Clemente: Inner circle of the elite, or on his way?

[the 'stache]

Jesus H....he didn't have the stats? Why, because he didn't hit 400 home runs? Clemente said that he purposely put hitting for average above going for power because he felt it would help his team more. The Pirates somehow managed to win two World Series with him, in 1960 and 1971, against the '60 Yankees with Mantle, Maris, Ford, Berra, et all, and the '71 Orioles with four 20 game winners, Frank and Brooks Robinson. The guy had incredible power. It's been documented. He's like Ichiro in that regard. And, he played in an aircraft carrier for most of his career home games.

And that sacrificing the glory that comes with home runs for the good of the team should be commended, not dissed. That's the kind of mentality I'd love in a superstar.

The guy was a career .317 hitter. 4 batting titles, and 6 other top 5 finishes. And, he was getting better, as I'd mentioned. Last four seasons, he was a .339 hitter. Clemente could have kept going. Where would his lifetime AVG had ended up? 440 doubles and 240 home runs aren't elite. 166 triples? No player starting their career after WW II has more. Then, there's the guy's defense. Defense is half the game, and he's arguably the best to ever play the position.

Dude had 94.5 career WAR. He only played 18 seasons. If he plays 22 like Mays or Aaron, here are his career stats (and all-time rank) using his seasonal averages for his last four years, reduced by 20% for decline due to age:

10,909 AB
1,658 runs scored
3,493 hits (6th)
512 doubles
196 triples (9th)
285 home runs
1,543 RBI
5,252 total bases (15th)
.320 AVG

122 WAR (12th)

Willie Mays played 22 years, 2,992 games
Hank Aaron played 24 years, 3,298 games
Ty Cobb played 24 years, 3,034 games
Frank Robinson played 21 years 2,808 games
Stan Musial played 22 years, 3,026 games
Carl Yastrzemski played 23 years, 3,308 games

Roberto Clemente 2,433 games

A lot of the guys atop the leader boards on all-time metrics had the benefit of 400-500 more games played. Clemente died. Much of his greatest value as a player came towards the very end of his career. His game wasn't declining.

If Clemente had played 22 years, using the approximate numbers I calculated, here's how he compares against these supposedly "superior players".

WAR:
Mays 156.4
Cobb 151.0
Aaron 143.0
Musial 128.2
Clemente 122.0
Robinson 107.3
Yaz 96.4

Clemente's career WAR is comparable to Stan Musial when the games played are about the same.

Without actually projecting what Clemente might have done, let's break it down to what he did do. Games played per WAR point. (Games/WAR per BBA).

Same players:

Mays 19.13
Cobb 20.09
Aaron 23.06
Musial 23.60
Robinson 26.17
Yaz 34.31
Clemente 25.75

When total contribution is considered, Clemente's rate of WAR is better than Carl Yastrzemski and Frank Robinson. It's quite comparable to Stan Musial's rate.

Expressed another way, their average WAR per 162 games played:

Mays 8.47
Cobb 8.06
Aaron 7.03
Musial 6.86
Robinson 6.19
Yaz 4.72
Clemente 6.29

Some other greats:
Jackie Robinson 22.51 games played per WAR; 7.20 WAR per 162 games played.
Babe Ruth 15.44 G per WAR; 10.49 WAR per 162 games played.
Mel Ott 25.32 G per WAR; 6.40 WAR per 162 games played.

Again, WAR per 162 games played:
Mel Ott 6.40
Clemente 6.29

Mel Ott hit 511 career home runs. He led the league in home runs six times. Drove in 1,860 runs. And Roberto Clemente, who hit less than half his runs has almost the identical WAR/162 games played.


So, tell me again how Clemente wasn't an elite Hall of Famer?