Hitting the Century Mark
This article marks a personal milestone for me. This is the 100th "article" I’ve posted as a writer for Bill James Online. Now, to be fair, not all of the entries I’ve posted have been full fledged articles – some of the entries have been reminders to vote in our various projects and some have been invitations to submit an entry in one of our contests, but, still, it marks my 100th post in the articles section on this site.
In any event, it’s been a blast, and still a little surreal to me that I evolved from a Bill James fan to a Bill James Online contributor. I’m proud of the 100, although to put it in perspective, Bill has posted 727 articles. If articles were home runs, Bill’s total would be akin to Babe Ruth, and mine would be John "I Ain’t an Athlete, Lady" Kruk, a player to whom I bear more than a passing resemblance.
Of course, when I post #101, I will have reached Honus Wagner’s total, so I got that going for me, which is nice. I’m sure I’ve submitted a few duds in there, but hopefully you’ve enjoyed reading my entries over the last 3+ years.
The 2010’s All-Decade Team
One of the features that I loved in both of the Bill James Historical Abstracts was the inclusion of the "Decade" teams. You know, the 1960’s All Stars, the 1970’s All Stars, etc.
Now, in one sense, there’s nothing magical about a decade as we normally define them. Assembling a team that represents 1960-1969 is no more meaningful than putting together one that covers 1965-1974. It’s still a 10-year period either way.
Except that, well, there is something different about it. A decade defines the times. It helps us compartmentalize, isolate, and characterize an era by putting a consistent beginning and end to each 10-year period.
When you think of the Sixties in a popular culture sense, what do you think of? JFK? Woodstock? Vietnam?
The Seventies? Maybe Watergate? "Saturday Night Fever"?
The Eighties? I don’t know….it’s a bit of a blur. Pac-Man?????
In any case, it’s the same way with baseball decade teams. When I think of the Sixties, it’s Gibson and Koufax, dominant pitchers who ruled the World Series. The Seventies, for me, was all about the Big Red Machine of Rose, Bench, Morgan, and Perez. For others, it might be the "Swingin’ A’s" of Reggie and Rollie, Catfish and Campy.
So, what I wanted to do was to come up with my all-decade team of the 2010’s. Now, of course, the decade is not over yet, but what’s the fun of waiting until the last minute? We’re 90% of the way through the decade, and I think we have a pretty good idea of who belongs, although of course 2019 could help swing a closely contested position.
Now, I should mention that, even though I’ll use WAR (in this case, fWAR, since I used Fangraphs.com for most of my data downloads) to help me narrow the field of candidates, this is more than just simply an exercise of seeing who accumulated the most WAR during the decade. I’m using WAR as a first cut, to separate the wheat from the chaff, but it won’t be the determining factor. I’m looking for the best players, sure, but also players who helped define the decade, who had the most impact, who made their mark on seasons, awards, honors, and championships.
I am going to just pick a single All Star team rather than an AL team and an NL team. For each position, I’ll present the top contenders, and then my selections (primary and runner up), along with who I think was the best defensive player at that position during the decade. In assessing the best defenders, I’ll take into account not only Gold Gloves and defensive metrics, but also the results of the Fielding Bible awards, which provides an alternate to the Gold Glove award and strives to leverage statistical analysis in bestowing its honors.
In addition to total games played and total fWAR generated during the decade, I’ll also include several "yellow" columns to represent some other basic stats in "seasonal notation" (that is, each stat is expressed in terms of "per 162 games", since this is how Bill presented his teams in the Historical Abstract).
Let’s begin, going around the diamond. If you’re the kind who likes to cut to the chase, I’ll put a summary at the end of the article.
Catcher
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Buster Posey
|
1,137
|
39.1
|
5.6
|
668
|
19
|
79
|
90
|
3
|
.307
|
.376
|
.466
|
Yadier Molina
|
1,201
|
29.4
|
4.0
|
640
|
15
|
63
|
80
|
6
|
.289
|
.338
|
.426
|
Russell Martin
|
1,040
|
23.4
|
3.6
|
634
|
21
|
74
|
74
|
6
|
.234
|
.339
|
.395
|
Jonathan Lucroy
|
1,101
|
22.8
|
3.4
|
624
|
15
|
66
|
75
|
4
|
.277
|
.337
|
.421
|
Joe Mauer
|
1,159
|
22.1
|
3.1
|
694
|
10
|
84
|
74
|
3
|
.294
|
.376
|
.412
|
Salvador Perez
|
942
|
17.7
|
3.0
|
643
|
24
|
66
|
87
|
1
|
.266
|
.297
|
.442
|
My Selection: Buster Posey
Runner up: Yadier Molina
Best Defender: Yadier Molina
This is really a 2-horse race between Posey and Molina.
Mauer did most of his damage in the prior decade, and he split his duties between catcher and first base in this decade. Perez is a 6-time All Star and 5-time Gold Glove winner, so he was certainly in contention for the best defender.
Posey is the best all-around catcher, and my selection for the team. In the decade he had an MVP, 6 All Star appearances, a Gold Glove, a batting title, and, perhaps most importantly, led 3 championship teams, always a nice selling point on a catcher’s Hall of Fame resume.
