Name - OPS+
Northrop - 129
Horton - 165
Kaline - 146
Stanley - 102
Oyler - 20
Now let us imagine we possess common sense and this isn’t about advocating Clemente. Who do we think they’re trying to cut out of the lineup? Who do we think the clear choices to start are?
Kaline played less games because he missed two months with a broken arm. The change was done to get Oyler, notorious as a great glove but possibly the worst hitter in the majors, out of the lineup. Even adjusting for the year of the pitcher, Oyler was 80% below the league average, an astounding figure that is rarely seen.
A guy hitting .287 in the 1968 AL would finish fourth in the batting race. Kaline had a great season. As he had every year since 1955. He is obviously not going to be kept out of the lineup.
The arguments presented for Clemente, mostly factually wrong or incredibly emotional, are not compelling.
Disclaimer for those who get triggered at any dissent to the narrative: Clemente was a great player and one of the few athletes I would uphold as an example of human virtue, a man I would consider admirable as a man and not an athlete. To say another player was a hair better is not an insult. To say he is overrated is not an insult. Objective reality is often not what we desire it to be, it is not personal or insulting to be cognizant of it.
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