85.  Rosen

              Did you know that Al Rosen’s mother was named Rose Rosen?   After she was married.

              Al Rosen was a player of such tremendous ability that he should, with normal luck, have been a ten-time All-Star.   Although his period of brilliance was brief, I have no hesitation in describing Rosen as a "great" player.   He drove in 100 runs the first five years he was in the lineup, and in that period he was better than Brooks Robinson at Brooks’s best, or Santo, or Boyer, or Rolen or Pie Traynor or Stan Hack.    He was tremendous. 

              Rosen’s entry to the major leagues was delayed by:

              a) A four-year commitment to the United States Navy,

              b) The clogging of minor league systems in the first years after the war,

              c)  An unusual trade that the Indians made with the Yankees, and

              d)  The fact that the Indians already had a very good third baseman, in Ken Keltner (although Rosen was much better than Keltner.)

              The unusual trade. . .the Indians made a trade with the Yankees in which, as a condition of the trade, the Indians loaned Rosen to the Yankees’ top American Association affiliate for a year.   The Indians figured "We have Keltner, it doesn’t matter whether Rosen spends the season with our minor league team or the Yankees", so they loaned Rosen out for a season, basically for nothing.  Such a trade would be prohibited by organized baseball rules now or at any time in the last 50 years, and it was very uncommon even then, although there were some other cases in which it was done. 

              After he worked through all of that and reached the majors he was great for five years, then had back trouble and was forced into an early retirement.   Between those walls, he was the best third baseman in baseball, although in 1953 there were really two obvious #1s.

              Probably should talk a little about George Kell.   George Kell’s peak was in the Al Rosen era, and Kell is in the Hall of Fame although he was nowhere near the player that Rosen was.   But:

              a) Kell was around a lot longer than Rosen was,

              b) Kell was a batting champion and a lifetime .306 hitter, which was a huge thing in that era, when batting averages were considered to be THE measure of a hitter’s place in the world, and

              c) Kell was a very fine defensive third baseman.              

              Kell was the first Hall of Fame third baseman since Pie Traynor.  He should not be in the Hall of Fame, or anyway he should have been in line behind Stan Hack and Bob Elliott and some other guys, but he was a very good player despite a career secondary average not much over .200. 

YEAR	Rank	First	Last	HR	RBI	Avg	OBA	SPct	Value
1950	1	Al	Rosen	37	116	.287	.405	.543	24.86
1950	2	Bob	Elliott	24	107	.305	.386	.512	24.55
1950	3	George	Kell	8	101	.340	.403	.484	23.67
1950	4	Eddie	Yost	11	58	.295	.440	.405	22.45
1950	5	Johnny	Pesky	1	49	.312	.437	.388	20.50
1951	1	Al	Rosen	24	102	.265	.362	.447	27.07
1951	2	Eddie	Yost	12	65	.283	.423	.424	24.75
1951	3	Bobby	Thomson	32	101	.293	.385	.562	24.05
1951	4	George	Kell	2	59	.319	.386	.400	22.14
1951	5	Minnie	Minoso	10	76	.326	.422	.500	22.11
1952	1	Al	Rosen	28	105	.302	.387	.524	31.77
1952	2	Eddie	Yost	12	49	.233	.378	.359	23.81
1952	3	Eddie	Mathews	25	58	.242	.320	.447	22.15
1952	4	Bobby	Thomson	24	108	.270	.331	.482	22.08
1952	5	Gil	McDougald	11	78	.263	.336	.369	19.51
1953	1	Al	Rosen	43	145	.336	.422	.613	34.61
1953	2	Eddie	Mathews	47	135	.302	.406	.627	32.87
1953	3	Ray	Boone	26	114	.296	.390	.519	23.81
1953	4	Eddie	Yost	9	45	.272	.403	.395	23.48
1953	5	Gil	McDougald	10	83	.285	.361	.416	21.83

 

 

86.  Eddie Mathews

              For ten solid years Eddie Mathews was the best third baseman in baseball, and he should be regarded as the greatest third baseman in baseball before Mike Schmidt.   He was not a particularly good defensive player, just adequate, but he was a major league bomber.  He was a B-17.   The other top third basemen of the era:  Eddie Yost, Willie Jones, Frank Malzone, Ken Boyer, Don Hoak. 

