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From the great Joe Posnanski, all the way from China (where he has to send stories to his wife via email so she can post them...why? Because his site is blocked)
So, I was reading “Sports Illustrated” while riding on the slow plane to China, when I came across this survey Jon Heyman did with 20 general managers. He asked each of them, in order of preference, to name the five players in Major League Baseball they would most like to build their team around. As you might guess, I love polls like this — not only because they can give you a good idea of who, in the truest sense of the word, are the most valuable players in baseball but they also because they give you a good idea of the baseball mindset of 20 general managers.*
*Hint: There is something in this paragraph that gives you a pretty good idea of the big thing that is coming for this blog.
Here, to start, are the Top 10 players, with first-place votes in parentheses, just like they do it for The AP college football poll.
1. Hanley Ramirez (5), 40 points.
2. Alex Rodriguez (3), 29 points.
3. Chase Utley (1), 27 points.
4. Felix Hernandez (3), 23 points.
5. Joe Mauer (3), 9 points.
6. Grady Sizemore (1), 18 points.
7. Josh Beckett (1), 15 points.
8. Albert Pujols (1), 11 points.
9. Evan Longoria, 10 points.
(tie) Joba Chamberlain, 10 points.
(tie) Johan Santana, 10 points.
(tie) Edinson Volquez, 10 points.
Now, let’s start with the obvious: The general managers were clearly on very different pages when it came to the question of, “Who would you build your team around?” Some — most I would say — really built their thinking around age. This helps explain why 24-year-old Hanley Ramirez, a shortstop with power and speed, received the most votes and appeared on the most ballots. I don’t know how many see Hanley Ramirez as the best player in baseball (though he’s awfully good), but the general managers who voted him No. 1 are clearly imagining Ramirez as their superstar, starting shortstop for the next 10 to 15 years. To give you an idea, last year’s top choice of the general managers was then 24-year-old Jose Reyes, a shortstop with less power than Ramirez and perhaps a touch more speed. To give you another idea, the 22-year-old, brilliant and oft-injured King Felix Hernandez appeared on more ballots than any pitcher in baseball (with Joba Chamberlain not far behind) while 29-year-old pitching rock Brandon Webb appeared on exactly one ballot.
Heck, more general managers voted for DAVID PRICE, who has yet to throw a single Major League pitch, than Brandon Webb. So imagination was a big part of this exercise for many GMs.
On the other hand, some GMs clearly did not look at this as a question of age and upside. They saw this as a simple question — who is the best player in the game, the guy you want most. This explains why 33-year-old third baseman Alex Rodriguez finished in second place. He obviously does not have as many years left. But he’s such a great player — he’s won the MVP award three times in the last five years, as we know — that these GMs figure that even if they only had his greatness for three or four or five more years, it would be worth it. This is the, “Hell, I could get fired in two years anyway, I’m getting mine now” train of thought.
Because of this obvious split in the way GMs looked at the question, we have some bizarre quirks in the system. Apparently, if every player was released for one big draft, more general managers would take Joba Chamberlain in the Top 5 than Jake Peavy, more would take Evan Longoria than David Wright, more would take Howie Kendrick than C.C. Sabathia or Lance Berkman. I think that’s all in the form of the question — some GMs clearly avoided choosing established stars and limited their choices to players under 25 who still have room to grow.
All of which leads to the point of this post: How in the heck did Albert Pujols finish eighth in this poll?
I realize that many people do not believe that Pujols is really 28 years old. The age question has gone way back with him, all the way back to high school when other coaches were convinced that he was too old to be crushing their tender-hearted young pitchers. And I realize that Pujols plays first base and not a premium middle-of-the-diamond position like Ramirez, Utley, Mauer and Sizemore. Power-hitting first baseman are easier to come by, surely, than middle-infielders with pop. And I suspect that many general managers WOULD take Pujols Top 5 in a draft, but eliminated him from this poll because he did not fit the question. Everyone already knows that Pujols is a great player.
Still, even with all that, I think it’s absolutely incredible that Pujols finished eighth in this poll. If I had the No. 1 pick in the draft – there is no question I would take Albert Pujols. Nobody else is even close for me. And it makes me wonder if Pujols, even as much acclaim as he has obviously received, is in fact wildly underrated.
Let’s start with a few numbers. Let’s compare Pujols to A-Rod, who I think would probably win the People’s Choice Award for best player in the game.
