History Comp - George Brett v Wade Boggs

[broncosmitty]

Can't speak for everybody, but yeah, pretty much.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Can't speak for everybody, but yeah, pretty much.

cant wait until jeter is one of the HOF comparables in this!!! Just like brett, they both belong in the HOF, but they both seem to over-rated due to extreme love and hype...

 

[Brahmsian]

Brooksie for me.

Schmidt was good but Brooks Robinson was better.

Schmidt probably had a higher BA most years, but Brooksie was the DEFINITION of Gold Glove fielder.

 

[jalopy]

I agree that Brooks gets the nod for defense but Schmidt did have 10 GG's and nobody handled the bunt like him.

 

[obxyankeefan]

so basically all people who picked brett over boggs was because they liked the way Brett played the game...

I think the two players are interchangable except for the fact that Brett was more fan friendly.

 

[Brahmsian]

Haven't watched as many NL games as AL over the years, but I doubt any NL team ever had a defensive left side
of the infield better than Mark Belanger and Brooks Robinson.

And Brooks did his best hitting with runners in scoring position too. How was Schmidt in that area?

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I think the two players are interchangable except for the fact that Brett was more fan friendly.

I agree that they are close, but that is the whole purpose of the thread, to see who had the better career... The numbers all say Boggs did... and it is not like Boggs was an unlikeable guy...

 

[mrwallace2ku]

I agree that Brooks gets the nod for defense but Schmidt did have 10 GG's and nobody handled the bunt like him.

Agreed, hadn't thought about M Schmidt...guy handled his glove and bat well, probably is the best overall, but I still side with Robinson, who when in the postseason was unstoppable with his glove and bat.

 

[DragonfromTO]

Schmidt probably had a higher BA most years, but Brooksie was the DEFINITION of Gold Glove fielder.

Schmidt's massive offensive advantages aren't exactly about his BA

 

[obxyankeefan]

I agree that they are close, but that is the whole purpose of the thread, to see who had the better career... The numbers all say Boggs did... and it is not like Boggs was an unlikeable guy...

I give Brett a slight edge and have no grip with anybody saying Boggs is the better player. Boggs was better at getting on base and Brett was better at advancing the runner.




I am surprised at the difference in this poll though, I would have figured it to be closer.

 

[DragonfromTO]

Haven't watched as many NL games as AL over the years, but I doubt any NL team ever had a defensive left side
of the infield better than Mark Belanger and Brooks Robinson.

And Brooks did his best hitting with runners in scoring position too. How was Schmidt in that area?

Brooks hit .267/.343/.401 with RISP over his career. Schmidt hit .268/.400/.531.

Brooks' overall career line was .267/.322/.401. He batted and slugged exactly the same with RISP as he did without.

 

[broncosmitty]

cant wait until jeter is one of the HOF comparables in this!!! Just like brett, they both belong in the HOF, but they both seem to over-rated due to extreme love and hype...

I'll take the other guy in that matchup. It hurts me that you drew a comparison between Brett and Jeter. I've loved George Brett since I was tiny on account of him being 100% pure dude. No pr, no pretend class, no Mariah Carey's greasy forehead.....

 

[jalopy]

The reason I give Brett the nod is Boggs was absolutely no power threat. His SLG % is .028 higher than higher than his OBP %. That is pretty pathetic.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I give Brett a slight edge and have no grip with anybody saying Boggs is the better player. Boggs was better at getting on base and Brett was better at advancing the runner.




I am surprised at the difference in this poll though, I would have figured it to be closer.

Unfortunately i am not surprised... People think with their hearts more than their brains... When ever there is a popular guy in a close race the popular guy will always win... even if the less popular guy is slightly better...

Its like starting a study group... would you rather have the 93 average person who is fun to be with or the 96 average person who is a little annoying...
Both are great, but its the experience that most care about...

 

[Brahmsian]

Agreed, hadn't thought about M Schmidt...guy handled his glove and bat well, probably is the best overall, but I still side with Robinson, who when in the postseason was unstoppable with his glove and bat.

It did sometimes seem like Brooks was only going through the motions when batting in the 1st 5-6 innings, but when the game was on the line...

 

[DragonfromTO]

It did sometimes seem like Brooks was only going through the motions when batting in the 1st 5-6 innings, but when the game was on the line...

Luckily we have his "close and late" (7th inning or later, up by one, tied or batter is the tying run or better) splits too. Remember that his overall line was .267/.322/.401.

.270/.326/.396.

Once again, almost exactly the same as his overall line.
What about in a tie game?

.267/.326/.396

What if we only look at RISP and 2 outs?

.250/.339/.377

What about all "high leverage" situations?

.275/.328/.402

You need to at least be willing to consider the possibility that there is more to the story of his almost 12,000 PA career than what you remember.

 

[jalopy]

Good info Dragon

 

[Nosferatu]

I'll take Brett, he was top 3 MVP four times winning once, Boggs never in the top 3. Not to mention i'll take the guy with a little power not the guy who hit lazy fly balls off the monster a thousand times. Brett just seemed like a leader while Boggs never struck me as a leader.

I don't think you can go wrong with either guy though.

With all due respect to Brooks and the other great 3rd baseman nobody is better than Mike Schmidt and I honestly don't think it's close.

I can't believe Brett has been retired twenty years, damn i'm getting old.

 

[Brahmsian]

Luckily we have his "close and late" (7th inning or later, up by one, tied or batter is the tying run or better) splits too. Remember that his overall line was .267/.322/.401.

.270/.326/.396.

Once again, almost exactly the same as his overall line.
What about in a tie game?

.267/.326/.396

What if we only look at RISP and 2 outs?

.250/.339/.377

What about all "high leverage" situations?

.275/.328/.402

You need to at least be willing to consider the possibility that there is more to the story of his almost 12,000 PA career than what you remember.

It is possible he did better against the Red Sox than against the rest of the league during his career.

The Red Sox back when I first came to Boston were managed by a nincompoop named Don Zimmer.
On whom Bill Lee hung the nickname "Gerbil" due to his cheeks being full of chewing tobacco or gum so much or the time.

Let's just leave it at Zimmer being much worse as a manager than Earl Weaver of Robinson's Orioles.

BTW, my own nickname for Zimmer was "Zon Dimmer." The derivation of that should be obvious.

 

[StanMarsh51]

I'll take Brett, he was top 3 MVP four times winning once, Boggs never in the top 3. Not to mention i'll take the guy with a little power not the guy who hit lazy fly balls off the monster a thousand times. Brett just seemed like a leader while Boggs never struck me as a leader.

I don't think you can go wrong with either guy though.

With all due respect to Brooks and the other great 3rd baseman nobody is better than Mike Schmidt and I honestly don't think it's close.

I can't believe Brett has been retired twenty years, damn i'm getting old.

In all fairness, Boggs was probably the best player in the AL in 1987, but Boston wasn't a good team (had a below average pitching staff that year). He was also probably one of the 5 best players in the league in '83, '85, '86, '88, but he was often overlooked because he didn't have the sexy power numbers or play for a contender.