Clipping the Clipper
It's not often that I spend time thinking about teams that are 3 games below .500 approaching Memorial Day, or about players with fewer career hits than Graig Nettles, but today I will do just that.
Derek Jeter got his 2,215th (and 2,216th) career hit(s) last night, passing Joe DiMaggio on the all-time list. Next up for Jetes?
What I find most interesting about this is just how few hits Joe DiMaggio had over his career - four more than Willie Randolph and seven more than Willie Wilson, to name two. But then I remembered that DiMaggio lost 3 years to World War II. And it's reasonable, given that he was absolutely, positively at the top of his game in those years, to think that 3 more 180-hit seasons would have been in order, bringing his career total to 2,754 -- 20 fewer than Andre Dawson.
Could someone explain to me how this man was ever described as the Greatest Living Ballplayer?
And, to open up an entirely different can of worms, is it possible that Jeter will play long enough -- moving to 3rd base, then 1st base, then DH -- that he could possibly, conceivably threaten 4,256? He gets to play for as long as he wants to -- no Yankee owner will ever cut him. The question is, does he want to play until he's 45, or doesn't he?
Derek Jeter got his 2,215th (and 2,216th) career hit(s) last night, passing Joe DiMaggio on the all-time list. Next up for Jetes?
| 151. | Fred Tenney* | 2231 | L |
| 152. | Joe Sewell+* | 2226 | L |
| 153. | Graig Nettles* | 2225 | L |
| 154. | Darrell Evans* | 2223 | L |
| 155. | Joe Kelley+ | 2220 | R |
What I find most interesting about this is just how few hits Joe DiMaggio had over his career - four more than Willie Randolph and seven more than Willie Wilson, to name two. But then I remembered that DiMaggio lost 3 years to World War II. And it's reasonable, given that he was absolutely, positively at the top of his game in those years, to think that 3 more 180-hit seasons would have been in order, bringing his career total to 2,754 -- 20 fewer than Andre Dawson.
Could someone explain to me how this man was ever described as the Greatest Living Ballplayer?
And, to open up an entirely different can of worms, is it possible that Jeter will play long enough -- moving to 3rd base, then 1st base, then DH -- that he could possibly, conceivably threaten 4,256? He gets to play for as long as he wants to -- no Yankee owner will ever cut him. The question is, does he want to play until he's 45, or doesn't he?
posted by Josh at
Thursday, May 24, 2007
5 Comments:
Could someone explain to me how this man was ever described as the Greatest Living Ballplayer?
Gee, I don't know, because he was an all-time great, just like Jeter is (defense to one side)? You're conflating underrating Williams with overrating DiMaggio and it's not fair. It would seem hard to appreciate baseball's greatness if you're willingly blind to the talents of some of the best just because of the laundry on their backs.
By
Tom Clancy, at 7:26 PM
To further buttress my unprovoked attack:
"just how few hits Joe DiMaggio had over his career" -- how many other guys played 13 years and accumulated that many hits. Of the next 5 players, only Sewell played a comparable number of years (14). Two of the others played 22 years, or 169% of DiMaggio's career. The other answer to your question is: walks. His lifetime OBP is .398. Lifetime.
To get back to the actual question of perception, I think you need to place DiMaggio in context: he was a mystery, even to his family, in an age more ready to anoint heroes than tear them apart. He left the game when he was still great, which always adds to a mystique. And remember the stories about his grace, how he made it all look effortless, never had to run full-out to get to a ball.
And he had a career OPS+ of 155 in a park unsuited to his handedness. How many guys are we watching today with a lifetime OPS+ of 155? That includes a tough (for him) year at 36. A-Rod is at 146 and he's still in his prime.
By
Tom Clancy, at 7:36 PM
I wasn't really asking rhetorically. Every time I look at DiMaggio, I come away a little less impressed than I think I'm supposed to be. The way his career is framed it's always, "Everyone knows how great he was," and his greatness is never explained. I mean, he was an all star literally every year of his career. Finished respectfully in the MVP race every year. Clearly, his contemporaries knew how great he was. I still think Mays and Aaron were considerably better all-around, and that Williams was a better hitter.
By
Josh, at 9:10 AM
I'm still stuck on the line about how Josh never thinks about anyone who has fewer hits than Graig Nettles. I didn't realize he hated the current Red Sox lineup that much. Or doesn't ever think about them, that is.
By
dl004d, at 11:07 AM
"I still think Mays and Aaron were considerably better all-around, and that Williams was a better hitter."
This sounds like a good art criticism of Caravaggio or someone: "Sure he was great, but he was no Michaelangelo, Leonardo or Jesus." Don't go so far out on those limbs.
By
Tom Clancy, at 3:11 PM
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