Alex Rodriguez: .307/.390/.579 for his career. Best season was probably 2007 when he went .314/.422/.645 with 54 homers and 24 SBs. He probably had four other seasons that roughly compare, and is having a terrific year this year.
Albert Pujols: .333/.423/.619 for his career. Best seasons was probably 2003, when he went .359/.439/.667 with 51 doubles and 43 homers. He probably had five other seasons that roughly compare, and he is having a terrific year this year.
Now, remember that we are probably comparing the two best players in the game, so there is no loser here. But it sure looks to me like Pujols is even better than A-Rod. He gets on base more and he hits for more power. He strikes out about half as often, walks about as much. He plays first base to A-Rod’s third, but he plays it brilliantly, won the Gold Glove in 2006, probably should have won it again in 2007 — his zone rating, while perhaps an imperfect defensive statistic, is once again the best in all of baseball, any position. And there is his staggering consistency — A-Rod has had better-than-150-OPS+ seasons six of the last nine, which is remarkable. But Pujols has had a better-than-150 OPS+ EVERY SINGLE YEAR OF HIS EIGHT-YEAR CAREER. Babe Ruth didn’t do that his first eight years as a hitter. Barry Bonds didn’t do that. Joe DiMaggio didn’t, Willie Mays didn’t, Hank Aaron didn’t, Honus Wagner didn’t and so on.
Beyond that, if you are into such things, there are those ill-defined qualities that baseball men love to talk about. A-Rod, by the account of many around him, is a pain in the neck. I think he has generally been treated pretty harshly and unfairly by booing fans who expect that highly-paid hitters should not fail, certainly not with men on base. But even so, fans sense something missing in the guy. And they’re not alone — it isn’t hard to find teammates and former teammates who roll their eyes when asked about Rodriguez.
Pujols, meanwhile, seems to be viewed with awe by everyone. He is one of those players who is great when you see him once, greater still when you see him every day, greater beyond even that if you share the bench with him.
I suspect all of this is well-covered ground — who doesn’t know how great Albert Pujols is? — and yet more general managers apparently would build their team around A-Rod. Why? Because he’s a third baseman (and not an especially good one)? Because he can steal you a few more bases? Because there’s this dream he could move back to shortstop? Because of his winning smile and sparkling personality? I don’t get it.
And obviously if I don’t get why A-Rod was chosen ahead of Pujols, I certainly do not get why a general manager would take Hanley Ramirez, a remarkable and gifted player who was probably the worst defensive shortstop in baseball last year (”He’s going to get a lot better in the field,” one GM told Heyman). Or Joe Mauer, a player I absolutely love (I thought he was MVP in 2006) but still a young catcher without power, a guy whose No. 2 Baseball-Reference comp after last year was Jason Kendall.* Or even Grady Sizemore, a fabulous center fielder with immense power and terrific speed. Sizemore may someday have an offensive year or even several years as good as one of Pujols’, but he hasn’t so far, and I’m not sure center field defense makes up the difference.
*Mauer’s No. 1 comp after last year was a catcher from the 1920s and 1930s named Shanty Hogan, who hit .333 in 1928 in his first year for John McGraw and the New York Giants and was, apparently, known for his remarkable appetite. He was apparently nicknamed “Shanty” because at 6-foot-1, 240 he looked like a small hut. God, I love baseball.
Well, hey, there are plenty of other great players in baseball. I’m not knocking any of them. But frankly, I cannot see a general manager who would not take Albert Pujols in their Top 5. I just don’t get it. To me, Pujols is so clearly the player of this generation.
Two more Pujols things. One, I remember a Cardinals fan once sending me a list — I wish I could find that — where he charted Albert Pujols for 30 days and tried to determine how many winning plays he makes. These were relatively objective things — going first to third on a single, scoring from second on a single, a stolen base, making a great defensive play like taking out the lead runner on a bunt or stealing a double, hitting a sacrifice fly, having a ferocious eight or nine pitch at-bat, and of course the obvious stuff, the doubles, the home runs and all that good stuff. He said that he tried to be a very tough grader and he still found that of the 30 games he charted, Pujols made two or more winning plays in 28 of them. He made at least one winning play in 29. He made a total of 75 winning plays, if I remember right. I don’t have anything to compare that to, but I remain in awe.
