Greatest Five Year Stretch in a Career

[packs]

Albert never hit 50 or drove in 140 runs in a season. Griffey hit 50 two years in a row and drove in 140 runs THREE years in a row.

I should also mention the years Griffey didn't hit 50 in that 5 year stretch he hit 49, 48, and 40. The years he didn't drive in 140 he drove in 134 and 118.

He kills Albert. Especially when you also factor in Griffey won 4 Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers while also winning one MVP compared to Albert's one Gold Glove, two Silver Sluggers and one MVP.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Compare the OPS. Compare the slugging percentage. Look at the batting average. I would take Albert, and I love Griffey.

[Mikehealer]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Compare the OPS. Compare the slugging percentage. Look at the batting average. I would take Albert, and I love Griffey.

You would be in good shape with either, but my goodness does defense not count at all.

[packs]

I'm taking Griffey everyday but you can't lose with either player.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Albert won a couple of gold gloves no? Granted, Griffey has the edge there. As I said, far be it from me to knock Griffey, he was the best player of the 90s, and Albert was the best player of the 00s.

[Mikehealer]

I agree both were two of the best, I just think defense gets overlooked a great deal in these type of discussions. And they have to give those gold gloves to someone at 1st base.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by Mikehealer

I agree both were two of the best, I just think defense gets overlooked a great deal in these type of discussions. And they have to give those gold gloves to someone at 1st base.

yeah I remember someone won one a year he played very few games at first, who was that, palmeiro maybe? EDIT TO ADD yep, looked it up, 1999 he played 28 games at first, rest at DH, won the gold glove, too funny

[BradH]

Debates like this are one of the great things about baseball and its history. There is obviously no perfect or correct answer, but it’s fun and there are so many great choices.

Griffey is not just one of the greats of his generation, but of all-time. BUT WITH THAT SAID….I’d take Pujols in his prime (say 2002-2010) any day of the week, simply because of how he changed the way opposing managers and pitchers defended a game, always thinking about him coming up to bat again and trying to minimize the damage that he'd surely produce. I never heard that or witnessed it with Griffey.

Originally Posted by packs

Albert never hit 50 or drove in 140 runs in a season. Griffey hit 50 two years in a row and drove in 140 runs THREE years in a row.

I should also mention the years Griffey didn't hit 50 in that 5 year stretch he hit 49, 48, and 40. The years he didn't drive in 140 he drove in 134 and 118.

He kills Albert. Especially when you also factor in Griffey won 4 Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers while also winning one MVP compared to Albert's one Gold Glove, two Silver Sluggers and one MVP.

In the five-year spans mentioned by previous posters, Pujols just happened to be playing in the same league as Barry Bonds, who was making and breaking home run history each year, and MVP voters are enthralled by homers. Pujols was also only in his second year in the league in 2002. Griffey was THE STAR of his league by 1996.

Yet, let's look at the MVP voting for those years mentioned:
Albert’s finishes in the NL MVP race those years (2002-06): 2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 2nd

Ken’s finishes in the voting for his years (1996-2000): 4th, 1st, 4th, 10th, no votes

Albert finished in the top three in MVP voting each season of his five-year span. I understand that Griffey moved to the NL in 2000, but I don't see how a player literally receives NO MVP VOTES in one year of a "great" five-year span and have that be considered one of the best ever (?). I mean, Richard Hidalgo had votes that year. Antonio Alfonseca, twelve fingers and all, even had a vote. But Griffey had none.

Griffey finished with four Silver Slugger Awards in that span and Pujols had two I believe.

Griffey was an amazing defender, but I don’t give any credence to the Gold Glove Award (those of you on the board who I’ve discussed this with in the past know my feelings that it is the most flawed and worst representation of true excellence of any award in the history of the game).

Again, no correct answers, and I can't really argue too hard against Griffey's five-year span, I'm just saying there is was more to Pujols than the power numbers and his stats are way deeper than Griffey's, in my humble opinion.

[irishdenny]

The Train was Awesome...
BiG SiX wasn't holding anything back from 1904 to 1908:

Avg wins 29.4
ERA 1.52

And HiS Next 5 years He Never went over 2.06
I wish I was around when these Guys were Mowin' them Down

[BradH]

Originally Posted by irishdenny

The Train was Awesome...
BiG SiX wasn't holding anything back from 1904 to 1908:

Avg wins 29.4
ERA 1.52

This might be the winner...Amazing numbers.

Originally Posted by irishdenny

I wish I was around when these Guys were Mowin' them Down

I will second that sentiment also - how awesome would be to go back in time and sit in the stands to watch Johnson, Mathewson, Cobb, Wagner ....

Also, I wasn't saying in my previous post that I think Pujols had the best five-year span ever, I was simply trying to say that I thought his was better than the span nominated for Griffey.

Ted Williams 1941-45: he hit .406 in '41 & .356 in '42 and served his country from '43-'45. Not much more to say about that.

[Mark]

1918 .341 .400 .440 .841

1919 .352 .390 .530 .921

1920 .407 .449 .632 1.082

1921 .371 .411 .560 .971

1922 .420 .467 .594 1.061

what makes George Sisler's numbers so impressive is that 1918 and 1919 did not feature the "live" ball.

[alanu]

Gretzky in Edmonton

[novakjr]

I think you guys might have the wrong Albert....(let's try Belle).

1993 G-159 .290/370/552 38/HR 129/RBI 96/R 36/2B
1994 G-106 .357/438/714 36/HR 101/RBI 90/R 35/2B
1995 G-143 .317/401/690 50/HR 126/RBI 121/R 52/2B
1996 G-158 .311/410/623 48/HR 148/RBI 124/R 38/2B
1997 G-161 .274/332/491 30/HR 116/RBI 90/R 45/2B
1998 G-163 .328/399/655 49/HR 152/RBI 113/R 48/2B
1999 G-161 .297/400/541 37/HR 117/RBI 108/R 36/2B

OK, I listed 7 years to account for the 2 strike shortened seasons in '94 and '95...Although the stats would've still been pretty profound for a full season..Plus the down year in '97, with numbers that most teams would still take any year..

Still hard to believe he didn't win the MVP in '95...Numbers were also possibly good enough to win it in '94, '96 and '98 as well..But alas, he was a very well hated guy..

Pitchingwise. My vote has to go to Koufax.