2016 vs 2002 vs 1993

[calsnowskier]

2010, 2012 and 2014 were Championship teams, but it can be argued that 1993 and 2002 were actually better teams. How does the 2016 match up against those teams?

Catcher
1993 - Manwaring
2002 - Santiago
2016 - Posey

Manwaring was a monster with the glove, but was nothing with the bat (not that he needed a bat with that lineup). Santiago brought the bat, but at his age in '02, he was no longer the defensive wiz he was in San Diego. Posey is the unquestioned best catcher in the game, both offensively and defensively. 2016-1993-2002

1B
1993 - Clark
2002 - Snow
2016 - Belt

Clark was the heart and soul of the org. Snow was the heart of the team. Belt appears to be almost a Clark clone, but without the heart or soul. 1993-2002-2016

2B
1993 - Thompson
2002 - Kent
2016 - Panik

Defensively, Panik is probably the class of this group. Offensively, obviously Kent takes it. Regardless, three solid 2-baggers. 2002-2016-1993

SS
1993 - Clayton
2002 - Aurilia
2016 - Crawford

Again, three solid players. Clayton and Craw bring the glove, Craw and Aurilia bring the stick. Comparing 2015 Craw to 1993 Clayton and 2002 Aurilia, though, makes this a no-brainer. 2016-1993-2002

3B
1993 - Williams
2002 - Bell
2016 - Duffy

Williams is clearly the class of this group. '93/'94 Williams was HOF-worthy. Bell was a great one-and-done Giant. But Duffy is Duffy. 1993-2016-2002

LF
1993 - Bonds
2002 - Bonds
2016 - Pagan

2002 - 1993 - NA (Pagan simply does not belong in this discussion). 1993-2002-2016

CF
1993 - Lewis
2002 - Shinjo/Lofton
2016 - Spann

Wow. Not a distinguished group. DLew was fun, but not an all-timer. 2002 was a shitshow in CF. Spann CAN separate himself from this group with a half-decent year. 1993-2016-2002

RF
1993 - McGee
2002 - Sanders
2016 - Pence

Hands down, Pence should take this one. 2016-1993-2002

Rotation
1993 - Swift, Burkett, Wilson, Black, Hickerson/Brantly
2002 - Schmidt, Ortiz, Hernandez, Rueter, Jansen
2016 - Bumgarner, Cueto, Samardzjia, Peavy, Cain

Swift/Burkett and Schmidt/Ortiz/Hernandez were great combos. I expect Bum/Cueto to be right there. The difference is in the back of the rotation, and I think 2016 blows the other teams away in this area. 2016-2002-1993

Bullpen
1993 - Beck, Rogers, Jackson
2002 - Nen, Worrell, Rodriguez, Witasick, Zerbe
2016 - Casilla, Romo, Lopez, Strickland, Osich

The '93 pen was kinda rough. I do not remember the 2002 bully being that dominant. This team has the potential to be something special. If anyone falls on their face, there is quality depth in Sacto, so the actual names are not that important at this point. 2002-2016-1993

Bench
1993 - Reed, Benzinger, Carreon, Martinez, Scarsone, Banjamin
2002 - Torrealba, Martinez, Goodwin, Dunston, ...
2016 - Brown, Blanco, Tomlinson, Adrianza

2002 went through a LOT of players. 1993-2016-2002