I'm surprised Devon White isn't getting more love. IIRC, back in the late '80s and early '90s it was being argued by both the seamheads and the statheads that he might be the best defensive OF ever.
I'm surprised Devon White isn't getting more love. IIRC, back in the late '80s and early '90s it was being argued by both the seamheads and the statheads that he might be the best defensive OF ever.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
I liked Dwayne Murphy more myself.Originally Posted by M2
So many great defensive outfielders aren't as widely known which is the case with both White and Murphy. Gary Pettis, Rick Manning and Ken Berry might be on the list of unknown glove guys as well.
I'm going to go with the guys I watched the most. Then Runner Ups
RF - Kaline/Evans
CF - Blair/Eddie Milner
LF - Bonds/Henderson
3rd - Brooks Robinson/Aurlio Rodriguez
SS - Ozzie/Brinkman
2nd - Alomar/Morgan
1st - Hernandez/Joyner
C - Bench/Pudge
P - Maddux/Hampton
The OF is really tough for me.
I thought about Evans but really like Ichiro and almost felt obligated to pick Clemente. I only know Kaline by reputation, I just didn't see him much back then.
Eddie Milner is a surprise. In CF I had something similar to RF. I felt obligated towards Mays, but what I always remember is Paul Blair and Garry Maddox being the best. If I was going to go for a Red I would have taken Geronimo over Milner.
Hard to argue with Bonds and Henderson in LF. Only Joe Rudi and Yaz are even in the conversation IMO.
I always thought Lind was better for pure defense than Alomar and again a nod to the consensus for Mazeroski. (Pokey Reese for a year or two might make the list as well.)
Eddie Brinkman was very good, but he didn't have Concepcion's range IMO.
Threads like these are fun.
He was lot like McMillian from what I gather, steady as they go 24/7 52 weeks a year he and Rodriguez and Coleman for McLain... now that's a haul.Eddie Brinkman was very good, but he didn't have Concepcion's range IMO.
White chased Pettis out of a CF job and off the Angels' roster. The Angels wanted to keep both of them, but Pettis supposedly couldn't deal with being a LF (that White would be the CF was never in question).
His catch in Game 3 of the '92 World Series is also the greatest OF play I've ever seen.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Unfortunately defensive statistics for that time period are highly unreliable - and even a bit unreliable for today's fielders - but I've heard several people claim that they believe Al Kaline was a greater defensive right fielder than Clemente. Both played well before my time so I never saw them and really can only speculate based on contemporary opinion, however, I do believe Al Kaline seems to be one of the most underrated players in history, both offensively and defensively.
I also remember watching Devon White's catch in the 1992 World Series, but being 10-years-old the magnitude of how great that catch really was just flew right by me.
The Lost Decade Average Season: 74-88
2014-22 Average Season: 71-91
Kaat, Bench, Parker, Maz, Brooksie, Ozzie, Mays, Maddux, Kaline.
Although he idea of either Mays or Maddux playing a corner OF is pretty odd.
Someone should start a thread of "Iron Gloves"- the worst fielders ever. My list would start with Jeff Burroughs.
"In baseball, you don't know nothin'"...Yogi Berra
Your All-Time Rawlings Gold Glove Team
Pitcher:Kaat, Jim
Catcher:Bench, Johnny
First Base:Hernandez, Keith
Second Base:Alomar, Roberto
Third Base:Robinson, Brooks
Shortstop:Smith, Ozzie
Outfield:Clemente, Roberto
Outfield:Griffey Jr., Ken
Outfield:Suzuki, Ichiro
I tried to stick with guys i actually saw play, but had to make a couple exceptions (Mays, Clemente)
Pitcher: Kaat, Jim
Catcher: Bench, Johnny
First Base: Mattingly, Don
Second Base: Morgan, Joe
Third Base: Robinson, Brooks
Shortstop: Belanger, Mark
Outfield: Clemente, Roberto
Outfield: Mays, Willie
Outfield: Winfield, Dave
Nothing to see here. Please disperse.
Is it the one in this clip? About 1:38 in.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qoc7iQHuNQY
I was young during this series but sort of remember it, I couldn't find one that followed the ball from the bat so I can't really tell how hard it was hit.
"I know a lot about the law and various other lawyerings."
Hitters who avoid outs are the funnest.
That's the catch, but that shot of it hardly does it justice. The ball was a rocket and White broke on contact. The baserunners also took off, figuring no human could ever hope to reach that ball before it reached the wall. The 3B coach got the attention of the runner on second (Deion) and held him up, but the guy on first passed (Pendleton) him. Deion then got a fortunate call in getting out of a rundown (he was tagged, but the ump didn't see it) to avoid a triple play.
The real-time wide view of it is staggering (unfortunatley I can't find it anywhere online). The ground White covered in such a short of time just drops your jaw. You also can't tell from the slo-mo shot there, but even though he dumped some speed at the end, he was still moving at a good clip when he hit the wall. I maintain White's the only CF in history who could have made that play.
I'm not a system player. I am a system.
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
