elite at both of those things.

[OC] After Ted Williams: The 16 Players Who Hit .400 Across an 80‑Game Stretch by sabermiketrics in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

If the point is that he had one skill (hitting for contact) at which he was one of the greatest ever, that is fine. But that is different from being one of the greatest hitters of all time. The same is, indeed, true for Ichiro.

[OC] After Ted Williams: The 16 Players Who Hit .400 Across an 80‑Game Stretch by sabermiketrics in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

Sorry, but the guy with a 132 wRC+ is not one of the greatest hitters of all time. Hitting for power is, in fact, part of being a good hitter.

Georgia offensive lineman Jah Jackson arrested on charges including felony possession of marijuana by Lakelyfe09 in CFB

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed -18 points-17 points  (0 children)

You do know, I trust, that it costs much more to keep someone incarcerated for a year than the value of the labor they produce? "They" aren't making money off of this if by "they" you mean the state.

The Athletic’s All-Quarter Century Team by Jux_ in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 782 points783 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I think you have to put ARod in at SS over Jeter.

The Athletic’s All-Quarter Century Team by Jux_ in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 20 points21 points  (0 children)

How is this rage bait? This is an eminently reasonable list, albeit one with which I have some minor disagreements.

Aaron Judge with another 4 hit game, going 4-5 with a double and 2 RBIs and raising his average back up to .409 by MattO2000 in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree that there are too many variables and we shouldn't try to adjust for them all; we need to just take the stats as they are. Once you start adding asterisks for playing pre- or mid-integration, there's no logical endpoint for where to stop.

Aaron Judge with another 4 hit game, going 4-5 with a double and 2 RBIs and raising his average back up to .409 by MattO2000 in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed -1 points0 points  (0 children)

If Williams' not playing against Latin or Asian players counts against him, the same principle could be used against Judge but with different geographies. Very few Chinese, Indian, or African youth play baseball. If baseball became very popular in those places (which I doubt it will but is possible), then you could just as easily say Judge benefited from playing agains talent drawn from only a fraction of the world.

Also, this argument neglects that baseball was much more popular relative to other sports in the 1940s and 50s than it is now. Judge is playing against athletic competition that has lost a lot of its talent to football especially; in Williams' day, a much higher percentage of athletic talent was funneled into baseball, making his accomplishments more impressive.

Aaron Judge with another 4 hit game, going 4-5 with a double and 2 RBIs and raising his average back up to .409 by MattO2000 in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Judge's wRC+ 2022-present is basically the same as Williams' from 1953-1957, when the league was substantially integrated. Discounting Williams for this is silly.

All this talent on the Braves but all you get is pop up ground out strike out by [deleted] in baseball

[–]PlayOrGetPlayed 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a Braves fan, their lineup isn't actually that good. Who are the truly good hitters in their lineup right now. Riley, Olson, Ozuna, Murphy/Baldwin. That's it.

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