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Originally Posted by Mark17
Your analogy is flawed because the Sistine Chapel's fame is 100% due to the skill employed by the best artisan of the day... not because it was painted. Integration is a watershed moment in baseball because somebody did it.
If Rickey chooses to make Campanella the guy to break the color line, Robinson would be a borderline HOFer. Roy won 3 MVP awards and was the better player, and that's just one example.
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Both Campanella and Jackie Robinson were amazing players, but its hard to say that Campanella was a better player than Jackie simply because he won more MVPs. In 1951, Campanella's first MVP year he had a WAR of 6.9 Guess who actually led the Natioanl League? It was Jackie with a whopping 9.7.
In 1952, Campanella's second MVP year he had a WAR of 6.8. Jackie beat him out again with 6.9.
And in 1953, Campanella's third MVP year, his war was only 5.2, tied for 12th in the National League with Ted Kluszewski and teammate Don Newcombe.
The fact is that for some reason if you were a catcher, it was easier to win MVP in the 1950s. Just look at Yogi Berra's 3 MVPs including in '51 (WAR of 5.3), '54 (WAR of 5.3) and '55 (WAR of 4.5 which was 11th in the league).
https://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/...st-mvp-winners
Its hard to think of Jackie Robinson has having been underrated as a player, but he may very well have been.
https://www.mlb.com/news/most-underrated-hall-of-famers