I don’t see quite how one could say the difference is miniscule:
Mize: 158 OPS+ (#16 all time) over 7371 PA
Thomas: 157 OPS+ (# 19 all time) over 9965 PA
Bagwell: 149 OPS+ (#34 all time) over 9431 PA
McCovey 147 OPS+ (#42 all time) over 9686 PA
Olerud: 128 OPS+ (#175 all time) over 9063 PA
Olerud did play excellent defense, and I have nothing personal against the guy, but no amount of 1B defensive prowess (IMO) could make up for that kind of offensive deficit.
Thanks, storyteller.
gonzomax:
Not to poke at this too much, but in what ways is the difference miniscule? To me, Bagwell/Thomas/Mize/McCovey trump Olerud in just about every conceivable way (not that John wasn’t a very good player).
Some random but worthwhile categories:
Black Ink (led the league): Olerud 7 (Thomas 21, Bagwell 24, McCovey 31, Mize 50) – the average HOFer has around 27
Gray Ink (among league leaders): Olerud 51 (McCovey 126, Bagwell 157, Thomas 200, Mize 202) – the average HOFer has around 144
Top Ten Full Seasons, OPS+:
Olerud: 186, 140, 136, 135, 128, 126, 117, 116, 116, 115
Bagwell: 213, 178, 168, 162, 158, 152, 144, 142, 139, 139
McCovey: 209, 181, 174, 164, 164, 161, 161, 159, 153, 149
Thomas: 211, 181, 180, 179, 178, 177, 174, 163, 146, 140
Mize: 185, 178, 176, 175, 172, 161, 161, 160, 156, 156
Olerud’s second-best season in this regard is no better than Thomas’s tenth-best season or Bagwell’s eighth-best season, and wouldn’t crack the top ten of Mize and McCovey.
All-Star Games:
Olerud: 2
Bagwell: 4
Thomas: 5
McCovey: 6
Mize: 10
Olerud does have three gold gloves. Other than that, how does he come close to the other four?
I do count defense and running ability. Those guys were big goons.
Brouthers is so far back in time, that it was a different game and a different world. I can not get on the bandwagon for pre 1900 players. I becomes mythology and not comparable.
Wait, my recollections of Olerud was him being rather slow. The man only had 11 stolen bases in 25 attempts and 13 triples. He had no speed. Johnny Mize actually had 28 steals and 83 triples. He was known as a good fielder.
I never even considered Olerud a Hall of Famer.
Hell, Jeff Bagwell had 202 stolen bases. He was a thirty-thirty man twice.
Dead slow. Slowest guy on every team he ever played for. Slow when young. Slow when healthy. The unlikeliest guy to get a cycle (and the only guy I ever saw get a cycle.)
Olerud also beat Detroit like a drum. Personal experience comes in. Winfield did the same. So I may have a more positive memory.
Dad, you’re a donkey. If you’re plunging a fist into a bucket to pick number 10 for the best first basemen of all time, John Olerud’s name isn’t in that bucket.
The man wore a batting helmet when fielding.
I think I know why you picked him. Remember that fantasy baseball league we had many moons ago? You had him on our team. If you start arguing for Jimmy Key and Juan Guzman to make the hall, I sware I’ll smother you in your sleep with a pillow.
He hit more home runs against the Indians, Rangers, Angels, Orioles, Twins, and A’s than he did against the Tigers, for what it’s worth (not much). 
Lou Gehrig
Jimmie Foxx
Willie McCovey
Hank Greenberg
Eddie Murray
Mark McGwire
Jeff Bagwell
George Sisler
Johnny Mize
Frank Thomas (The Big Hurt)
I’m reserving my vote for Harmon Killebrew for the third base election.
Lou Gehrig
Willie McCovey
Jimmy Foxx
Eddie Murray
Rod Carew
Johnny Mize
Albert Pujols
Hank Greenberg
Cap Anson
Harmon Killebrew
Sorry I missed voting on the catchers (although I can’t find any real fault with the selections). Here are my choices for first base (names of those I saw play are bolded, others are by reputation):
Rod Carew (if he doesn’t make it here, he should be elected in a wild card round)
Jimmie Foxx
Andrés Galarraga
Lou Gehrig
Hank Greenberg
Willie McCovey
Johnny Mize
Eddie Murray
Albert Pujols (perhaps premature, but he’s gaining acclaim for “most home runs by his age” and similar feats)
George Sisler
Good enough stats, but I couldn’t justify placing them:
Cap Anson (his racist attitudes played a significant role in postponing the integration of the game)
Mark McGwire (steroid cloud hangs over him)
I’m sure I’m not the only one interested in hearing arguments that Andres Galarraga was better than Frank Thomas and Jeff Bagwell!
Lou Gehrig
Jimmie Foxx
Willie McCovey
Hank Greenberg
Harmon Killebrew
Johnny Mize
Frank Thomas (The Big Hurt)
Tony Perez
Orlando Cepeda
Albert Pujols
Lou Gehrig
Jimmie Foxx
Willie McCovey
Hank Greenberg
Harmon Killebrew
Rod Carew
Frank Thomas (The Big Hurt)
George Sisler
Bill Terry
Johnny Mize
From a column by Steve Wulf in Sports Illustrated, September 10, 1990:
Wrote Will Wedge of the New York Sun : “The Yankees ’ surprise purchase of Johnny Mize , a big, slow, former slugger, who had seemed approaching the washed-up stage with the Giants , reveals the panicky state of the Yankees ’ front office.” Mize silenced the critics a few days later with a two-run homer off Bob Feller to help beat Cleveland . He paid bigger dividends in the years to come, hitting 25 homers in 1950 and batting .400 with three homers and six RBIs in the '52 Series. All in all, the “washed-up” Mize played in five Series for the Yankees and inspired these immortal lines from sportswriter Dan Parker : “Your arm is gone; your legs likewise,/But not your eyes, Mize , not your eyes!”
Killebrew played first 969 appearances
3rd 791
471 Left
11 2nd base
158 DH
Which is why it would be a really good idea to vote by position only for players who actually played that position for some very high percentage of their career games.
In fact, we could make this equitable by setting that percentage at about the level it would take to make all the fields–8 position players, and one all-purpose DH/multi-position player–about the same.
That is, if setting the percentage of career games at one position as high as 99% would create a pool of DH/MPPs about the same as any one position, then set it there, and if setting it as low as 70% would accomplish that end, then set it there.
But I think we’re going to risk skewed results if players like Killebrew get a crack at being nominated at multiple positions, or even just at one position and then again in a grab-bag category.
These threads are for baseball fans.
Baseball fans LOVE to argue about this stuff.
Please, fire away, but respect other people’s voting choices. Let’s not crowd the votes out.
My choices:
Lou Gehrig (duh)
Willie McCovey
Hank Greenberg
Cap Anson
Jimmie Foxx
Rod Carew
Eddie Murray
Frank Thomas
Jeff Bagwell
Johnny Mize
I think we’ll have to have a “Multi Position Star” vote for sure. We will be having special Wild Card rounds, so don’t panic if Killer doesn’t make it here.
So what was your major criteria for First Base? Some of the younger guys you picked surprise me.
Mine is a mix of stats, reputation and what the people of their time appeared to think of them. Some of the younger guys you picked surprise me.