Second, I remember once talking to one guy on the Cardinals and asking him what Pujols was like as a teammate. He went on and on about how the guy always came through, how his work ethic was insane, how he cared only about winning. Then he said something that’s really special, if you think about it. He said: “Albert is so good that you feel like you let him down when you screw up.” I thought that had to be the ultimate line that could ever be said about a ballplayer. I build my baseball team around that ballplayer.
*Hint: There is something in this paragraph that gives you a pretty good idea of the big thing that is coming for this blog.
Here, to start, are the Top 10 players, with first-place votes in parentheses, just like they do it for The AP college football poll.
1. Hanley Ramirez (5), 40 points.
2. Alex Rodriguez (3), 29 points.
3. Chase Utley (1), 27 points.
4. Felix Hernandez (3), 23 points.
5. Joe Mauer (3), 9 points.
6. Grady Sizemore (1), 18 points.
7. Josh Beckett (1), 15 points.
8. Albert Pujols (1), 11 points.
9. Evan Longoria, 10 points.
(tie) Joba Chamberlain, 10 points.
(tie) Johan Santana, 10 points.
(tie) Edinson Volquez, 10 points.
Now, let’s start with the obvious: The general managers were clearly on very different pages when it came to the question of, “Who would you build your team around?” Some — most I would say — really built their thinking around age. This helps explain why 24-year-old Hanley Ramirez, a shortstop with power and speed, received the most votes and appeared on the most ballots. I don’t know how many see Hanley Ramirez as the best player in baseball (though he’s awfully good), but the general managers who voted him No. 1 are clearly imagining Ramirez as their superstar, starting shortstop for the next 10 to 15 years. To give you an idea, last year’s top choice of the general managers was then 24-year-old Jose Reyes, a shortstop with less power than Ramirez and perhaps a touch more speed. To give you another idea, the 22-year-old, brilliant and oft-injured King Felix Hernandez appeared on more ballots than any pitcher in baseball (with Joba Chamberlain not far behind) while 29-year-old pitching rock Brandon Webb appeared on exactly one ballot.
Heck, more general managers voted for DAVID PRICE, who has yet to throw a single Major League pitch, than Brandon Webb. So imagination was a big part of this exercise for many GMs.
On the other hand, some GMs clearly did not look at this as a question of age and upside. They saw this as a simple question — who is the best player in the game, the guy you want most. This explains why 33-year-old third baseman Alex Rodriguez finished in second place. He obviously does not have as many years left. But he’s such a great player — he’s won the MVP award three times in the last five years, as we know — that these GMs figure that even if they only had his greatness for three or four or five more years, it would be worth it. This is the, “Hell, I could get fired in two years anyway, I’m getting mine now” train of thought.
Because of this obvious split in the way GMs looked at the question, we have some bizarre quirks in the system. Apparently, if every player was released for one big draft, more general managers would take Joba Chamberlain in the Top 5 than Jake Peavy, more would take Evan Longoria than David Wright, more would take Howie Kendrick than C.C. Sabathia or Lance Berkman. I think that’s all in the form of the question — some GMs clearly avoided choosing established stars and limited their choices to players under 25 who still have room to grow.
All of which leads to the point of this post: How in the heck did Albert Pujols finish eighth in this poll?
I realize that many people do not believe that Pujols is really 28 years old. The age question has gone way back with him, all the way back to high school when other coaches were convinced that he was too old to be crushing their tender-hearted young pitchers. And I realize that Pujols plays first base and not a premium middle-of-the-diamond position like Ramirez, Utley, Mauer and Sizemore. Power-hitting first baseman are easier to come by, surely, than middle-infielders with pop. And I suspect that many general managers WOULD take Pujols Top 5 in a draft, but eliminated him from this poll because he did not fit the question. Everyone already knows that Pujols is a great player.
Still, even with all that, I think it’s absolutely incredible that Pujols finished eighth in this poll. If I had the No. 1 pick in the draft – there is no question I would take Albert Pujols. Nobody else is even close for me. And it makes me wonder if Pujols, even as much acclaim as he has obviously received, is in fact wildly underrated.
Let’s start with a few numbers. Let’s compare Pujols to A-Rod, who I think would probably win the People’s Choice Award for best player in the game.
Alex Rodriguez: .307/.390/.579 for his career. Best season was probably 2007 when he went .314/.422/.645 with 54 homers and 24 SBs. He probably had four other seasons that roughly compare, and is having a terrific year this year.
Albert Pujols: .333/.423/.619 for his career. Best seasons was probably 2003, when he went .359/.439/.667 with 51 doubles and 43 homers. He probably had five other seasons that roughly compare, and he is having a terrific year this year.
