Top 5 - Best Third Basemen All-Time

Adrian Beltre has announced his retirement. In my mind he's a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer. Anyone who votes against him is ignorant to where Beltre stands in regards to the All-Time greats who have played third. Here's my list of the Top 5 All-Time Third Basemen:

1. Mike Schmidt - averaged 37 HR, 107 RBI and 101 runs scored in his career. The 12-time All-Star finished his career with 548 HR, 3 League MVP's and 10 Gold Gloves. The best all-around third baseman in history.

2. George Brett - averaged 19 HR, 96 RBI and 95 runs scored plus a career .305 batting average. Brett was also a 12-time All-Star and he won the 1980 AL MVP.

3. Adrian Beltre - averaged 26 HR, 94 RBI and 84 runs scored. Finished his career with 3,166 hits and 5 Gold Gloves.

4. Brooks Robinson - averaged 15 HR, 76 RBI and 69 runs scored. He was a 15-time All-Star and won an incredible 16 Gold Gloves. He was the 1964 AL MVP and the 1970 World Series MVP

5. Eddie Mathews - averaged 35 HR, 98 RBI and 102 runs scored. Hit 512 HR back when 500 HR really meant something.

If you wanted to switch the order around after Mike Schmidt - I wouldn't argue too much but this is the way I view the list.

Jason Stark had this nugget about Beltre - he's the only player other than Willie Mays to have at least 3,166 hits, 477 HR, an .819 OPS and 5 Gold Gloves. Mays and Beltre - that's it!  First ballot Hall of Famer!

Linky Links

Stuff I found interesting or amusing and thought I'd share.

- Agreed - this photo of Andrian Beltre and his family is awesome!

- Heh heh

- The New Model - yup that's what the data will be used for

- Very cool 

- Mitt Romney was so right about so much

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

With everyone focused on the IRS scandal which keeps getting worse and worse - this would be a good time for Hillary Clinton to come clean on Benghazi. She can say that she was trying to protect the President and regrets her actions. She could say that she was confused about the expectations from this administration versus those of her husband. People would accept that...  The NCAA is looking worse and worse regarding U Miami and using Nevin Shapiro as their star witness... This may be a little thing but I'm really not a fan of parents telling kids "Don't you dare" as a warning. Don't you want your kids to dare? especially to dream?...  I think Adrian Beltre not wanting to be touched on his head and his teammates doing it anyway is funny. That's something a little brother would do to a big brother... With Elementary done for the season and the new season of Sherlock not showing in the US until September - I'm having some Sherlock Holmes withdrawal... Wow - this pinpointed map of unemployment is incredible. Look at how employment seems to end at the borders of California.

Adrian Gonzalez

I for one am pumped for the Adrian Gonzalez era to begin in Boston. A few quick thoughts while waiting for this deal to be consummated:

1. I am a big fan of a strong farm system but any time you have a chance to trade for a proven superstar (given the right circumstances) you have to do it. This isn't a Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen situation but there is no guaranty that this isn't a Jon Lester package for a Johan Santana either. I trust Theo that the deal will be fair to San Diego but also not harm the future of the Red Sox.

2. I wonder if Billy Beane has already pulled his offer for Adrian Beltre (if that offer ever existed). Gonzalez to the Red Sox eliminates much or all of the leverage Scott Boras had in negotiations. Don't be surprised if a third team magically appears in the negotiations. The Orioles often excel in this patsy role.

3. When / if this deal gets done - I hope a long-term deal for Clay Buchholz is the next priority for the Red Sox front office.