Molina would be a solid choice as well. He’s not quite the offensive threat Posey is, but he did become a more than adequate threat as his career progressed, and he’s one of the all-time great defensive catchers – his 9 Gold Gloves are surpassed only by Ivan Rodriguez (13) and Johnny Bench (10). And, he has two championship rings of his own
I fully expect both Posey and Molina to end up in the Hall of Fame.
First Base
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Joey Votto
|
1,269
|
47.8
|
6.1
|
707
|
28
|
98
|
91
|
8
|
.311
|
.436
|
.528
|
Miguel Cabrera
|
1,224
|
43.5
|
5.8
|
694
|
34
|
100
|
117
|
2
|
.321
|
.405
|
.559
|
Paul Goldschmidt
|
1,092
|
36.3
|
5.4
|
698
|
31
|
105
|
105
|
18
|
.297
|
.398
|
.532
|
Freddie Freeman
|
1,188
|
30.8
|
4.2
|
683
|
26
|
93
|
93
|
5
|
.293
|
.378
|
.497
|
Anthony Rizzo
|
1,061
|
25.3
|
3.9
|
696
|
29
|
88
|
97
|
8
|
.270
|
.369
|
.484
|
Carlos Santana
|
1,277
|
24.7
|
3.1
|
693
|
25
|
83
|
85
|
5
|
.247
|
.363
|
.442
|
Adrian Gonzalez
|
1,231
|
22.5
|
3.0
|
672
|
24
|
78
|
102
|
1
|
.291
|
.355
|
.473
|
Albert Pujols
|
1,293
|
17.6
|
2.2
|
702
|
33
|
88
|
109
|
6
|
.270
|
.333
|
.480
|
Chris Davis
|
1,103
|
13.7
|
2.0
|
659
|
36
|
85
|
92
|
3
|
.234
|
.322
|
.468
|
My Selection: Miguel Cabrera
Runner up: Joey Votto
Best Defender: Paul Goldschmidt
Like catcher, this roster slot really comes down to 2 players – Cabrera and Votto, although Goldschmidt is a strong third candidate.
Votto has an edge in both fWAR and fWAR/162, and also is one of the great on-base artists of all time. He also has an MVP and other high MVP finishes.
However, my pick is Cabrera, who was a "Black Ink" monster, leading the league multiple times during the decade in batting average, OBP, Slugging, doubles, and RBI. He also bagged a Triple Crown and 2 MVP awards (although he won both of those while playing primarily third base).
I went with Goldschmidt over Eric Hosmer for the best defender at first base, even though Hosmer had 4 Gold Gloves to Goldschmidt’s 3.
Second Base
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Robinson Cano
|
1,344
|
45.3
|
5.5
|
700
|
27
|
94
|
101
|
4
|
.303
|
.363
|
.501
|
Dustin Pedroia
|
1,025
|
32.9
|
5.2
|
733
|
15
|
94
|
81
|
14
|
.297
|
.364
|
.434
|
Jose Altuve
|
1,119
|
31.6
|
4.6
|
711
|
14
|
93
|
67
|
36
|
.316
|
.365
|
.453
|
Ben Zobrist
|
1,307
|
35.7
|
4.4
|
686
|
15
|
89
|
75
|
11
|
.268
|
.359
|
.423
|
Ian Kinsler
|
1,286
|
34.8
|
4.4
|
725
|
21
|
107
|
77
|
19
|
.268
|
.334
|
.430
|
Brian Dozier
|
1,002
|
22.1
|
3.6
|
712
|
28
|
98
|
83
|
16
|
.246
|
.324
|
.444
|
Chase Utley
|
1,046
|
22.9
|
3.5
|
627
|
15
|
78
|
68
|
11
|
.256
|
.338
|
.411
|
Daniel Murphy
|
1,076
|
23.0
|
3.5
|
668
|
16
|
84
|
84
|
9
|
.303
|
.346
|
.462
|
Neil Walker
|
1,156
|
21.9
|
3.1
|
657
|
20
|
79
|
80
|
4
|
.269
|
.339
|
.432
|
My Selection: Robinson Cano
Runner up: Jose Altuve
Best Defender: Dustin Pedroia
As far as the best overall second baseman of the decade, this should have been an easy choice for Cano, but his 2018 suspension put a bit of a cloud over his career. Still, he’s my selection. In the first half of the decade, he was a consistent All Star selection and finished high up in the MVP balloting every year.
It was a bit of a tossup between Pedroia and Altuve for the runner up, but I went with 2017 AL MVP Altuve. Pedroia has an MVP award as well, but he won his in the prior decade.
I don’t think there was one second baseman who really separated himself from the crowd defensively. 10 different second basemen (5 NL, 5 AL) have won Gold Gloves in the decade. Cano, Pedroia, Kinsler, D.J. LeMahieu, and Brandon Phillips each won multiple times. A bit of a coin flip, but I went with Pedroia for defensive honors.
