TJ didn’t exist yet.
Oh, I never said bad. I said good. Lots and lots of good with a couple of years where they were some of the best players ever(ish)
How many MVPs did Jordan deserve? How many MVPs did Jordan get?
I would argue that his defense was not because he was a GREAT player, but because he was a SMART player. He incorporated positioning before positioning was a thing.
And for his era his offense was really good, too. 6th/7th in batting average on top of great defense on top of never missing a game on top of playing shortstop.
Maybe this is where the comparison breaks down because pitching is more specialized and Maddux has 2 of the 5 highest ERA+ seasons of all time. Not quite the same thing as winning MVP twice
I don't know if I'd separate those two things. I think it's all part of it. Some guys are athletic, some are smart and the really great ones are both.
How many truly elite players can we even get from that era? Rickey Henderson did seem like the easy one and maybe he went a tad bit early but who is the next best?
I do think Griffey is easily ahead of Ripken. Boggs I haven't thought about. I guess there is a reason I put my 83 Topps card away.
I guess he's more in the Schmidt era than the Henderson era but eventually I think we should get around to George Brett.
I think it would be interesting, too, because people are placing value of positions and defense. I have no illusions of someone like Ozzie Smith going top 50 or however long we do this but Ripken is interesting just where he ends up.
How about Gwynn? Guerrero was mid-90’s.
