Monday, June 06, 2005 |
Pickoff Moves, Lunchtime Edition
Requiem For The Human Hero
Via BTF, Steve Garvey wonders why he hasn't gotten a call from Cooperstown. Choice quotes:Garvey is still waiting on the call from Cooperstown. "God willing it will happen in the future," Garvey said. "My boys are getting older and hopefully we’ll be making a trip to Cooperstown someday soon."Every time I read about this, I bring up this Diamond Angle piece arguing for and against it (I take the against side). Oddly enough, though, the Jamesian HoF monitor says Garvey should be included. Jay Jaffe agreed with the sentiment for exclusion when viewing Garvey's career through the prism of JAWS. Not only did Garvey's hitting prowess fail to impress, but his zipper escapades tarnished his carefully cultivated public image....
Garvey said older baseball writers who may have been in his corner in the early going have moved on or passed away, while younger writers have only the colossal offensive numbers of the steroid age as a benchmark for Hall of Fame worthiness. "You get to the steroid issue and you have to factor that in. What are the reciprocal effects of things like steroids?" Garvey said.
The matinee-idol star of my favorite team as a kid, Garvey put up some shiny numbers primarily in the context of a tough hitters' park, Dodger Stadium. Basically, he did the things that impress voters, showing a clockwork ability to rap out 200 hits, hit .300 with 20 homers, drive in 100 runs, make the All-Star team, and have perfectly coiffed hair. He was great in the postseason (.338/.361/.550 with 11 HR and 31 RBI) while leading his teams to five World Series, won a good share of hardware, played in ten All-Star games and set the NL record for consecutive games played. Garvey was good for about 8 WARP a year at his peak. His counting stats are certainly better than Mattingly's, but the big knocks against him are not getting on base enough (only a .329 OBP despite a .294 AVG) or hitting for enough power (.446 SLG, never topping .500). He's not a popular candidate thanks in part to his post-retirement zipper problems.Having nothing further to add, I pass on to the next bit of trivia in my quiver, and feel a bit of sadness for Garvey.Neither of these two are up to the Hall's standards for first basemen as hitters, though they're better than dubious Veterans Committee selections such as Frank Chance (45.6 JAWS), Jim Bottomley (49.8) and George Kelly (39.9). Where they get back into the race is with their glovework. Garvey is 105 runs above average with the leather; the best Hall first baseman in that regard is Bill Terry (96 FRAA), and Kelly (79) is the only other one ahead of Mattingly. Still, first basemen don't get plaques because of their prowess with the leather; if they did, Hernandez (119, second all-time among first basemen to Pete O'Brien's 143) wouldn't have dropped off the ballot.
While Mattingly and Garvey are both better than some of the many first basemen already enshrined, neither would improve the Hall's standards; they're not even as good as lukewarm 2000 electee Tony Perez (69.2 JAWS). The next decade or so will see better players such as Rafael Palmeiro, Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas and Mark McGwire raise the standards. Perhaps jaded by the exploding offense levels of the past three decades, voters appear to understand that with regards to these two candidates; Garvey's support has receded from a high of 42.6%, while Mattingly's base has fallen from a high of 28.2%. That's the right answer: a pass on both.
Milton Bradley Explains Himself
If you've spent any time at Jon's lately, you've seen this great Only Baseball Matters interview with Milton Bradley. Bradley is by far my favorite player on the Dodgers now. Maybe it's because we share a similar tendency to be easily irked, but at heart you may see the fierce competitor and thoughtful and even good man lying beneath all the very public image re-making happening over the last nine months or so.And Not A Day Too Soon: Chipper Jones Injured
Chipper Jones reinjured his foot in a game against the Pirates Sunday. His player page lists him as "out indefinitely". The Angels face the Braves in interleague play for three games starting today at 4:35 PM PDT.Draft, Minor Leagues Stuff
A couple about the draft and the minors:- Over at FutureAngels, John Sickels reviews a decade of Angels first-round picks; it's amazing how many turned into busts.
- Dodger prospect Blake Dewitt hit for the cycle at Single-A Columbus.
- Baseball America says the Diamondbacks, picking first overall, have decided upon Justin Upton, brother to Devil Ray prospect B.J. "That would make Upton and his brother B.J., who went second overall to the Devil Rays in 2002, the highest-drafted siblings in draft history."
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