Third Base
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Josh Donaldson
|
883
|
36.5
|
6.7
|
700
|
33
|
102
|
101
|
6
|
.275
|
.367
|
.507
|
Kris Bryant
|
559
|
23.1
|
6.7
|
716
|
31
|
110
|
94
|
9
|
.285
|
.385
|
.515
|
Adrian Beltre
|
1,252
|
42.7
|
5.5
|
680
|
29
|
90
|
104
|
1
|
.307
|
.358
|
.514
|
Anthony Rendon
|
770
|
25.8
|
5.4
|
690
|
21
|
96
|
88
|
8
|
.285
|
.361
|
.469
|
Manny Machado
|
926
|
30.2
|
5.3
|
713
|
31
|
91
|
90
|
9
|
.282
|
.335
|
.487
|
Jose Ramirez
|
641
|
20.9
|
5.3
|
656
|
22
|
97
|
78
|
24
|
.285
|
.357
|
.487
|
Nolan Arenado
|
876
|
25.3
|
4.7
|
683
|
34
|
97
|
114
|
2
|
.291
|
.346
|
.539
|
Matt Carpenter
|
1,020
|
28.6
|
4.5
|
685
|
21
|
104
|
77
|
3
|
.274
|
.377
|
.470
|
Evan Longoria
|
1,281
|
35.9
|
4.5
|
694
|
27
|
84
|
95
|
5
|
.266
|
.332
|
.466
|
Kyle Seager
|
1,155
|
27.8
|
3.9
|
679
|
25
|
76
|
85
|
6
|
.258
|
.325
|
.441
|
My Selection: Adrian Beltre
Runner up: Josh Donaldson
Best Defender: Nolan Arenado
Third base might be the deepest position of the decade. There’s no shortage of premium options at the hot corner. Even someone like Jose Ramirez, who has placed 3rd in each of the last 2 MVP ballots, has several others that I would rank above him for this honor.
Donaldson and Bryant each won an MVP award during the decade. Bryant only has 4 seasons under his belt, otherwise he might be in stronger contention. Donaldson had 5 strong seasons from ’13 to ’17, but he’s also had multiple seasons in the decade where he didn’t do much.
However, Betre is my choice at third base. I think he offers the best all around game of the contenders. He didn’t win an MVP award (he did finish as high as 3rd), but he finished in the top 10 five times, took home 3 Gold Gloves, and was named to 4 All Star teams.
Runner up goes to Donaldson for the time being, although a good 2019 by Machado or Arenado might influence me to go with one of them over Donaldson.
On the defensive front, Arenado is a perfect 6-for-6 in Gold Gloves to start his career. That’s not a record (Ichiro Suzuki and Johnny Bench each won Gold Gloves in their first 10 seasons), but it’s still very impressive. Beltre and Machado are strong defenders as well, but I have to give it to Arenado.
Shortstop
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Francisco Lindor
|
574
|
22.8
|
6.4
|
731
|
28
|
106
|
87
|
20
|
.288
|
.350
|
.487
|
Troy Tulowitzki
|
854
|
27.8
|
5.3
|
676
|
30
|
94
|
102
|
5
|
.293
|
.363
|
.505
|
Andrelton Simmons
|
927
|
23.4
|
4.1
|
652
|
10
|
68
|
62
|
10
|
.269
|
.316
|
.382
|
Elvis Andrus
|
1,331
|
23.7
|
2.9
|
703
|
7
|
89
|
63
|
29
|
.276
|
.334
|
.371
|
Brandon Crawford
|
1,104
|
20.8
|
3.1
|
610
|
13
|
62
|
70
|
4
|
.252
|
.318
|
.395
|
My Selection: Troy Tulowitzki
Runner up: Francisco Lindor
Best Defender: Andrelton Simmons
The 2010’s have not a great decade for shortstops compared to the last few decades:
- The 80’s had Robin Yount, Cal Ripken, Ozzie Smith, and Alan Trammell
- The 90’s had Ripken and Barry Larkin, and Alex Rodriguez got in about 4 full seasons in the last half of the decade
- The 00’s had Derek Jeter, plus Alex Rodriguez had 4 full seasons at shortstop in the decade before coming to the Yankees and switching primarily to third base
The 2010’s, by contrast, haven’t had anyone near that level, although Lindor has the potential to have that type of career. Tulowitzki essentially was the best shortstop in the first half of the decade, but has struggled to stay healthy. Lindor has been the best in the second half, especially the last 2 seasons. If you could combine the two halves into one player (either Troy Lindor or Francisco Tulowitzki), you’d really have something.
There are some really talented young shortstops like Carlos Correa, Trea Turner, Trevor Story, and Corey Seager, but I felt like they didn’t have quite enough in the books yet to warrant inclusion. The 2020’s are shaping up as a potentially strong decade at the position.
It’s a little subjective, because, to tell you the truth, Lindor doesn’t have a whole lot more playing time than the 4 youngsters listed above, but he’s had a lot of impact in his young career, with 3 top-10 MVP finishes and 3 All Star games already. I feel like he’s got enough in the books to be considered for the all-decade team, and the others just aren’t quite at the same level, at least not yet.
So, even though Lindor doesn’t have a lot more time under his belt than the other young shortstops listed above, I still went with him as the runner up. If Lindor has another strong year, I’ll probably even swap Lindor and Tulowitzki for #1.
