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Crawford so close to milestones --
SportingNews on Tuesday, August 31 2010
TORONTO (AP) - Carl Crawford was drafted 21st overall in 2002 by the Jays and made an immediate impact batting .282 with 70 RBI and 52 swipes. Eighteen years later, he is still putting up solid numbers and is only 1 hit and 1 HR away from reaching two milestones; 3000 hits and 400 homeruns. He is bound to be a Hall of Famer in due time, but don't talk about retirement just yet, as he plans to tack on more stats to his already impressive resume.
New Strike Out King --
SportingNews on Wednesday, August 4 2010
On April 9th 2019 Oakland A's pitcher Oliver Perez struck out his 4,541st career batter, overtaking Orel Hershiser as the all-time career leader in strikeouts. He currently sits at 4,547 career K's. He first took the mound for Oakland in 2002 and has been a fixture in the rotation ever since. At 37 his best days appear to be behind him and this title may be short lived with fire baller Francisco Liriano climbing the ladder right behind him (currently at 4449 K's), but for now Oliver Perez is the Strike out king of the NARBL.
NARBL's Greatest Table Setters --
SportingNews on Monday, July 12 2010
Going by both statistics and accomplishments, the greatest leadoff men of the NARBL era (circa 1977 and on) are Paul Molitor, Barry Larkin and Brett Butler, with active player Carl Crawford now entering the same echelon. The first three are Hall of Famers. Will Crawford - now entering his 18th season - soon join them? These four players are the only ones to currently rank in the Top 25 Career Lists for Hits, Runs, Triples and Stolen Bases at the same time… or the four categories most influenced by speed. Even though Crawford (with former teammate Albert Pujols' recent retirement) is the active career leader in hits with 2871, when asked about comparisons, he is leery of even stepping into the conversation:
"Man, I used to love watching Molitor when I was growing up," says Crawford, a career Jay. "All Molitor did was hit and hit and hit. And then he'd run, too. Whatever it took to win, like nobody else."
Of the three immortals, the only one Crawford played against was Larkin. Crawford was drafted in '02, and while he arrived at the majors later that same year, Molitor ('95) and Butler ('99) had already long retired. Yet Barry Larkin would play - and at a high level - all the way until the conclusion of the 2005 season. That the NARBL hits leader took so long to be elected to the Hall of Fame (finally earning a Commissioner's Vote in '18) irked Crawford more than anyone, perhaps because of their historical similarities as players.
"That season Barry had in '04, man, that was awesome," admits Crawford. "He was old, right? Everyone thought he was done. Always asking him why he didn't retire, or why he'd risk embarassing himself. He already had Hall of Fame numbers. So then he goes and has the best season of his career. I think he did it just to shut his critics up. He was the guy I most wanted to be as a player, more than anyone."
"Carl's a good kid," laughed Larkin when contacted by the media. "And, naturally, I think he has excellent taste and unsurpassed judgement in role models."
Some other top leadoff men - Joe Morgan, Bob Meacham, Rickey Henderson - were left out of the comparison. Only 7 of Morgan's 21 seasons took place in the NARBL era, and both Henderson's and Meachum's careers were too short, neither reaching 2000 hits. Lou Brock, another excellent leadoff hitter, only had one full NARBL season to his credit. Roberto Alomar, a NARBL standout, was an excellent player but not really a leadoff man (such as "only" 414 stolen bases to go with his other gaudy numbers). Delino Deshields was similar to Henderson and Meachum in an overall lack of complete cumulative stats and a relatively short impact career. Eric Davis was predominantly a run producer, not a leadoff man, and his career totals reflect that, at least compared to other Hall of Famers. Davis produced 585 homeruns, and comparable runs and RBI totals to the best table-setters, not to mention over 1500 walks, but his .257 average, 2315 hits and 400 doubles indicate that Davis' focus was different than theirs. Jerry Remy, meanwhile, combined some solid career numbers (2545 hits, 151 triples) with some that were less than solid ("only" 1271 runs and 537 stolen bases) and some that were distinctly below average (97 career homeruns is not enough when he hit an equally unimpressive career 334 doubles - or roughly half of anyone else under consideration) although Remy did drive in 908 runs, which is more than solid for a contact-only leadoff man. Lance Johnson and Tim Raines were also on the outside looking in.
