Who was the Greatest Magician with the Lumber?

[Mike D.]

I didn't see Carew in his prime, so can't comment.

I grew up watching Boggs, but due to the state of baseball media at the time and the whole time-zone thing, didn't see a ton of Gwynn even though they were contemporaries.

Beyond the skills at getting hits, which both had in spades, they were different in more ways than they were similar.

One was an OF. One a 3B. One played in the NL. One the AL. One on the West Coast. One on the East. One was part of the biggest rivalry in sports (on both sides). One was in somewhat forgotten San Diego.

Boggs usually batted 1st. Gwynn usually batted 3rd, I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that).

Both AVERAGED 200 or more hits per 162 games played, which is nuts.

Both hit doubles in spades, and not nearly as many HR or triples.

Gwynn averaged 21 steals per 162 games. Boggs averaged 2.

Boggs averaged 94 BB and a .415 OBP per 162. Gwynn 52 and .388.

I think the difference in BB/OBP is the key difference when talking about a "magician" with the bat.

Oddly enough, Boggs used to get a lot of bad press about the walks (taking a walk and clogging up the bases instead of "trying to win the game".) We now know that kind of talk to be mostly foolish. OBP is one of the biggest ways a player can help a team win.

Anyway, if you give credit for the walks as magicianship (AKA "knowing the strike zone"), maybe that puts Boggs ahead.

At any rate, what we can all agree on is that they were all amazing hitters and players, and awesome to watch!