Mailbag Megalomania

Dave Paisley

Yes, the mailman has suffered an electronic hernia the last few weeks bringing a plethora of readers' picks and pans. Dare to predict who should win the post-season hardware or who should be on the All-Century team and you're bound to stir up a hornet's nest of opinion. Here goes...

Lance writes:

Hi Dave, It occurred to me that Barry Larkin wasn't included in the breakdown for SS. I have a feeling he'd rank fairly high and I wondered if he had been considered (making me wrong) or simply overlooked. I thoroughly enjoy your analyses and articles. Keep up the good work!

You're absolutely right. Barry Larkin is currently running a Total Player Rating (TPR) of about 41, with an adjusted PRO rating of 123. Those numbers would put him in third or fourth on my list, and ahead of Yount and Ripken. Sadly, he lacks the exposure of Ripken and Ozzie Smith, and was left off the ballot in favor of Luis Aparicio, easily the lowest rated candidate on the ballot.

Now, in a BRM (Big Red Machine) frenzy, Gary writes:

Hi Dave,

I also think this MLB Century team voting is a COMPLETE farce and an insult to the intelligence of REAL baseball fans everywhere!! Thank you for exposing the problems with this vote.

We're just happy to help.

I refuse to even participate in this sham since some of the most deserving candidates at each position aren't even on the ballot! Where's Cesar Geronimo? No Dave Concepcion?? George Foster once hit 50 HR, but I guess that's not good enough for the elitists who drew up this so-called ballot.

Yeah, where is Cesar Geronimo? With a career TPR of -10.3 (yes, that's a minus) and a career-high ten home runs in 1977, I just can't imagine how those ballot schlubs missed him in favor of that waster Babe Ruth. George Foster, with his 22.3 TPR, at least has a case for just being missed off the ballot, along with about a hundred other guys with similar numbers. But one glorious season, as you mention (52 HR in '77), doesn't make an All Century player.

And Davey Concepcion? Let's just say he's Ozzie Smith without the glove. Without having played on the BRM, Davey would be just as obscure as Wally Gerber.

And don't even get me started on the travesty of Tony Perez being snubbed.

Ah, Tony Perez. He of the 9.9 TPR and 120 Adjusted PRO. For a first baseman, that puts him in the one in a million category -- meaning there are a million guys just like him.

But thanks for letting me vent my frustrations!

No problem. We're here to help all BRManiacs get that frustration out of their system. At least you managed to sneak Johnny Bench in there.

And now, "Jason" from Seattle writes:

Mr. Paisley- Total Baseball ranks Lajoie as the second-most valuable player of all-time, and I believe he's the top non-pitcher. How can you possibly not vote for him (along with Hornsby) at 2B for the All-Century Team? It boggles the mind.

Signed, Surprised in Seattle

Well, "Jason", if that is your real name, I did allow that the choice between Lajoie, Hornsby and Jackie Robinson had dimensions other than pure on the field performance. If you admit the possibility that Robinson deserves a slot for historical significance, then the choice is between Hornsby and Lajoie.

Hornsby was better relative to his peers, while Lajoie had the better total career numbers. It's a tough call either way. You could pick any two of those three for any variety of reasons and I wouldn't quibble. Vote for Rod Carew, though, and I might have to slap you around a little.

Meanwhile, Frank let the monkeys loose on his email account and I received the following:

afford yourself a treat someday, paisley, and check out dimaggio's stats, not the hype from the know-nothings; let me know when you find a better righthanded hitter; let me know what you think of him outhitting williams on the road; let me know what you think yankee stadium kept him from doing offensively; marilyn, having been cerebral enough to bed arthur miller, understood this; why oh why do you not; your stuff is interesting, which is all it need be; facts are something else again

The Williams/DiMaggio thing gets hacked to death in many forums and I'm not going to get into it here. DiMaggio was good, but he just didn't play for long enough to amass the career value that several others did. That said, he still finished 13th on my list.

One thing you point out that I forgot to factor into my analysis was how many movie starlets each player had boffed. I realize it wasn't what the ballot makers were thinking of when they compiled it, but I should have been astute enough to see that this is a key factor in determining the All-Century team.

Factoring that in, Marilyn Monroe would certainly put Joe over the top, if you'll pardon my French. Of course, the early century players were at somewhat of a disadvantage, what with movie starlets being unable to talk.

about the author

Dave Paisley is happy that Minnie Minoso has managed to play once again after catching on as a Braves outfielder. Be gentle when you explain that Otis Nixon just looks and plays like Minnie at drdjp@strikethree.com.