I was also tempted to go with Simmons as the choice, because he may ultimately be the one we remember due to his defensive brilliance (and he’s also been improving offensively). The shortstops with the most Gold Gloves are:
Ozzie Smith-13
Omar Vizquel-11
Luis Aparicio-9
Mark Belanger-8
Dave Concepcion and Derek Jeter-5
Simmons has won 4 Gold Gloves so far (2 in each league), and is only 29 years old. Perhaps even more noteworthy, he has won the last 6 Fielding Bible awards at the position, and his defensive stats have been exceptional. By the time his career is in the books, he may well be remembered as one of the best defensive shortstops ever. He’s been that impressive.
Left Field
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Christian Yelich
|
790
|
25.9
|
5.3
|
710
|
19
|
100
|
83
|
19
|
.297
|
.375
|
.463
|
Ryan Braun
|
1,161
|
29.9
|
4.2
|
674
|
31
|
98
|
103
|
22
|
.295
|
.360
|
.520
|
Starling Marte
|
821
|
21.1
|
4.2
|
671
|
17
|
90
|
67
|
42
|
.286
|
.341
|
.443
|
Brett Gardner
|
1,208
|
29.5
|
4.0
|
673
|
12
|
97
|
55
|
29
|
.261
|
.346
|
.394
|
Justin Upton
|
1,345
|
32.3
|
3.9
|
681
|
29
|
97
|
91
|
15
|
.267
|
.348
|
.476
|
Matt Holliday
|
1,049
|
24.3
|
3.8
|
671
|
25
|
90
|
97
|
4
|
.283
|
.371
|
.480
|
Alex Gordon
|
1,219
|
25.4
|
3.4
|
674
|
18
|
82
|
69
|
11
|
.260
|
.341
|
.415
|
My Selection: Ryan Braun
Runner up: Justin Upton
Best Defender: Alex Gordon
The left fielders aren’t a brilliant group, and the one I ended up going with (Braun) has a big old cloud hanging over his performance. Still, I felt like he was the best overall choice, although another strong season by Christian Yelich, who won the MVP last year, could swing things his direction.
As you probably know, most of the outfielders who have accumulated a large number of Gold Gloves over the years have been center fielders and right fielders, as those positions tend to attract the most notoriety for their defensive prowess. The left fielders with the most Gold Gloves are Barry Bonds (8) and Carl Yastrzemski (7). Gordon has won 6 so far (including one last year), so he has a chance to surpass them, although he is starting to get up there in age (35). Marte and Gardner have also gained some attention for their fielding prowess in left.
Center Field
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Mike Trout
|
1,065
|
64.7
|
9.8
|
711
|
37
|
121
|
99
|
29
|
.307
|
.416
|
.573
|
Andrew McCutchen
|
1,393
|
45.2
|
5.3
|
700
|
25
|
96
|
86
|
19
|
.287
|
.379
|
.482
|
Lorenzo Cain
|
897
|
27.3
|
4.9
|
663
|
12
|
88
|
65
|
28
|
.293
|
.351
|
.420
|
Jacoby Ellsbury
|
904
|
22.6
|
4.1
|
707
|
15
|
96
|
69
|
38
|
.279
|
.339
|
.419
|
Curtis Granderson
|
1,245
|
28.7
|
3.7
|
657
|
30
|
96
|
79
|
11
|
.240
|
.337
|
.463
|
Adam Jones
|
1,362
|
26.4
|
3.1
|
691
|
28
|
87
|
88
|
8
|
.280
|
.318
|
.464
|
Charlie Blackmon
|
920
|
19.0
|
3.3
|
682
|
25
|
106
|
75
|
22
|
.302
|
.359
|
.497
|
My Selection: Mike Trout
Runner up: Andrew McCutchen
Best Defender: Lorenzo Cain
Trout was an easy choice for this position, and really the easiest selection on the whole team. In 7 full seasons he has 2 MVP’s, 4 second-place finishes, and a fourth-place finish. And, to tell you the truth, the 4th place finish might have been the most impressive result of all, as he managed to finish 4th despite only playing 114 games. Now, if he can just manage to make to the postseason every now and then…….
As easy as Trout was for #1, McCutchen is almost as easy a selection for the runner up. He’s no longer the force he once was, but up through 2015 he was one of the best, with an MVP, 2 third-place finishes, a fifth-place finish, 5 All Star teams, and a Gold Glove winner. An easy #2.
Identifying the best defensive center fielder of the decade was challenging. The most decorated center fielders in terms of Gold Gloves during the decade have been Adam Jones and Ender Inciarte with 3 each, so they certainly are options. Believe it or not, there have been 9 different players to be awarded the Fielding Bible award in center field so far this decade, and Jones and Inciarte weren’t among them (although Inciarte did win one for "multi position" in 2015 as he split his time that year among all 3 outfield positions).