YEAR	Rank	First	Last	HR	RBI	Avg	OBA	SPct	Value
1954	1	Eddie	Mathews	40	103	.290	.423	.603	33.88
1954	2	Al	Rosen	24	102	.300	.404	.506	28.36
1954	3	Ray	Boone	20	85	.295	.376	.466	22.79
1954	4	Eddie	Yost	11	47	.256	.405	.380	22.04
1954	5	Hank	Thompson	26	86	.263	.389	.482	20.12
1955	1	Eddie	Mathews	41	101	.289	.413	.601	34.48
1955	2	Ray	Boone	20	116	.284	.346	.476	21.41
1955	3	Al	Rosen	21	81	.244	.362	.402	20.61
1955	4	Eddie	Yost	7	48	.243	.407	.371	19.43
1955	5	Willie	Jones	16	81	.258	.352	.401	17.53
1956	1	Eddie	Mathews	37	95	.272	.373	.518	31.08
1956	2	Ray	Boone	25	81	.308	.403	.518	20.17
1956	3	Ken	Boyer	26	98	.306	.347	.494	19.75
1956	4	Willie	Jones	17	78	.277	.383	.429	18.19
1956	5	Eddie	Yost	11	53	.231	.412	.336	18.11
YEAR	Rank	First	Last	HR	RBI	Avg	OBA	SPct	Value
1957	1	Eddie	Mathews	32	94	.292	.387	.540	31.87
1957	2	Al	Smith	11	49	.247	.348	.377	18.80
1957	3	Frank	Malzone	15	103	.292	.323	.427	18.62
1957	4	Don	Hoak	19	89	.293	.381	.482	17.92
1957	5	Eddie	Yost	9	38	.251	.370	.372	16.82
1958	1	Eddie	Mathews	31	77	.251	.349	.458	29.72
1958	2	Ken	Boyer	23	90	.307	.360	.496	23.59
1958	3	Frank	Malzone	15	87	.295	.333	.421	19.45
1958	4	Don	Hoak	6	50	.261	.333	.376	16.61
1958	5	Eddie	Yost	8	37	.224	.361	.323	16.26
1959	1	Eddie	Mathews	46	114	.306	.390	.593	34.87
1959	2	Ken	Boyer	28	94	.309	.384	.508	25.14
1959	3	Eddie	Yost	21	61	.278	.435	.436	21.62
1959	4	Frank	Malzone	19	92	.280	.323	.437	20.33
1959	5	Harmon	Killebrew	42	105	.242	.354	.516	20.20
YEAR	Rank	First	Last	HR	RBI	Avg	OBA	SPct	Value
1960	1	Eddie	Mathews	39	124	.277	.397	.551	35.11
1960	2	Ken	Boyer	32	97	.304	.370	.562	28.05
1960	3	Don	Hoak	16	79	.282	.366	.445	19.59
1960	4	Brooks	Robinson	14	88	.294	.329	.440	18.49
1960	5	Frank	Malzone	14	79	.271	.313	.398	18.35
1961	1	Eddie	Mathews	32	91	.306	.402	.535	33.88
1961	2	Ken	Boyer	24	95	.329	.397	.533	26.93
1961	3	Brooks	Robinson	7	61	.287	.334	.397	19.80
1961	4	Al	Smith	28	93	.278	.348	.506	19.74
1961	5	Frank	Malzone	14	87	.266	.314	.386	18.65
1961	6	Don	Hoak	12	61	.298	.388	.451	18.47
1962	1	Eddie	Mathews	29	90	.265	.381	.496	29.42
1962	2	Ken	Boyer	24	98	.291	.369	.470	24.55
1962	3	Brooks	Robinson	23	86	.303	.342	.486	24.22
1962	4	Don	Demeter	29	107	.307	.359	.520	22.13
1962	5	Rich	Rollins	16	96	.298	.374	.428	21.19
1962	6	Frank	Malzone	21	95	.283	.319	.426	19.31
1963	1	Eddie	Mathews	23	84	.263	.399	.453	28.52
1963	2	Ron	Santo	25	99	.297	.339	.481	24.72
1963	3	Ken	Boyer	24	111	.285	.358	.454	23.47
1963	4	Brooks	Robinson	11	67	.251	.305	.365	23.29
1963	5	Pete	Ward	22	84	.295	.353	.482	21.93
1963	6	Rich	Rollins	16	61	.307	.359	.444	20.71

             

              Mathews’ .399 On Base Percentage in 1963 led the National League.

