Quote:
Originally Posted by cyseymour
Hehehehe, Eric, I thought that this is where you were going with your little gambit. To get me to choose a guy and then have them tee off against each other. Well, I am very confident that Eddie Plank had the better career.
I am not talking about one game, one year, or who did what, when or how. Joe Wood, in his prime, may have been better than Plank. But his prime did not last very long. Tragically, he got injured, but it happens all the time.
Well, if you don't want to count longevity, then maybe Louis Sockalexis was one of the top 30 players of pre WWII. But I don't believe he was, because it is all about what you do on the field, and that means that how long you last means something.
So if I were a manager, to answer your question, and a rookie Joe Wood and a rookie Eddie Plank were both in spring training, and I could only take one of them on the team, and I already knew how their final stats would end out, I would go with Plank, because he had the best career. And that is what we are talking about here.
Now, if Joe Wood hadn't gotten injured, he would have been one of the top 30 pre-WWII players. And if Rick Ankiel hadn't lost his mind, he would have been one of the greatest pitchers of the 21st century. And if my aunt had balls...
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Cy,
Interesting post.
It does have me leaning towards Plank, though. I looked more closely into his career numbers and what you say makes quite a bit of sense. In fact, I have read through this thread again and will freely admit that you seem to have a much better grasp on statistics than I.
Back to Plank...wow!
Debuted at 25 years of age
326 wins
.627 winning percentage
2.35 ERA.
69 shutouts
410 complete games
1.119 WHIP
Having said that, there is one thing keeping me from coming over to your side on this topic. I would truly appreciate having the opportunity to view your top 30. I didn't find it upon re-reading, although it is possible that I missed it.
Thanks for entertaining this discussion, and I sincerely look forward to your reply.
Have a tremendous evening.
Best Regards,
Eric