I don’t know.
He was terrific.
Agreed.
Johnny Bench catching. I suppose Jim Kaat pitching.
Maddux, I think. You should hear Bill James on the subject of Kaat’s supposedly stellar fielding.
He’s gotten cranky in his old age
He was always cranky. He’s gotten worse.
From bbref.com:
"Recent studies have put into question his real prowess as a fielder, despite the plethora of Gold Gloves. In fact, his range as a fielder was well below average throughout his career, as was his fielding percentage, and he was not adept at turning double plays. For example, in 1969, he won a Gold Glove with a fielding percentage of .826 and a range factor of 1.49, both figures well below average for the time. It is likely his reputation was established by a few highlight plays early in his career and a general smoothness, supported by his knack for pitching quickly and his excellent pick-off move to first base, that made him appear to be a much better fielder than he was.
Maddux is the best-fielding pitcher I’ve ever seen, and it isn’t close.
I would say Mariano Rivera, but if you meant starter, I’ll agree.
I went to Bill James online to find something about Kaat, but stumbled on this study on Brooks Robinson and Gold Gloves by Daniel Marks: https://www.billjamesonline.com/so_how_many_gold_gloves_should_brooks_robinson_have_won/
Very interesting article. Sometimes Bill gets so statty that I just take him at his word. A lot of what he says makes sense to me, especially around the flawed system for choosing the GG winners.
D’oh, BlankSlate, you were right about this. Forgot about Boyer being traded to Atlanta.
I didn’t know Clete and Ken were brothers, so we’re even. As it happens there was a third brother, Cloyd, who pitched a couple of seasons for the Cardinals.
We’re drifting from Brooks Robinson, but didn’t the Cards move Ken Boyer to centerfield for a few years? I believe he was good there, too.