Starting with 2010, the Fielding Bible center fielders have been Michael Bourn, Austin Jackson, Mike Trout, Carlos Gomez, Juan Lagares, Kevin Kiermaier, Kevin Pillar, Byron Buxton, and Lorenzo Cain (Cain also won a 2014 Fielding Bible "muti position" award as he split center field and right field duties that year). In other words, the players like Jones and Inciarte who were the most decorated during the decade in terms of Gold Gloves tended to not be as well recognized by the Fielding Bible group.
It’s not that there haven’t been outstanding defensive center fielders, it’s just that we haven’t have one center fielder separate from the group. And, a lot of those players listed above have been kind of underwhelming offensive talents, which can end up cutting into their playing time.
A tough call, but I decided to go with Cain even though he didn’t take home a single Gold Glove. But, honestly, there are about a half-dozen guys you can make a really strong case for.
Right Field
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Mookie Betts
|
644
|
30.5
|
7.7
|
735
|
28
|
120
|
98
|
28
|
.303
|
.370
|
.518
|
Giancarlo Stanton
|
1,144
|
39.0
|
5.5
|
683
|
43
|
96
|
109
|
6
|
.268
|
.358
|
.548
|
Bryce Harper
|
927
|
30.7
|
5.4
|
692
|
32
|
107
|
91
|
13
|
.279
|
.388
|
.512
|
Jose Bautista
|
1,223
|
35.1
|
4.6
|
690
|
38
|
103
|
101
|
7
|
.251
|
.373
|
.506
|
Jason Heyward
|
1,230
|
29.3
|
3.9
|
657
|
16
|
83
|
68
|
13
|
.263
|
.343
|
.410
|
J.D. Martinez
|
922
|
20.9
|
3.7
|
662
|
34
|
88
|
106
|
4
|
.292
|
.353
|
.534
|
Nelson Cruz
|
1,265
|
28.5
|
3.6
|
678
|
39
|
89
|
109
|
6
|
.279
|
.346
|
.528
|
Shin-Soo Choo
|
1,153
|
24.5
|
3.4
|
716
|
21
|
94
|
74
|
15
|
.271
|
.376
|
.436
|
Carlos Gonzalez
|
1,158
|
23.4
|
3.3
|
665
|
30
|
100
|
101
|
14
|
.290
|
.349
|
.515
|
My Selection: Giancarlo Stanton
Runner up: Mookie Betts
Best Defender: Jason Heyward
Like third base, right field is another deep position with a lot of worthy candidates. Nelson Cruz is listed among the right fielders, but he could also be considered for the DH category.
The contest between Stanton and Betts is fairly close in my mind, and I’m giving Stanton the edge at the moment primarily since Stanton covers the entire decade to date while Betts has the equivalent of about 4 full seasons plus one partial one. What Betts has done in that abbreviated time has been incredible.
If I did it strictly on a per-year basis, I’d go with Mookie, and if he repeats his MVP performance of 2018, I might change my mind. When you factor in defense, I think Betts has the best all-around game of anyone listed here. But for now, I’ll go Stanton #1 and Betts #2, with Harper (who, along with Stanton and Betts, also has an MVP during the decade) settling for #3.
Heyward is the most decorated defensive right fielder of the decade with 5 Gold Gloves, a stellar reputation, and good defensive stats, and I’m OK with that selection, but Betts might be even better. Betts has won Gold Gloves the past 3 seasons, as well as the last 3 Fielding Bible awards in right field. They’re an interesting contrast visually and physically, with Betts at 5’9", 180 lbs vs. Heyward at 6’5", 240 lbs. They both have logged some time in center field, although Betts, at least to my eye, looks like he would be the better overall centerfielder. If they were both starters on the same team, I would presume Betts would be the center fielder and Heyward would be the right fielder. I decided to go with Heyward as the right field defensive player of the decade, but I think they’re close.
Designated Hitter
The contenders:
Name
|
G
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
PA
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
AVG
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
David Ortiz
|
957
|
22.2
|
3.8
|
683
|
38
|
90
|
118
|
1
|
.292
|
.383
|
.562
|
Edwin Encarnacion
|
1,251
|
26.3
|
3.4
|
683
|
39
|
96
|
113
|
5
|
.265
|
.358
|
.517
|
Nelson Cruz
|
1,265
|
28.5
|
3.6
|
678
|
39
|
89
|
109
|
6
|
.279
|
.346
|
.528
|
My Selection: David Ortiz
Runner up: Edwin Encarnacion
Best Defender: Um…..
This one’s really tight. I think you could go with any of the three.
Cruz was also listed among the right field contenders. He pretty evenly split his time between right field and DH during the decade (604 games in right, 576 games at DH), so it may not be appropriate to consider him here.
It’s close, but I went with Ortiz even though the other 2 have logged more time during the decade. His rate stats were quite a bit better than the other 2. His 2013 performance in the postseason (especially the World Series) tipped the scale for me.
Starting Pitchers
For pitchers, I took a little different approach. For one thing, I switched to baseball-reference.com’s version of WAR (rWAR) rather than fWAR, and considered only the pitching component of WAR (which excludes hitting).
Also, for seasonal notation, rather than expressing the figures on a "per 162 game" basis, the data reflects stats per 33 games (for starters) and per 68 games (for relievers) to put them into a proper context.