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

I agree with Lou Merloni on the Adrian Beltre signing. I was actually looking forward to Casey Kotchman starting at 1st and Kevin Youkilis starting at 3rd but I have to trust Theo on these things (although there is such a thing as too much tinkering)... Speaking of mixed feelings - ESPN to launch 3D Network... This is a Horned Frog... With Boise State beating TCU and returning almost all of their starters on both offense and defense - they have to enter next year as the preseason #1? Right?... This is a Hypnofrog... I think Boise State used the power of cowbell to turn the TCU players from Horned Frogs into Hypnofrogs last night... I haven't checked this "fact" for myself but supposedly the Wikipedia article on Jesus of Nazareth is only 25 words longer than the Wikipedia article on Snake Eyes of GI Joe. That's both funny and screwed up at the same time... This is bukkake... Do you think the reason nobody has tried a remake of the show F Troop is because the name probably would mean something different today?... Cincinnati had 60 reported homicides last year. An interactive map...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

Did you know that Marlboro cigarettes were originally designed for women? The manly Cowboy marketing campaign was a last minute change. The rest is history... Heh heh - Sports Minute "The Eagles signed Andy Reid until 2013. He's the second member of his family to be locked up for the next three years"... There are loads of reports that the Red Sox are interested in Adrian Beltre as a replacement for Mike Lowell. All these public reports are the reason I think this so-called interest may be an invention of Scott Boras. The Red Sox are never this open about what their plans are... Heh heh - Sports Minute Gatorade dropped their Tiger Woods sports drink. Probably because it'd be tasteless to say, "Is it in You?"... Amazing scientific images... What are the odds of Tiger Woods going the Wade Boggs route of claiming to be a sex addict?... The 50 Best Protest signs of 2009...

Flotsam and Jetsam

Miscellaneous thoughts and observations.

The Philadelphia Eagles game on December 6th at the Georgia Dome against the Falcons just got a whole lot more interesting... Torn testicle and Internal bleeding - no not a punk rock double-header - that's what happened to Adrian Beltre. I'm guessing that when Beltre gets back to action that he'll start wearing a cup... I'm guessing that he'd like to take this quote back: "[Josh] Beckett is to Boston what Jeff Weaver was to the Yankees: the ace that never was." Tom Verducci August 2006... Heh heh - it's a RAT!! EEEK... I'm thinking of writing a play based upon Kevin Youkilis' baseball career. But here's the twist - I'm going to make it a musical... Something for Boston fans to keep in mind - the Red Sox play 16 of final 19 games against the Orioles, Royals, Toronto and Indians, 4 of the 5 worst teams in the league...

David Ortiz

Everyone was so happy for David Ortiz when he hit his first his first home run of the season. Everyone was pulling for him. Everyone was hoping that with that monkey off his back that Ortiz would break out of his slump. Now everybody is asking, "What are we going to do about Ortiz?"

Drop him down in the order? You can't have your number 3 hitter struggling to hit .200. Drop him down to Pawtucket or Portland to let him get his stroke back? But what if he struggles against minor league pitching too? Wouldn't that just crush his confidence? Should the team just face the fact that Ortiz may be done and move on? This last question may be the hardest. Ortiz is owed so much for the success of two World Series Champions. He's our Willie Stargell. You just don't show Willie Stargell the door. Should the Red Sox just keep him where he is and hope he has to at least get better because it would be hard to do any worse?

In all of baseball there are only 14 players who start on a regular basis that have a worse OPS than Ortiz. The names include the usual suspects like middle infielders Alexei Ramirez, Jose Lopez, Kaz Matsui, Ty Wiggington, Orlando Cabrera and Nick Punto; catchers Jason Kendall and Dioner Navarro; plus struggling youngsters BJ Upton, Chris Young, Josh Fields and Garrett Atkins. Then you have the cases of veterans who used to be sluggers like Adrian Beltre and Brian Giles.

These last two names probably have the most similarity to Ortiz. You have Giles who started off as the number 3 hitter for the Padres and who I think is cooked. I also have long held suspicions that Giles may have used performance enhancing drugs. I'd be stupid to think that others don't hold the same suspicions about Ortiz. The Padres at least have dropped Giles down in the batting order but Giles is 38-years old. At that age who really gets surprised when your skills fall off a cliff? Beltre? He's just 30 and the Mariners have moved him around a couple times in the line-up. Beltre also has that one Brady Anderson-like 48 home runs back in 2004.

Whatever the answer is to what to do with Ortiz. I just hope Ortiz realizes that he shouldn't be counting on the Red Sox picking up his 2011 option.