Wade Boggs vs. Fred McGriff

Sometimes it is helpful to break numbers down into smaller more manageable units to be able to better understand their significance. Today I have broken down the career numbers from Wade Boggs and Fred McGriff into 10 game blocks.

Basically I took the career totals of both players and divided them by the number of games played (not including McGriff's totals from this season). I then multiplied the numbers by 10 - both to make the numbers more manageable and also because I liked the idea of a 10 game stretch. To me it became - OK who would be more valuable a player in a 10 game homestand or 10 game roadtrip.

Boggs - 37.6 AB, 6.2 runs, 12.3 hits

McGriff - 35.7 AB, 5.5 runs, 10.2 hits

Boggs has the edge in these three categories.

Boggs - 2.4 2B, 0.25 3B, 0.5 HR

McGriff - 1.8 2B, 0.1 3B, 2.0 HR

McGriff's difference in HR is the category that sticks out here.

Boggs - 4.2 RBI, 5.8 BB, 16.7 total bases

McGriff - 6.3 RBI, 5.3 BB, 18.2 total bases

McGriff has a clear advantage in both RBI and total bases but I was very surprised that the number of walks was so close because I always remembered Boggs as a walks machine but not really McGriff as walking so much.

So when you take a look at these numbers it would be possible to make a case for either player being the more valuable player to have for a 10-game stretch. Personally - I think McGriff was the more valuable player because of HR, RBI and total bases.

I do realize that most people who view Boggs as a HOF lock will discount comparisons like this because they are blinded by Boggs' final totals of 3,010 hits and .328 career batting average.

To those folks I would point out that Fred McGriff finished in the Top 10 in MVP voting six times. Three of those times he was the 1st baseman recieving the most votes. Wade Boggs on the other hand only made the Top 10 in MVP voting 4 times and three of those times he had a Red Sox teammate above him in the balloting. (How can Boggs be a HOF player when he was almost never even the best player on his own team?)