 

 

87.  The Best Third Basemen in Baseball, 1900 to 1963

              As measured by the Years of Position Dominance Index, the top 25 third basemen of the years 1900 to 1963 were:

Rank	First	Last	1	2	3	4	5	YOPDI	From	To
1	Eddie	Mathews	10	1	1	0	0	111	1952	1968
2	Pie	Traynor	7	2	2	0	0	92	1920	1937
3	Stan	Hack	4	5	2	1	1	86	1932	1947
4	Home Run	Baker	6	2	1	0	1	79	1908	1922
5	Heine	Groh	6	1	1	2	0	75	1912	1927
6	Bob	Elliott	5	1	2	0	0	65	1939	1953
7	Jimmy	Collins	2	6	0	1	0	59	1895	1908
8	Al	Rosen	4	1	1	0	0	51	1947	1956
9	John	McGraw	3	0	4	0	1	47	1891	1906
10	Ken	Boyer	0	5	2	0	1	46	1955	1969
11	Art	Devlin	3	1	1	1	1	44	1904	1913
12	Harlond	Clift	2	0	3	4	0	40	1934	1945
13	Bill	Bradley	3	0	2	0	0	38	1899	1915
14	Freddy	Lindstrom	2	2	0	1	0	36	1924	1936
15	Whitey	Kurowski	1	3	1	0	0	35	1941	1949
16	Mike	Higgins	2	1	0	2	3	34	1930	1946
17	Eddie	Yost	0	2	1	5	3	31	1944	1962
18	Larry	Gardner	0	0	4	3	2	24	1908	1924
18	George	Kell	0	1	3	2	1	24	1943	1957
18	Pepper	Martin	1	1	1	1	1	24	1928	1944
21	Red	Smith	0	1	3	2	0	23	1911	1919
21	Pinky	Whitney	0	2	1	2	1	23	1928	1939
23	Ray	Boone	0	2	2	0	0	22	1948	1960
24	Red	Rolfe	0	2	1	1	1	21	1931	1942
25	Jimmy	Johnston	1	1	0	1	1	20	1911	1926

 

              Hall of Famers in Gold, of course.  Two notes:

              1)  The totals for John McGraw and Jimmie Collins are adjusted to include their 19^th century accomplishments, and

              2)  Two players on this list, Eddie Mathews and Ken Boyer, were still piling up YOPDI points after 1963. 

              In terms of Peak Value, these are the top third basemen of the 1900-1963 era:

