10 quick agree/disagree statements

1 - John McGraw is the greatest baseball mind that has ever walked onto a Baseball Field.

2 - Pete Rose could have played in any era of baseball's history and the result would have been a HOF career.

3 - Playing and managing records of rule-breakers should never be "wiped out"; any penalty should be administered by fans, Hall of Fame voters, etc.

4 - The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were the greatest team ever.

5 - Even when taking steroids into consideration, I'll probably always struggle with keeping Barry Bonds out of my all-time top 10.

6 - Cap Anson takes far too much blame for baseball segregation.

7 - The idea that Babe Ruth would hit 104 HRs today is nonsense.

8 - Players from the 1970s-80s are vastly underrated

9 - The military draft in the US cut into the major league talent pool from 1942 until the late 70's.

10 – This player hit over 700 HRs in MLB.

In keeping with the quick agree/disagree theme:

1 - John McGraw is the greatest baseball mind that has ever walked onto a Baseball Field. Disagree

2 - Pete Rose could have played in any era of baseball's history and the result would have been a HOF career. Agree

3
- Playing and managing records of rule-breakers should never be "wiped
out"; any penalty should be administered by fans, Hall of Fame voters,
etc. Agree

4 - The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were the greatest team ever. Disagree

5
- Even when taking steroids into consideration, I'll probably always
struggle with keeping Barry Bonds out of my all-time top 10. Agree

6 - Cap Anson takes far too much blame for baseball segregation. Agree

7 - The idea that Babe Ruth would hit 104 HRs today is nonsense. Disagree

8 - Players from the 1970s-80s are vastly underrated. Disagree

9 - The military draft in the US cut into the major league talent pool from 1942 until the late 70's. Agree

10 – This player hit over 700 HRs in MLB. Agree

- John McGraw is the greatest baseball mind that has ever walked onto a Baseball Field. Don't know about that, I think most deadball players had better Baseball Minds than todays Managers

2 - Pete Rose could have played in any era of baseball's history and the result would have been a HOF career. I could see him slapping a Walter Johnson fastball into left Center

3 - Playing and managing records of rule-breakers should never be "wiped out"; any penalty should be administered by fans, Hall of Fame voters, etc. Thats what astericks are for

4 - The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were the greatest team ever. Better than the 27 Yankees IDK about that

5 - Even when taking steroids into consideration, I'll probably always struggle with keeping Barry Bonds out of my all-time top 10.I don't even like to talk about him

6 - Cap Anson takes far too much blame for baseball segregation. Haven't read much on this subject, but I'm sure he does

7 - The idea that Babe Ruth would hit 104 HRs today is nonsense. Nah, Maybe 103

8 - Players from the 1970s-80s are vastly underrated. Who Cares

9 - The military draft in the US cut into the major league talent pool from 1942 until the late 70's. Wasn't there a one armed Outfielder for the Browns in the 40's

10 – This player hit over 700 HRs in MLB.Thats Hammerin Hank I was Fortunate enough to see him Play.

1 - John McGraw is the greatest baseball mind that has ever walked onto a Baseball Field.

Disagree. I'd probably go with Tony LaRussa

2 - Pete Rose could have played in any era of baseball's history and the result would have been a HOF career.

Agree...no brainer

3 - Playing and managing records of rule-breakers should never be "wiped out"; any penalty should be administered by fans, Hall of Fame voters, etc.

Agree

4 - The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were the greatest team ever.

Disagree...1909 Pirates

5 - Even when taking steroids into consideration, I'll probably always struggle with keeping Barry Bonds out of my all-time top 10.

No struggle for me, he's a no-brainer top 10

6 - Cap Anson takes far too much blame for baseball segregation.

Disagree. It's right where it belongs

7 - The idea that Babe Ruth would hit 104 HRs today is nonsense.

Agree. Although he was a great hitter, he didn't have to face pitching specialists

8 - Players from the 1970s-80s are vastly underrated

Agree. Horrible parks made for horrible numbers. This why players need to be compared to their comtemporaries and not players from other eras when considering HOF worthiness. This keeping Morris, Rice and other great players from that era out of the HOF

9 - The military draft in the US cut into the major league talent pool from 1942 until the late 70's.

Disagree. It only affected it during WW2 and Korean War.

10 – This player hit over 700 HRs in MLB.

Looks like Hank but I'm guessing it's a trick question




Jay

1 - John McGraw is the greatest baseball mind that has ever walked onto a Baseball Field. Agree

2 - Pete Rose could have played in any era of baseball's history and the result would have been a HOF career. Agree

3
- Playing and managing records of rule-breakers should never be "wiped
out"; any penalty should be administered by fans, Hall of Fame voters,
etc. Agree

4 - The 1929 Philadelphia Athletics were the greatest team ever. Disagree

5
- Even when taking steroids into consideration, I'll probably always
struggle with keeping Barry Bonds out of my all-time top 10. Disagree

6 - Cap Anson takes far too much blame for baseball segregation. Agree

7 - The idea that Babe Ruth would hit 104 HRs today is nonsense. Agree

8 - Players from the 1970s-80s are vastly underrated. Agree

9 - The military draft in the US cut into the major league talent pool from 1942 until the late 70's. Agree

10 – This player hit over 700 HRs in MLB. I think this is a trick question also.

No, no trick. Other than I think playing in the shadows of Mays, and even his own teammates, much of Aaron's value appears to get lost in the shuffle.

He was a top fielder and heads up baserunner - who achieved the same stealing success ratio as Mays, with (surprisingly) not that many fewer SBs. When he came up on the top of the HR heap, many were surprised because he did it characteristically, with no flash; having never achieved 50 HRs in a season.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWdTMldbWjE

before SABR got overrun with academic pinheads don't allow anyone to have fun, I had come with a power/speed measure that worked very well for every era of baseball. Because I couldn't explain how I arrived at my constants and other parts of the the equation, other than "it makes sense" I was scoffed at for having produced something completely worthless. Yet when you looked at the final results, you couldn't argue with the players sitting at the top of the list for best careers and seasons. This is also the reason I am no longer a member of SABR. You aren't allowed to have fun anymore.

One of the surprise players, for me, to appear on the list was Aaron. As Gil said, he did everything very well without a lot of flash or fanfare.

Jay

Well Jay, I do not really care how you derive your equations, and actually, I likely wouldn't even try to follow it anyway. But I am interested in the results. So, if you have some explanable constants which can clarify comparisons, please share them.
Gil

My Total Power and Speed stat took into account SB, HR, Runs, 2B and 3B. I had what I called fudge factors to sort of balance things out. Going in, I had an idea that Cobb's 1911 season should be amoung the best all-time along and that Mays and Rickey Henderson should also do very well. After tweeking the fudge factor I ended up with something that had a nice balance of players from all eras from 19th century to current day.

I think I remember what the final formula was, but I would have to dig out the notebooks to be sure.

Jay

Well Jay,

If it is the best tool which you know of to balance the performance of players over various eras, I'd sure like to see it. And I do not imagine that I am alone in that.

Gil