Quote:
Originally Posted by Aquarian Sports Cards
That's because you're still hung up over only the traditional numbers. Morgan hit into a total of (without double checking) 5 double plays in those 2 seasons. He stole about 130 bases at an 85% clip and I imagine he stretched a lot of extra bases as a runner, tagging up going to third on a single etc.
Combine that with gold glove caliber defense (In 1975) at a premium position with excellent range vs Ted whose range was what was hit right at him and what Dom could get to in left field and I imagine that Joe was worth more wins to his team in 1975 than Ted in his best season.
Look at it this way. Ted's OWAR was often higher than his WAR. Joe's only was in the second half of his career (amazingly beginning in 1976 which would explain the drop in his total WAR for what appears to be an offensively superior season)
Morgan's best OWAR seasons, while impressive, don't compare with Ted's best. It's just that there's more than offense to the game.
If you want to discuss the best OFFENSIVE players of all-time might I point you in this direction:
https://www.net54baseball.com/showthread.php?t=350700 |
I'm not hung up on traditional stats. But extra base hits are waaaaaaaay more valuable than stolen bases. Ted had, for example, 368 total bases in 1949 plus 162 walks. That's 530 bases from the batter's box. Joe had 253 total bases plus 132 walks for 385 total. Give him the 67 steals and he's still nearly 100 behind Ted.
Yes, there's more than offense to the game - but offense and pitching are light years ahead of defense in terms of importance.
Joe had a great year in 1975 (and 76) but, again, 17 homers with a high OBP (.450 or higher) has been done roughly a billion times in baseball history. It's been done more than 20 times since 1949. Looks like 10 times by 2B though Baseball Reference is covering up the results for me. Yeah, what he did was really rare in 1975 - because he was a 2B. We wouldn't be having this conversation if played virtually any other position.