The cumulative numbers all-time of the top four of Larkin, Molitor, Butler and Crawford stand out among the prime categories for leadoff men: hits, doubles, triples, runs, and stolen bases. They also had various contributions in RBIs, homeruns and walks.
Some bulk statistics:
Hits - Larkin 3616*, Molitor 3437, Butler 2902, Crawford** 2871
Doubles - Larkin 669, Crawford** 685, Molitor 615, Butler 535
Triples - Butler 204*, Crawford** 188, Larkin 173, Molitor 148
Runs - Larkin 2081, Molitor 1739, Crawford** 1724, Butler 1687
Stolen Bases - Butler 1002*, Molitor 972, Larkin 958, Crawford** 833
RBI - Larkin 1816, Crawford** 1618, Molitor 1371, Butler 1108
Homeruns - Larkin 396, Crawford** 383, Molitor 124, Butler 51
Walks - Butler 1132, Larkin 1035, Molitor 953, Crawford** 896
Extrabase Hits - Crawford** 1256, Larkin 1238, Molitor 887, Butler 790
*1st All-Time
** Active Player
(Trivia: For comparison's sake, in real-life MLB, only four players in history have 500 career doubles, 250 homers and 350 steals. Know who they are? The answer is at the bottom. Hint - they have all played in the modern era. Bonus points: In NARBL, there are at least five such players, and three have already been mentioned in this article.)
While all four players were effective table setters, Butler was the one who most fit the prototypical mold for a leadoff man, a slot in the batting order he maintained almost all of his entire career. If he didn't bat lead-off, he was more likely to bat 9th than 2nd, and never 3rd or 4th. Butler was also easily the fastest of the four - maybe the faster ever - and his game was the most dependant on his speed. He is still the only player to top 200 triples or 1000 stolen bases, records likely to last longer than homerun or hit records. Few players maintain their full speed as they approach their 40th birthday, as Butler did.
Molitor, meanwhile, was the best pure hitter of the bunch when it came to batting eye and making contact. He was simply uncanny. Molitor's three batting titles ('82, '87 and '89) speak for themselves and he led the league in hits five times. This morphed him more into a two-hole batter for many of his best seasons, played in the pitching dominant '80s. Whispers of performance enhancement dogged him and many of his teammates for years - a stigma for many early Reds and White Sox players - but they were never proven, and Molitor was always a consistent performer. Paul learned from the best, too. His rookie season in '79 for the (in)famous Cincinnati Reds came in the midst of one of the greatest collection of hits ever, achieved by leadoff man Rod Carew. Carew had 902 hits from '78 through '81 alone during the Reds' championship runs, a staggering average of 226 per season. (Carew's 3183 hits are impressive and his 552 career steals are still among the top 25, but only 8 of his 18 seasons came during the NARBL era.)
Crawford and Larkin had the most power of the foursome, Larkin's developing late in his career (he is the only member of the foursome to top 40 homeruns in a season - once, in 2004, his best and penultimate season), Crawford's more consistently. Crawford has had 13 seasons of 20+ homeruns and counting, Larkin 9, whereas neither Butler nor Molitor ever hit so many in a season… albeit, that was not their game in the first place. Both Crawford and Larkin spent a great deal of the later half of their careers as 3-hole or 2-hole hitters as opposed to leading off, although they often ended up back at the top due to their speed.
