Monday Oscar “Heavy” Johnson was one of the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, and accomplished something so rare that every player who has ever achieved it is now in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Except Johnson, who sadly has been passed over for that honor so far. I took a look at his brilliant career in Monday’s edition of the newsletter.
Paul, it drives me crazy when you give a list of guys with "at least" in several statistics, when I think you know and Bill James showed years ago how dishonest that is. You draw a line where the guy you are talking about is just over the line, then list all these guys, who are WAY over that line, and say they are comparable when they aren't. Better to do a range: guys with 250-300 career homers, say, and 150-200 stolen bases, batting average .275-.290 or whatnot.
That said, I think Jimmy Wynn has a low-key case for the Hall of Fame, if we properly adjust for ballparks. He was that good.
Another interesting post Paul, you give me a couple of guys I’ve don’t think I’ve ever heard of, Van Haltren & Ryan from the 1800’s, plus Marty McManus and then one of my favorites Jim Wynn. I went to BR to check out McManus and saw he once led the league in strikeouts with 69 in 154 games, made me wonder if anyone in today’s game strikes out less than 69 times in 150 games.
Paul, it drives me crazy when you give a list of guys with "at least" in several statistics, when I think you know and Bill James showed years ago how dishonest that is. You draw a line where the guy you are talking about is just over the line, then list all these guys, who are WAY over that line, and say they are comparable when they aren't. Better to do a range: guys with 250-300 career homers, say, and 150-200 stolen bases, batting average .275-.290 or whatnot.
That said, I think Jimmy Wynn has a low-key case for the Hall of Fame, if we properly adjust for ballparks. He was that good.
Another interesting post Paul, you give me a couple of guys I’ve don’t think I’ve ever heard of, Van Haltren & Ryan from the 1800’s, plus Marty McManus and then one of my favorites Jim Wynn. I went to BR to check out McManus and saw he once led the league in strikeouts with 69 in 154 games, made me wonder if anyone in today’s game strikes out less than 69 times in 150 games.