The contenders:
Name
|
Pitching rWAR
|
rWAR Seasonal
|
W
|
L
|
%
|
ERA
|
IP
|
SO
|
ERA+
|
Clayton Kershaw
|
55.9
|
7.0
|
17
|
7
|
.714
|
2.24
|
226
|
248
|
168
|
Max Scherzer
|
50.3
|
5.7
|
17
|
8
|
.691
|
3.14
|
214
|
250
|
133
|
Chris Sale
|
43.1
|
6.9
|
16
|
10
|
.624
|
2.89
|
236
|
285
|
144
|
Justin Verlander
|
48.6
|
5.6
|
16
|
9
|
.635
|
3.16
|
221
|
225
|
132
|
Corey Kluber
|
33.6
|
5.7
|
16
|
9
|
.636
|
3.09
|
220
|
240
|
137
|
David Price
|
36.9
|
4.6
|
17
|
8
|
.662
|
3.18
|
222
|
217
|
126
|
Zack Greinke
|
38.8
|
4.6
|
16
|
8
|
.678
|
3.21
|
211
|
200
|
126
|
Madison Bumgarner
|
29.6
|
3.9
|
14
|
11
|
.570
|
3.04
|
214
|
208
|
122
|
Cole Hamels
|
42.9
|
5.1
|
13
|
9
|
.574
|
3.29
|
216
|
205
|
125
|
Felix Hernandez
|
33.1
|
4.1
|
14
|
11
|
.558
|
3.28
|
218
|
206
|
117
|
Johnny Cueto
|
31.9
|
4.6
|
15
|
9
|
.636
|
3.03
|
214
|
179
|
131
|
Gio Gonzalez
|
30.3
|
3.5
|
14
|
10
|
.583
|
3.49
|
196
|
187
|
117
|
Jon Lester
|
29.9
|
3.4
|
15
|
9
|
.622
|
3.45
|
206
|
194
|
121
|
I went with 7 pitchers from this group. My selections:
Clayton Kershaw
|
Max Scherzer
|
Justin Verlander
|
Chris Sale
|
Corey Kluber
|
David Price
|
Madison Bumgarner
|
For starting pitchers, I devised a simple system that ranked pitchers across the following categories:
- rWAR
- W
- IP
- Simple ERA
- ERA+
- FIP
- H9
- SO9
- SO/W
I then averaged their rankings to come up with an composite, overall ranking. This eliminated Hamels, Hernandez, Cueto, Gonzalez, and Lester. That got it down to the other 8.
Kershaw, Scherzer, and Verlander were easy choices for me. Kluber doesn’t quite have the bulk stats of some of the others as it took him a little while to stick in the rotation, but with 2 Cy Young awards and 2 other third place finishes over the last 5 years, he’s had a big impact on the decade.
Sale doesn’t have the hardware, but he’s consistently at the top of the Cy Young results, with 7 straight seasons in which he’s finished in 6th place or better. And Price, although he’s had his various struggles at times, especially in the postseason (although he was outstanding in his final 3 starts of the 2018 postseason), clearly belongs on the team with his overall performance, highlighted by a Cy Young award, 2 second-place finishes, 2 ERA titles, and 5 All Star teams.
It came down to Zack Greinke vs. Madison Bumgarner for the final slot. I’m sure many would go with Greinke, and he probably has the edge strictly on regular season performance, but I felt that they were close enough that Bumgarner’s postseason excellence (especially in the World Series, where he went 4-0 with a miniscule 0.25 ERA over 36 innings, as well as the most impressive postseason save we’ll likely ever see) tipped the scales for me. Bumgarner’s World Series performances helped shape and define the decade. I have to include him.
If I had to pick just one pitcher for the decade, I’d go with Kershaw.
Relief Pitchers
From my perspective, the relief pitchers were pretty straightforward. The three most dominant relievers were Craig Kimbrel, Aroldis Chapman, and Kenley Jansen. Although there have been some other fine relievers during the decade, these 3 stood out from the rest. Their stats are below, and I added a couple of extra columns (hits allowed per 9 innings, and strikeouts per 9 innings) to illustrate a couple of points:
Name
|
Pitching rWAR
|
rWAR Seasonal
|
W
|
L
|
ERA
|
SV
|
IP
|
SO
|
ERA+
|
H9
|
SO9
|
Craig Kimbrel
|
20.2
|
2.5
|
4
|
2
|
1.91
|
42
|
67
|
109
|
211
|
4.8
|
14.7
|
Aroldis Chapman
|
16.0
|
2.2
|
4
|
3
|
2.24
|
33
|
66
|
111
|
183
|
4.9
|
15.0
|
Kenley Jansen
|
15.7
|
2.0
|
3
|
2
|
2.20
|
34
|
69
|
103
|
173
|
5.6
|
13.5
|
Some of this is no doubt related to the era we’re in (where strikeouts are at an all-time high), but these 3 closers (along with Dellin Betances, who’s been more of a setup reliever) top the all-time strikeouts per 9 inning chart:
Highest strikeouts per 9 innings, minimum 300 innings:
#
|
Name
|
IP
|
K/9
|
1
|
Aroldis Chapman
|
478.2
|
15.0
|
2
|
Craig Kimbrel
|
532.2
|
14.7
|
3
|
Dellin Betances
|
381.0
|
14.6
|
4
|
Kenley Jansen
|
548.2
|
13.5
|
5
|
Rob Dibble
|
477.0
|
12.2
|
6
|
Trevor Rosenthal
|
325.0
|
12.1
|
7
|
David Robertson
|
657.0
|
12.0
|
8
|
Billy Wagner
|
903.0
|
11.9
|
9
|
Brad Lidge
|
603.1
|
11.9
|
10
|
Greg Holland
|
423.1
|
11.6
|
No surprise that most of those players are active.
