Thursday, December 26, 2013

Player Comparison

This player comparison struck me when I was reading Matt Snyder's Hall of Fame case for Edgar Martinez.

Edgar Martinez - 2055 G/  8674 AB/ .312 BA/ .418 OBP/ .515 SLG/ .933 OPS/ 147 OPS+
Player A -           2247 G/ 9453 AB/ .316 BA/ .414 OBP/ .539 SLG/ .953 OPS/ 133 OPS+

Player A actually played one fewer season than Edgar but was able to stay more consistently healthy during his career so that he was able to be in the field more often for his team. That has a value all its own. Snyder wrote that Martinez was the opposite of a compiler yet Player A was able to accumulate more runs, hits, doubles, triples, HR, RBI, and total bases in let me say again - one fewer season.

Many baseball scribes are writing that an anti-DH bias may hurt Edgar but there may just be the opposite effect in that some writers may vote for him just to prove they aren't biased against the DH. Player A also will be a victim of bias since he played all his home games at Coors Field. Yet I don't think any writer will go out of his way to show he doesn't hold that against a player's career.

Player A is Todd Helton who won a Gold Glove at first base (it should be mentioned). I am curious to see how the voting for the two players compares.

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