Quote:
Originally Posted by packs
Advanced stats love Hernandez but I don't see any meaningful argument that if you were considering peaks, his was better than Mattingly's. Mattingly was the best player in baseball, a proto Albert Pujols. No one has ever said that about Keith Hernandez.
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I don't think anyone is saying Mattingly didn't have some better years than Hernandez at his very peak. The issue is Mattingly only had 3 amazing years (1984-86), 3 good years (1987-89), and then not much.
Hernandez had 3 amazing years, 2 great years, 4 good years, and a few decent years. Remember, Hernandez had 3 top 5 MVP finishes (including his win), and got MVP votes 6 other times.
It doesn't hurt that Hernandez was a key player on World Series winning teams in two different cities. Mattingly played on some great Yankees teams, but played in a single playoff series (which he played great in, but they lost).
Growing up in the NY suburbs, I loved Mattingly. I still remember the day I got his Rookie Card when I was 8 years old--my first big baseball card purchase (not a great investment). I didn't see Hernandez's best days. But its hard not to see Hernandez' value.