YEAR	Rank	First	Last	HR	RBI	Avg	OBA	SPct	Peak
1912	1	Home Run	Baker	10	130	.347	.404	.541	37.32
1960	2	Eddie	Mathews	39	124	.277	.397	.551	35.11
1953	3	Al	Rosen	43	145	.336	.422	.613	34.61
1938	4	Mel	Ott	36	116	.311	.442	.583	33.89
1917	5	Heine	Groh	1	53	.304	.385	.411	32.47
1919	6	Rogers	Hornsby	8	71	.318	.384	.430	30.60
1906	7	Art	Devlin	2	65	.299	.396	.390	30.26
1912	8	Heinie	Zimmerman	14	99	.372	.418	.571	29.37
1941	9	Cecil	Travis	7	101	.359	.410	.520	28.66
1945	10	Stan	Hack	2	43	.323	.420	.405	28.46
1908	11	Tommy	Leach	5	41	.259	.324	.381	28.11
1903	12	Bill	Bradley	6	68	.313	.348	.496	28.06
1960	13	Ken	Boyer	32	97	.304	.370	.562	28.05
1903	14	Jimmy	Collins	5	72	.296	.329	.448	27.42
1928	15	Freddy	Lindstrom	14	107	.358	.383	.511	26.96
1900	16	John	McGraw	2	33	.344	.505	.416	26.51
1945	17	Whitey	Kurowski	21	102	.323	.383	.511	26.25
1948	18	Bob	Elliott	23	100	.283	.423	.474	26.01
1921	19	Frankie	Frisch	8	100	.341	.384	.485	25.98
1906	20	Harry	Steinfeldt	3	83	.327	.395	.430	25.93
1937	21	Harlond	Clift	29	118	.306	.413	.546	25.93
1908	22	Hans	Lobert	4	63	.293	.348	.407	25.51
1914	23	Ed	Lennox	11	84	.312	.414	.493	25.03
1927	24	Pie	Traynor	5	106	.342	.370	.455	24.81
1951	25	Eddie	Yost	12	65	.283	.423	.424	24.75
1963	26	Ron	Santo	25	99	.297	.339	.481	24.72
1902	27	Lave	Cross	0	108	.342	.374	.440	24.46
1910	28	Bobby	Byrne	2	52	.296	.366	.417	24.38
1928	29	Jimmie	Foxx	13	79	.327	.416	.547	24.36
1939	30	Red	Rolfe	14	80	.329	.404	.495	24.36
1962	31	Brooks	Robinson	23	86	.303	.342	.486	24.22
1951	32	Bobby	Thomson	32	101	.293	.385	.562	24.05
1913	33	Red	Smith	6	76	.296	.358	.441	23.92
1912	34	Larry	Gardner	3	86	.315	.383	.449	23.83
1953	35	Ray	Boone	26	114	.296	.390	.519	23.81
1949	36	George	Kell	3	59	.343	.424	.467	23.70
1911	37	Harry	Lord	3	61	.321	.364	.433	23.61
1919	38	Buck	Weaver	3	75	.296	.315	.401	23.59
1940	39	Bill	Werber	12	48	.277	.361	.416	23.51
1948	40	Johnny	Pesky	3	55	.281	.394	.365	23.09
1914	41	Bill	McKechnie	2	38	.304	.368	.377	23.05
1942	42	Arky	Vaughan	2	49	.277	.348	.341	22.89
1933	43	Pepper	Martin	8	57	.316	.387	.456	22.27
1939	44	Buddy	Lewis	10	75	.319	.402	.478	22.15
1948	45	Andy	Pafko	26	101	.312	.375	.516	22.13
1962	46	Don	Demeter	29	107	.307	.359	.520	22.13
1951	47	Minnie	Minoso	10	76	.326	.422	.500	22.11
1934	48	Mike	Higgins	16	90	.330	.392	.508	21.98
1906	49	Jim	Delahanty	1	39	.280	.371	.364	21.94
1963	50	Pete	Ward	22	84	.295	.353	.482	21.93

 

              A couple of players on this list—Brooks Robinson and Ron Santo—will have higher peaks post-1963. 

              There are numerous players on the peak value list who were not career third basemen, but who played third for a year or two and played well enough there to rank.   Among these are Mel Ott (4^th), Rogers Hornsby (6^th), Cecil Travis (9^th), Frankie Frisch (19^th), Jimmie Foxx (29^th), Bobby Thomson (32^nd), Buck Weaver (38^th), Johnny Pesky (40^th), Arky Vaughan (42^nd), Andy Pafko (45^th), Don Demeter (46^th), Minnie Minoso (47^th), and Jim Delahanty (49^th). 

              I probably should fix the formulas so that the Federal League one-year stars don’t appear on this list.  Ken Keltner, although regarded by some as a major star, actually does not make either of these two lists—the top 25 in Years of Position Dominance, or the top 50 in Peak Value. 

 

88.  King Richard the Controversial

              In 1964 the two Most Valuable Players, Brooks Robinson in the American League and Ken Boyer in the National League, were both third basemen.   In my system, they rank third and fourth at the position. 

              One of the two men ranked ahead of them, Ron Santo, is not too surprising.   Santo in 1964 hit .313, hit 30 homers, drove in 114 runs, drew 86 walks and won a Gold Glove.    He had 33 doubles and 13 triples.   It’s a lot to sell—buttressed by almost equally strong seasons in 1963 and 1965.   It’s not too controversial that he would rate ahead of the MVPs. 

              Dick Allen, on the other hand, will kick up some dust.  Nobody could kick up dust like Richie Allen.  

              I’d explain it this way:  they had an opinion; we have an opinion.  The opinions of MVP voters—and all other contemporary observers—are entitled to respect, because they knew millions of things about these players that we have since lost.   They saw them run the bases; they saw them throw the ball from third to first.   They saw them hustle; they saw them loaf.  They talked to them after the game.  They saw them shorten up and go to the opposite field; they saw them lunge for pitches they should have taken. They had information that doesn’t exist anymore.  Their summation of that information is entitled to respect.