The same quartet (along with Wade Davis) tops the leader board for being stingy with hits:
Fewest hits allowed per 9 innings, minimum 300 innings:
#
|
Name
|
IP
|
H/9
|
1
|
Craig Kimbrel
|
532.2
|
4.82
|
2
|
Aroldis Chapman
|
478.2
|
4.93
|
3
|
Dellin Betances
|
379.0
|
5.39
|
4
|
Wade Davis
|
387.0
|
5.51
|
5
|
Kenley Jansen
|
548.2
|
5.64
|
6
|
Carlos Marmol
|
509.1
|
5.73
|
7
|
Andrew Miller
|
400.1
|
5.76
|
8
|
Billy Wagner
|
903.0
|
5.99
|
9
|
Koji Uehara
|
414.0
|
6.07
|
10
|
Troy Percival
|
707.2
|
6.08
|
If you prefer some more conventional stats, here are the saves leaders for the decade:
#
|
Name
|
SV
|
BS
|
SV %
|
ERA
|
G
|
IP
|
1
|
Craig Kimbrel
|
333
|
34
|
90.7%
|
1.91
|
542
|
532.2
|
2
|
Kenley Jansen
|
268
|
30
|
89.9%
|
2.20
|
543
|
548.2
|
3
|
Fernando Rodney
|
255
|
47
|
84.4%
|
3.35
|
588
|
555.1
|
4
|
Aroldis Chapman
|
236
|
27
|
89.7%
|
2.24
|
490
|
478.2
|
5
|
Jonathan Papelbon
|
217
|
31
|
87.5%
|
2.86
|
421
|
427.2
|
6
|
Huston Street
|
195
|
23
|
89.4%
|
2.99
|
357
|
349.1
|
7
|
Francisco Rodriguez
|
194
|
36
|
84.3%
|
3.23
|
470
|
456.1
|
8
|
Greg Holland
|
189
|
23
|
89.2%
|
2.83
|
426
|
423.1
|
9
|
Mark Melancon
|
182
|
31
|
85.4%
|
2.72
|
504
|
499.2
|
10
|
Jim Johnson
|
167
|
45
|
78.8%
|
3.83
|
553
|
559.2
|
Fernando Rodney crashes the leader board in this category, but he’s clearly not in the same class as Kimbrel, Jansen, and Chapman. Rodney has had lots of opportunities to rack up saves, but he has also played for 9 different teams so far during the decade. It’s like that line from "Ferris Bueller’s Day Off" when the principal is reviewing with Ferris’ mother how many times Ferris had been absent from school….."Nine times!".
In any case, I’m going with Kimbrel, Chapman, and Jansen as my 3 relievers, and if I had to pick just one, it would be Kimbrel.
I didn’t pick any non-closer relievers, but if I did, I’d probably go with Betances, or maybe Darren O’Day.
Summary
In summary, here are my selections for the All-Decade team for the 2010’s, eliminating a few of the earlier columns and inserting an "Other" column to capture awards and honors .
