Ah, yes… he is an average shortstop because he pales in comparison to Honus Wagner!!! Is there only one above average shortstop in MLB history.
Ripken was a power hitting shortstop. Not just a power hitter.
You mention Fisk, so I think I see your problem with Ripken. You value high peaks of performance over steady above-average performance over a long career. Ripken will make the HOF regardless of the streak. A shortstop with 400 HRs and 3000 hits not in the HOF? Think about it (without your prejudices).
Both are notable (exceptional) achievements. However, in order to reach those milestones, he forced himself to become a liability to his team for the final 4 or 5 years of his career, insisting on playing out of a selfish pursuit for the record. Had Ripken had the humility to ADMIT that he was washed up 4 years ago, and retired, I’d expect to see him in the HOF. Running out the clock at the end to reach a meaningless milestone at the expense of your team, however, is not HOF-worthy.
I pretty much figured you weren’t serious. (I’m not a commie either by the way, I’m a Canadian which means I’m a socialist, but again, another thread).
The reason why the voting get’s me so up in arms is exactly because I truely do love baseball. I love to see the best players playing. I am not entirely sure how players get to play for the ProBowl in the NFL (by that I mean, I don’t know who votes), but I’m pretty sure it’s not the fans who vote for that?
If you take away the years that he has played 3rd base (1997-2001), he still has 350 HRs and 2500 hits. And he had the streak broken already (he broke that in 1995), so he was not pursuing that anymore.
So he played a little longer than he should. Maybe the guy likes playing baseball.
Don’t you think MLB enjoys all the discussions resulting from the selections. They get people talking about it, opening threads, etc. Now, as long as the picks aren’t too controversial, a la David Bell, then they probably get a kick out of the publicity.
BTW, I believe the NFL all-stars are chosen by the players. This does not generate any interest with the fans. I say let the fans vote.
True, Banks played more games at 1st base in his career than at shortstop, but he only left the shortstop position in 1962 after leg injuries cut down his range. But playing as a shortstop from 1955-1960, Banks hit 248 homeruns - more than anyone else in the Major Leagues over that time period, including Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, and Willie Mays.
Have you actually looked at Walker’s numbers away from Coor’s Field.
BA .286
SLG .557
OBP .409
OPS .966
RBI 31
HR 12
Sosa’s road numbers
BA .309
SLG .679
OBP .445
OPS 1.124
RBI 45
HR 15
Sosa has had more road games (46) than Walker (38) so RBI and HR are slightly skewed to Sosa’s advantage. Also for some weird reason, Sammy actually plays better on the road. However, his poorer home statistics are still better than Walker’s road statistics. The fact that Walker plays half his games in Coor’s Field makes him look like a much better player than he actually is.
Mariano Rivera is going to skip the All-Star game for an injury (how serious it actually is, I can only speculate) and Seattle’s Jeff Nelson was added. I think that is nice to see. Nelson is a terrific reliever – his absence from the Yankees is why they’ve been so eager to trade lately.