Now, remember that we are probably comparing the two best players in the game, so there is no loser here. But it sure looks to me like Pujols is even better than A-Rod. He gets on base more and he hits for more power. He strikes out about half as often, walks about as much. He plays first base to A-Rod’s third, but he plays it brilliantly, won the Gold Glove in 2006, probably should have won it again in 2007 — his zone rating, while perhaps an imperfect defensive statistic, is once again the best in all of baseball, any position. And there is his staggering consistency — A-Rod has had better-than-150-OPS+ seasons six of the last nine, which is remarkable. But Pujols has had a better-than-150 OPS+ EVERY SINGLE YEAR OF HIS EIGHT-YEAR CAREER. Babe Ruth didn’t do that his first eight years as a hitter. Barry Bonds didn’t do that. Joe DiMaggio didn’t, Willie Mays didn’t, Hank Aaron didn’t, Honus Wagner didn’t and so on.
Beyond that, if you are into such things, there are those ill-defined qualities that baseball men love to talk about. A-Rod, by the account of many around him, is a pain in the neck. I think he has generally been treated pretty harshly and unfairly by booing fans who expect that highly-paid hitters should not fail, certainly not with men on base. But even so, fans sense something missing in the guy. And they’re not alone — it isn’t hard to find teammates and former teammates who roll their eyes when asked about Rodriguez.
Pujols, meanwhile, seems to be viewed with awe by everyone. He is one of those players who is great when you see him once, greater still when you see him every day, greater beyond even that if you share the bench with him.
I suspect all of this is well-covered ground — who doesn’t know how great Albert Pujols is? — and yet more general managers apparently would build their team around A-Rod. Why? Because he’s a third baseman (and not an especially good one)? Because he can steal you a few more bases? Because there’s this dream he could move back to shortstop? Because of his winning smile and sparkling personality? I don’t get it.
And obviously if I don’t get why A-Rod was chosen ahead of Pujols, I certainly do not get why a general manager would take Hanley Ramirez, a remarkable and gifted player who was probably the worst defensive shortstop in baseball last year (”He’s going to get a lot better in the field,” one GM told Heyman). Or Joe Mauer, a player I absolutely love (I thought he was MVP in 2006) but still a young catcher without power, a guy whose No. 2 Baseball-Reference comp after last year was Jason Kendall.* Or even Grady Sizemore, a fabulous center fielder with immense power and terrific speed. Sizemore may someday have an offensive year or even several years as good as one of Pujols’, but he hasn’t so far, and I’m not sure center field defense makes up the difference.
*Mauer’s No. 1 comp after last year was a catcher from the 1920s and 1930s named Shanty Hogan, who hit .333 in 1928 in his first year for John McGraw and the New York Giants and was, apparently, known for his remarkable appetite. He was apparently nicknamed “Shanty” because at 6-foot-1, 240 he looked like a small hut. God, I love baseball.
Well, hey, there are plenty of other great players in baseball. I’m not knocking any of them. But frankly, I cannot see a general manager who would not take Albert Pujols in their Top 5. I just don’t get it. To me, Pujols is so clearly the player of this generation.
Two more Pujols things. One, I remember a Cardinals fan once sending me a list — I wish I could find that — where he charted Albert Pujols for 30 days and tried to determine how many winning plays he makes. These were relatively objective things — going first to third on a single, scoring from second on a single, a stolen base, making a great defensive play like taking out the lead runner on a bunt or stealing a double, hitting a sacrifice fly, having a ferocious eight or nine pitch at-bat, and of course the obvious stuff, the doubles, the home runs and all that good stuff. He said that he tried to be a very tough grader and he still found that of the 30 games he charted, Pujols made two or more winning plays in 28 of them. He made at least one winning play in 29. He made a total of 75 winning plays, if I remember right. I don’t have anything to compare that to, but I remain in awe.
Second, I remember once talking to one guy on the Cardinals and asking him what Pujols was like as a teammate. He went on and on about how the guy always came through, how his work ethic was insane, how he cared only about winning. Then he said something that’s really special, if you think about it. He said: “Albert is so good that you feel like you let him down when you screw up.” I thought that had to be the ultimate line that could ever be said about a ballplayer. I build my baseball team around that ballplayer.
That discussion begins and ends with #5, at least as far as the Cardinals are concerned. Ducky has had a nice year, but seriously...
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