re: Top MLB players of the 80s at each position

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Loved Mike Scott but he was not better than Morris



disagree

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At first I was like then I realized who posted it.

Boggs is a really good player, but he's not in the same stratosphere as Schmidt and Brett. That's no knock on Boggs, really, just a statement of how truly awesome the other two were. Brett and Schmidt are Gehrig and Foxx. Boggs is Orlando Cepeda. Still a Hall of Famer, but not in inner circle guy.

I love Fisk, maybe my favorite non-Oriole ever. I still love this trivia question: What catcher has 4000 total bases?

No one. Because Fisk retired with 3999.

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I still love this trivia question: What catcher has 4000 total bases?

No one. Because Fisk retired with 3999.

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Pudge has over 4400 total bases, are you not counting TB at DH? Even so I thought he would have had over 4K

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Ok... I only did this because I was really curious but 80's Mattingly: 1300 Hits, 615 runs, 272 doubles, 15 triples, 164 home runs, 717 RBI, 8 SB, 7 CS, 4022 AB, 314 Walks, 238 Strike Outs.... .323 Avg over that span. Mattingly had 12 AB in 82, 279 in 83, and first full season in 84. Murray: 1642 Hits, 858 runs, 289 doubles, 19 triples, 274 home runs, 996 RBI, 52 SB, 18 CS, 5612 AB, 754 Walks, 733 Strike Outs.... .293 Avg over that span. Murray played all 10 seasons of 80's

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The 80 were a bit stacked at 1st..

Here's a player's line that played 9 seasons in the 80s at 1st, with only a fraction of the attention given those two--

1212 hits, 624 runs, 224 doubles, 16 triples, 201 HR, 724 RBI, 19 SB/16 CS, 4178 AB, 523 Walks, 564K, .290 -- oh-- and he played defense at the same level as those two, compiling better assist rates than Mattingly, and 30 fewer errors than Murray, while fielding at a similar rate-- (.993 vs. .993 vs. .995)

That guy who looks a lot like the others? Kent Hrbek. I'm not saying he deserves consideration, just that the position was stacked-- and perception of performance matters a much as actual performance.

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Jack Morris was nasty, stats don't do him justice. He was a guy that pitched to the park and got outs completed games .

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I can't think of a sentence that describes the outdated way of thinking in baseball more then this one.

Thank you.

Jack Morris stats do him justice. Jack Morris is NOT a HOFer.

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Jack Morris stats do him justice. Jack Morris is NOT a HOFer.

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I believe he should be in the HOF, I would vote for him before Schilling.

I love him for 84 but Morris isn't even in the Hall of Very Good. He was a very steady average-above average pitcher.

I realize his ERA would be the highest in Cooperstown, but I'm not as worried about ERA when a guy throws 175 complete games. In comparison Pedro, Glavine, & Schilling have 185 combined.

The man started, finshed, and won his games. Had he been a 6 inning pitcher, I believe his ERA would have been lower.

Why am I the only one giving Robin Yount any love? 2 time MVP (although one time st SS) and the decade leader in hits. Is it because he was so ugly or the fact he spent his entire career for Milwaukee?

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Really puzzled by the Morris pick. Did not enough of Carlton's good years occur in the 1980's? As some others have posted, I could see Morris at about #5 on the list. Strangest pick on there to me.

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Carlton's prime was past in about 1982; he would post only one more winning season in the decade, and eclipse 10 wins only twice more (15-16 and 13-7). He went 103-83, with a 3.48 ERA for the decade.

Now, the case for Jack Morris rests around what many consider to be the lost art of pitching a lot of innings and winning a lot; from 1984 to 1989, Morris pitched 20% more innings, and won 20% more games than anyone in baseball. That is a pretty remarkable thing, really.

Mind, these arguments often have to try to balance longevity with dominance for a short period. If I had to choose any pitcher from any season in that decade, I'd probably go with Doc Gooden who went 100-39, with a 2.64 ERA in the 80s.