Quote:
Originally Posted by rats60
Sorry, I disagree. Wagner & Davis .940. Tinker and Wallace .938. Dahlen .927. I don't put too much weight on fielding percentage, but that is too big a gap. He was marginally better getting to balls based on assists, but why? Did his pitchers throw more ground balls? We just don't know. Over a 162 game average he fielded about 3 more balls than Davis, 11 more than Wallace and 30 more than Tinker. Those really aren't enough to make up for extra errors he made.
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Here's the logical fallacy I find in your argument, and I'll spell it out for you.
Assists
Led his league in 1895, 1900, 1903
Second in 1904, 1908
Third in 1898, 1901, 1902
Fifth in 1896, 1905, 1906
8,138 fourth all time.
Defensive games at SS
Led in 1900, 1902, 1903
Third in 1895, 1906, 1907
Fourth in 1901, 1904, 1905, 1908
Fifth in 1898
2,133 total is good enough still for 12th all time.
Putouts at SS
Second in 1898
Third in 1900, 1903, 1908
Fourth in 1895, 1896, 1901, 1902
Fifth in 1904, 1905
Factor- 4,856 for second all time.
Assists as SS
Led in 1895, 1900, 1903, 1904
Second in 1902, 1908
Third in 1898
Fourth in 1895, 1905, 1906
Fifth in 1907
Total - 7,505 for fourth all time
Double plays turned as SS
Led in 1898, 1904, 1908
Second in 1895, 1903
Third in 1896, 1900, 1901
Fifth in 1905
Total - 881 for 55th All time. Higher than Tinker.
Range Factor/9 inning as shortstop
Led in 1893, 1894, 1898, 1908
Second in 1895, 1897, 1900, 1904
Third in 1901, 1903
Fifth in 1896, 1905
Range Factor/Game as SS
Led in 1893, 1894, 1897, 1908
Second in 1895, 1896, 1898, 1900, 1904
Third in 1901
Fourth in 1903
Fifth in 1905
Total - 5.80, sixth all time, Tinker is 19th.
Tinker did lead his league in fielding percentage as a shortstop four times, Dahlen only once, but also finished second six more times.
To be fair, Dahlen did commit more errors, but he played more than a decade before Tinker debuted and is still top 100 in games played, plus much of those errors were before the turn of the century and he made fewer later on in his career.
John McGraw called trading for Dahlen the best he ever made.
Dahlen not only should be in the HOF, he was a much better defender than you give him credit for.