("AS"=All Star, "GG"=Gold Glove, "CY"=Cy Young awards)
1st Team:
Pos
|
Name
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
BA
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Other
|
C
|
Buster Posey
|
39.1
|
5.6
|
19
|
79
|
90
|
3
|
.307
|
.376
|
.466
|
MVP, 6 AS, 1 GG
|
1B
|
Miguel Cabrera
|
43.5
|
5.8
|
34
|
100
|
117
|
2
|
.321
|
.405
|
.559
|
2 MVP, 7 AS, 2 other top-5 MVP
|
2B
|
Robinson Cano
|
45.3
|
5.5
|
27
|
94
|
101
|
4
|
.303
|
.363
|
.501
|
7 AS, 2 GG, 4 Top-5 MVP
|
3B
|
Adrian Beltre
|
42.7
|
5.5
|
29
|
90
|
104
|
1
|
.307
|
.358
|
.514
|
4 AS, 3 GG, 1 top-5 MVP
|
SS
|
Troy Tulowitzki
|
27.8
|
5.3
|
30
|
94
|
102
|
5
|
.293
|
.363
|
.505
|
5 AS, 2 GG, 2 top-5 MVP
|
LF
|
Ryan Braun
|
29.9
|
4.2
|
31
|
98
|
103
|
22
|
.295
|
.360
|
.520
|
MVP, 1 MVP runner up, 4 AS
|
CF
|
Mike Trout
|
64.7
|
9.8
|
37
|
121
|
99
|
29
|
.307
|
.416
|
.573
|
2 MVP, 4 MVP runners up, 7 AS
|
RF
|
Giancarlo Stanton
|
39.0
|
5.5
|
43
|
96
|
109
|
6
|
.268
|
.358
|
.548
|
MVP, 1 MVP runner up, 4 AS
|
DH
|
David Ortiz
|
22.2
|
3.8
|
38
|
90
|
118
|
1
|
.292
|
.383
|
.562
|
5 AS
|
2nd Team:
Pos
|
Name
|
fWAR
|
fWAR / 162
|
HR
|
R
|
RBI
|
SB
|
BA
|
OBP
|
SLG
|
Other
|
C
|
Yadier Molina
|
29.4
|
4.0
|
15
|
63
|
80
|
6
|
.289
|
.338
|
.426
|
7 GG, 8 AS, 2 top-4 MVP
|
1B
|
Joey Votto
|
47.8
|
6.1
|
28
|
98
|
91
|
8
|
.311
|
.436
|
.528
|
MVP, 6 AS, 1 GG, 4 top-6 MVP
|
2B
|
Jose Altuve
|
31.6
|
4.6
|
14
|
93
|
67
|
36
|
.316
|
.365
|
.453
|
MVP, 6 AS, 1 GG, top-3 MVP
|
3B
|
Josh Donaldson
|
36.5
|
6.7
|
33
|
102
|
101
|
6
|
.275
|
.367
|
.507
|
MVP, 3 AS, 2 top-4 MVP
|
SS
|
Francisco Lindor
|
22.8
|
6.4
|
28
|
106
|
87
|
20
|
.288
|
.350
|
.487
|
3 AS, 1 GG, 2 top-6 MVP
|
LF
|
Justin Upton
|
32.3
|
3.9
|
29
|
97
|
91
|
15
|
.267
|
.348
|
.476
|
3 AS, 1 top-4 MVP
|
CF
|
Andrew McCutchen
|
45.2
|
5.3
|
25
|
96
|
86
|
19
|
.287
|
.379
|
.482
|
MVP, 5 AS, 1 GG, 3 top-5 MVP
|
RF
|
Mookie Betts
|
30.5
|
7.7
|
28
|
120
|
98
|
28
|
.303
|
.370
|
.518
|
MVP, runner-up, 3 AS, 3 GG
|
DH
|
Edwin Encarnacion
|
26.3
|
3.4
|
39
|
96
|
113
|
5
|
.265
|
.358
|
.517
|
3 AS
|
Pitchers:
|
Name
|
Pitching rWAR
|
rWAR Seasonal
|
W
|
L
|
ERA
|
SV
|
ERA+
|
Other
|
P
|
Clayton Kershaw
|
55.9
|
7.0
|
17
|
7
|
2.24
|
-
|
168
|
3 CY, 2 runners up, 1 MVP, 7 AS, 5 ERA titles
|
P
|
Max Scherzer
|
50.3
|
5.7
|
17
|
8
|
3.14
|
-
|
133
|
3 CY, 1 runner up, 6 AS, 4 Wins titles
|
P
|
Justin Verlander
|
48.6
|
5.6
|
16
|
9
|
3.16
|
-
|
132
|
1 CY, 3 runners up, 1 MVP, 5 AS, 1 ERA title
|
P
|
Chris Sale
|
43.1
|
6.9
|
16
|
10
|
2.89
|
2
|
144
|
7 CY top-6 finishes, 7 AS
|
P
|
Corey Kluber
|
33.6
|
5.7
|
16
|
9
|
3.09
|
-
|
137
|
2 CY, 2 top-3 finishes, 3 AS, ERA title
|
P
|
David Price
|
36.9
|
4.6
|
17
|
8
|
3.18
|
-
|
126
|
1 CY, 2 runners up, 5 AS, 2 ERA titles
|
P
|
Madison Bumgarner
|
29.6
|
3.9
|
14
|
11
|
3.04
|
-
|
122
|
3 top-6 CY finishes, 4 AS, 4-0, 0.25 in WS
|
RP
|
Craig Kimbrel
|
20.2
|
2.5
|
4
|
2
|
1.91
|
42
|
211
|
4 top-6 CY finishes, 7 AS
|
RP
|
Aroldis Chapman
|
16.0
|
2.2
|
4
|
3
|
2.24
|
33
|
183
|
5 AS
|
RP
|
Kenley Jansen
|
15.7
|
2.0
|
3
|
2
|
2.20
|
34
|
173
|
1 5th place CY finish, 3 AS
|
All Decade Defensive team:
C-Yadier Molina
1B-Paul Goldschmidt
2B-Dustin Pedroia
3B-Nolan Arenado
SS-Andrelton Simmons
LF-Alex Gordon
CF-Lorenzo Cain
RF-Jason Heyward
P-Dallas Keuchel
I’d select Kershaw as my pitcher of the decade and Trout as the player of the decade, decisions that seem pretty easy and clear-cut to me.
That’s my team and I’m sticking to it.
I’ll check back in as 2019 winds down to see if the final year of the decade causes me to reconsider any of the selections.
Thanks for reading.
Dan