Tim Kurkjian and the greatest SS's

[the 'stache]

Oh, yeah, my reason for responding, Peter's Summer Stock performance not withstanding...I think Biggio has been underrated by a lot of baseball fans.

His career OPS is only .791, but he's got to be one of the top two or three most versatile members of the 3,000 hit club, if not the most versatile. He played second and catcher primarily, but he also played 363 games, more than two seasons worth of games, in the outfield. And he was very good defensively.

When you break his Hall worthiness down...

3,000 + hits
668 doubles
291 home runs and 414 stolen bases
4 Gold Gloves, 5 Silver Slugger Awards, 2 top 5 MVP finishes as a second baseman.

He's the kind of guy I want on my team. Hustle, power, speed, versatility, and always a dirty uniform. Give me a guy that gives 110% every time.

One thing Biggio and Yount both had in common that most players today could take lessons from-they never half-a__ed it to first base on a ground ball out. They ran. Those guys played under the assumption that they could either beat the throw, or that somebody might double clutch, or not make a clean catch.

Those are the guys I'd build my team around. The Braves had their little fun fest with Glavine, Maddux and Cox, time to put Biggio and Bagwell in together. I've always been super impressed with both those guys.

[the 'stache]

Bill James is likely pointing out stats that suffered in the second half of his career. Because at age 30, I thought Griffey was going to break Hank Aaron's record. His stats at 30 were downright frightening:

.299 AVG, 1,063 runs, 1,742 hits, 320 doubles, 30 triples, 398 home runs, 1,152 RBI, 167 stolen bases, .948 OPS. 7 Silver Sluggers, 10 All Star Games, 10 Gold Gloves and an MVP Award. His home run totals from 1993 forward: 45 in 1993, 40 in 1994, 17 in 1995, 49 in 1996, 56 in 1997, 56 in 1998, 48 in 1999.

He had 3,316 total bases at age 30. If only he could have stayed healthy.

I mean no disrespect to Derek Jeter, who has been a great baseball player for a long time, a player that will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. But Griffey was one of those transcendent players. He was my generation's Willie Mays.

Between 1996 and 1999, 4 seasons, Junior hit .294 with 209 home runs and 567 RBIs. Unreal.