The Royallypwned 2012 Major League Baseball Thread (Giants WS Champs)

[Predicto]

The 3000 hits are impressive, but Craig Biggio was a compiler who hung on too long and did next to nothing in the postseason. Poor defensive player and never finished above 4th in MVP voting in his career.

As I recall, according to Bill James, Biggio was a compiler at the end but was one of the three best players in baseball during his prime.


Bill James said:

He was the player who wasn't a star, but who was just as valuable as the superstars because of his exceptional command of a collection of little skills—getting on base, and avoiding the double play, and stealing a base here and there, and playing defense. Here was the guy who scored 120 runs every year because he hit 45 or 50 doubles every year and walked 70 to 90 times a year and led the majors in being hit with the pitch and hardly ever grounded into a double play and somehow stole 25 to 50 bases every year although he really had very average speed.

You have to understand, when I wrote in 1998 that Craig Biggio was one of the five greatest second basemen of all time, people thought I was nuts. Very few people at that time saw him as a special player. I liked that, too—I liked people thinking I was out on a limb about something when I knew I was right. I loved doing a point-by-point summary comparing Craig Biggio to Ken Griffey Jr., and showing Biggio was actually as valuable, in his best seasons, as Griffey. Griffey at that time was generally regarded as the best player in baseball. In 1997 Griffey outhomered Biggio 56-22, in 1998 56-20. But Biggio had a higher batting average, more doubles and triples, more stolen bases with a better stolen base percentage, was hit by pitches an additional 20 times a year and grounded into fewer double plays. He had as many walks and fewer strikeouts. It was pretty obvious that, if you added together all of Biggio's advantages, Biggio was, at a minimum, on the same level.

http://www.slate.com/articles/sports...ig_biggio.html

[DM72]

As I recall, according to Bill James, Biggio was a compiler at the end but was one of the three best players in baseball during his prime.

Biggio was never a top three player in his prime.

[Predicto]

Biggio was never a top three player in his prime.

Certainly not in glamour, anyway.

Hey, it's no skin off my teeth. I'm not an Astros fan. Let's talk about how ridiculous it is that Bonds didn't get in.