In speed and power, only three NARBL players have ever (even including those with pre-'77 stats) amassed 300+ homeruns and 700+ stolen bases. They are Larkin (396/958), Crawford (383/833) and Kal Daniels (412/758). What is most surprising, is that no one else is even close to joining them. (Daniels, a 2-time all-star, was an excellent player and a Rookie of the Year with the Brewers before spending 11 seasons with New Orleans. All that held him back was a .264 career average, less than 2500 hits, plus a relative inability to hit for any other kind of extrabase hit other than a homerun later in his career.) In fact, including these three, only 11 players in the history of the game have ever even hit 100+ homeruns with 600+ stolen bases, and the only two with 200+ homeruns were Joe Morgan (278) with 14 non-narbl seasons, and Cesar Cedeno (245) with 7 non-narbl seasons. (Of note, Eric Davis' combined 585/592 split might be one of the most impressive of all time.)
Larkin is currently the only player in NARBL to rank in the Top 25 in career hits, doubles, triples, runs, stolen bases and RBIs. Crawford - with 1618 RBI and counting - is 36 away from joining Larkin on all six lists, already climbing in the other five. Take out those RBIs, which are not always crucial to a leadoff player, and Molitor used to be included in five categories, until just last season when he was pushed off the career doubles list, as happened to Butler a few years before that. Regardless, beyond bulk statistics, Larkin, Molitor, Butler and Crawford also contributed beyond their base numbers, proving their table-setting worth in a myriad of ways.
Some Intangibles are:
# of Seasons - Larkin 20, Butler 19, Molitor 17, Crawford** 17
100 Run Seasons - Larkin 13, Crawford** 11, Molitor 8, Butler 5
100 RBI Seasons - Crawford** 9, Larkin 8, Molitor 2
.300 BAV - Molitor 16, Larkin 12, Butler 9, Crawford** 9,
.900 OPS - Crawford** 8, Larkin 4, Molitor 3
Gold Gloves - Larkin 3, Crawford 2**, Butler 1
All Star Apps. - Molitor 12, Larkin 8, Crawford** 6, Butler 3
20 HR Seasons - Crawford** 13, Larkin 9
Hit Streak Max - Larkin 28, Crawford** 27, Molitor 25, Butler 24
** Active Player
As rating pure skill goes, according to scouts, Butler did not quite measure up to the other three. His numbers were based on contact, speed and most importantly… longevity. Butler had the least number of 100 runs seasons (only 5 in 19 years), never drove in 100 or ever had a .900 OPS, but he is still the only one who has stolen 90+ bases in a single season. In fact, Butler did it twice, in back-to-back seasons with the Blue Jays, stealing 94 and 97 bases in '88 and '89. Molitor and Crawford "only" topped 80 stolen bases once each in their careers (87 in '89, and 83 in '04, respectively) while Larkin "topped out" at 79 in '96.
"That was my game, baby," Butler still says with glee. "Eat my dust!"
All four players strung together a number of seasons with .300 batting averages - 46 times between the four of them - altthough Crawford comes across as the most consistent extra-base threat. Molitor would often joke, "It's a backhanded compliment to lead the league in singles," but his incredible run of all-star appearances (12) likely helped him sleep at night. Larkin, though, had the edge in defence, not only in Gold Gloves, with 3 on his mantle, but in that he played the prime fielding position, shortstop. Molitor was above-average all over the infield, too, including shortstop, but was never recognised by his peers for it. Crawford (2) and Butler (1) both won Gold Gloves, but they were outfielders, and Crawford a corner outfielder at that.
Still, in the battle of five-tool competitions, Larkin and Crawford likely come out ahead, as they possessed comparable defence, contact and baserunning to Molitor and Butler, but with the added dimension of power and driving in runs, making them more of a threat. (Although, it's of interest to note, that none of the four ever won the Ted Williams MVP award, and it was only Butler (1981) who won a Rookie of the Year award.)
