What’s the obsession with Mickey Mantle?

[Peter_Spaeth]

I question ranking Mantle ahead of Ted, although it's only by one place.

Speaking of James, at this point I guess he's not going to update his all time great book from the late 90s, too bad it would be fascinating.

[ls7plus]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I question ranking Mantle ahead of Ted, although it's only by one place.

Speaking of James, at this point I guess he's not going to update his all time great book from the late 90s, too bad it would be fascinating.

To me, and I think James, Mantle gets the nod because of his greater value on defense. Having seen him in his prime, he was indeed, as James describes him, a very, very good centerfielder and better baserunner. From a purely offensive value standpoint, it is Ted by about 14% going by James' runs created formula versus league average player, and by about 9.5% by the less accurate OPS+.

Highest regards,

Larry