players most famous by decade

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Posted By: chris cathcart

Billy, you've got in one post saying that Griffey was the best player of the '90s, then you've got in another talking about distinguishing most famous from best (statistically).

Statistically, Griffey isn't, and never was, in Bonds league, except for one year -- 1997, the year Griffey won his only MVP. Use whatever important statistical measures -- adjusted OPS, James' Win Shares, what have you, and Bonds comes out by a wide margin. Griffey's best year was like an average year for Bonds. Griffey's got marks as a better fielder, though even there you've got Bonds with 8 Gold Gloves despite playing left field. 3 MVPs, and inevitable 500/500 -- all locked up by the end of the '90s, before the recent reincarnation of Babe Ruth appeared. Part of the big gap between the two was obscured by Bonds' 3 MVP seasons occurring before the offensive boom starting in the mid-'90s. Relative to his league (and the whole majors), no one was even close in '92-93. Griffey, even in his best years, was arguably equaled or bettered by Bonds, Thomas, Bagwell, Piazza, perhaps some others. Griffey's status in the minds of many people was the product of hype and excessive focus on certain numbers -- basically on the only number in which Griffey really stood out: Home Runs. Even there, make the necessary adjustments for offensive context, and he wasn't that far above Bonds, especially in a peak-to-peak comparison. Bonds was hitting the equivalent of 50 HR a year in '92-93 and would have had 50 right along with Griffey in '94 without the strike. All the other numbers -- walks, steals, OBP, SLG, MVPs -- Bonds easily outshined Griffey (not so much in SLG, but again make the right adjustments...). If fielding were established to be of immense value relative to offense, that would close to gap noticeably, but it's not so it doesn't.

In his new -Historical Abstract-, James made an incisive and cutting comparison betweeen Griffey and Craig Biggio. Griffey outnumbered Biggio by a wide margin in HRs, and trailed in . . . everything else. They come out roughly even for the '90s by his Win Shares measure.