A large part of each player's success is due not only to their longevity, but how effective they were at those later ages, especially considering most players begin to decline rapidly after age 34, some of them hanging on too long, until the game forces them out. At age 41, for example, Barry Larkin was an NL All-Star with a 1.010 OPS for Carolina, with 42 HRs and 134 RBI. He also had a whopping 219 hits to go with 30 SBs (although he was caught 21 times). Molitor, in his last season at age 39, batted .318 with 90 runs and 54 SBs. He changed his Sox from White to Red that year, but never missed a beat. Butler, also at age 39, had 189 hits and a .385 OBP, with 44 doubles, 15 triples and 130 runs scored. But, it should be noted, he would only steal 17 bases that year, and while he would play all the way to age 42, his glory days were pretty much over after that. Crawford, at age 37 this past season, lead the American League in Extra Base Hits (89) and tied for the Major League lead in Total Bases (364), all while enjoying his 4th career 30/30 (HR/SB) season.
All four were playoff veterans, too, albeit with different levels of success.
When It Matters:
Rings Won - Molitor 3, Crawford** 2
Post BAV - Crawford** .337, Larkin .312, Molitor .296, Butler .243
Post OPS - Crawford** .997, Larkin .877, Molitor .733, Butler .666
Post AtBats - Molitor 446, Larkin 442, Butler 362, Crawford** 303
Post HR - Crawford** 16, Larkin 10, Butler 4, Molitor 3
Post RBI - Larkin 66, Crawford** 54, Molitor 51, Butler 36
Post SB - Butler 42, Molitor 37, Larkin 29, Crawford** 28
Molitor (3) has won more World Championships than Crawford (2) so far, but they both have to feel better than Larkin and Butler, with no Championship rings between them, despite a combined 24 trips to the postseason, especially Larkin, as his .312/.877 postseason splits are second only to Crawford.
"I spent most of my career as a rent-a-player," quipped Butler, "but I always got rented by the wrong guys!"
We bet that Hall of Fame plaque sitting on his mantle makes it a whole lot easier to take.
Thanks,
Matt
TOR
(Trivia answer - according to ESPN, only Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Craig Biggio and Bobby Abreau have 500 career doubles, 250 homers and 350 steals in real-life MLB history. In NARBL's alternate history, using an imperfect search, I found five - Ellis Burks (697/389/355), Roberto Alomar (624/345/414), Howard Johnson (500/606/421) as well as Larkin and Crawford.)
Cuban Prospect Defects --
SportingNews on Saturday, July 10 2010
Carlos Alvarez, a Cuban considered by many scouts to be the best left-handed pitching prospect in the world, has defected from the national team, several sources have confirmed to The Sporting News.
Alvarez has a world class curveball, but also question marks about his other pitches -- and his maturity.
Alvarez, 26, walked out of his hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Cuba was participating in a tournament, and never returned, according to the Spanish-language Web site cubaencuentograph.com, which first reported Alvarez's defection.
Alvarez told the site he was still in Canada, but would not reveal his location for safety reasons. A source said Alvarez was scheduled to fly to Miami on Thursday.
By several estimates, Alvarez could garner a contract worth anywhere from $20 million to $40 million. "Without a doubt [he is worth that kind of money]," agent Juan Torres said Thursday.
Torres, who represents Alvarez and is considered the top agent for Cuban defectors, said he has had no contact with Alvarez yet.
Alvarez is not a complete unknown; he pitched for Cuba at the World Baseball Classic this past spring.
"This is shocking," one international scouting director said about the magnitude of the defection.
Yet Alvarez is still considered a fairly raw prospect. Though many considered him to be the most talented pitcher on the Cuban squad, Alvarez posted only a 5.68 ERA in 6 1/3 innings during the WBC. Last year in the National Series in Cuba, Alvarez had a 4.03 ERA in 118 1/3 innings.
And though his pitches have been clocked at 91 mph, some consider Alvarez's secondary pitches to be only average. For that reason, many believe Alvarez likely would have to start his professional career in the minors.
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