              But we are also entitled to look again at the evidence that we have, so let’s do that.  

              Hits:

              Dick Allen                         201

              Brooks Robinson            194

              Ken Boyer                         185

 

              Doubles:

              Dick Allen                         38

              Brooks Robinson            35

              Ken Boyer                         30

 

              Triples:

              Dick Allen                         13

              Ken Boyer                         10

              Brooks Robinson               3

 

              Home Runs:

              Dick Allen                         29

              Brooks Robinson            28

              Ken Boyer                         24

 

              Walks:

              Ken Boyer                         70

              Dick Allen                         67

              Brooks Robinson            51

 

              Allen didn’t do more of something than the MVPs; he did more of everything, or more of each thing. . ..more hits, more doubles, more triples, more homers.  He did have three fewer walks than Ken Boyer.   He didn’t do these things because he had more at bats; he did have a few more at bats, but not really.   He had 632 at bats, to 628 for Boyer and 612 for Robinson.   Stolen bases are really nothing; 3 for Allen, 3 for Boyer, 1 for Robinson.  Allen was a vastly better baserunner, at that point in his career, than either Boyer or Robinson.  Robby was slow; Boyer was a good runner when he was younger but was 33 by then.   Allen was 3/7 stealing bases in 1964 but 15 for 17 in 1965.   Allen, whatever his faults, was a tremendous baserunner.   Allen grounded into 8 double plays, as opposed to 17 for Robinson and 22 for Boyer.  Allen made fewer outs than either Robinson or Boyer.

              Park effects?   St. Louis (Boyer) had a Park Run Index of 127, Baltimore (Robinson) of 108, and Philadelphia (Allen) of 96.   Allen was the only one playing in a pitcher’s park.  The National League ERA and runs scored were slightly lower than the American League, providing Allen with another small statistical edge over Robinson.  Even the team performance does not, on a superficial level, weigh heavily in favor of the MVPs; the Cardinals won 93 games and the pennant to the Phillies’ 92 games, one game back. 

              In looking at all of these facts, then, Allen does not come out slightly ahead of Robinson or Boyer; he comes out far ahead—so far ahead that it much more than overcomes the inherent disadvantages that a rookie has in this analytical structure.  Baseball Reference has Allen at 8.8 WAR, third in the league behind Willie Mays and Ron Santo, but far ahead of Boyer at 6.1.  Robinson led the American League, but with 8.1.

              Why, then, did Allen finish 7^th in the MVP voting? 

              I don’t think controversy had much to do with it.  The controversies about Dick Allen really started in July, 1965, when he had a fight with a teammate.   I don’t remember there being a lot of concern about Allen’s behavior in 1964.  

              There are four things:   Leadership, Defense, Clutch Hitting and Team Performance.   Let’s leave Brooks Robinson out of it, because that’s really a different argument, since Allen and Robinson were in different leagues and not directly competing for the same award.  

              Leadership.   Late in 1963, with the Cardinals in a pennant race against the Dodgers, I remember reading newspaper articles saying that "Ken Boyer has become the leader of the Cardinals."  Of course, Stan Musial had been the leader of the Cardinals for more than 15 years, but with Musial in his 40s and near retirement, Boyer became the veteran leader of the team.  When the team won the pennant in 1964, Boyer received some of the credit for that.  I don’t know whether the BBWAA voters of 1964 believed more in veteran leadership than we do now or less, but I certainly do think that belief in Boyer’s leadership had something to do with the way the vote went.  I don’t know whether this is proper or improper.

              Defense.  Boyer won five Gold Gloves (1958-59-60-61-63); ironically 1964 was the year in which he surrendered the Gold Glove to Ron Santo.   Allen was never a good defensive third baseman.   Allen committed 17 more errors than Boyer in 1964 (41-24), and Boyer had 12 more assists.   Allen did have 23 more putouts.  I do believe that Boyer was a better defensive third baseman in 1964 than Allen was, but I also believe that the media in that era focused on errors, and sometimes exaggerated their significance. 

              Clutch Hitting. Probably the one largest reason that Boyer won the MVP Award in 1964 is that he led the league in RBI, with 119, 28 more than Allen.  In that era, when no records were published of batting with runners in scoring position or opportunities with runners in scoring position, RBI were routinely equated with clutch performance, and the league leader in RBI was often the MVP.

              But looking at the facts. . . Allen hit .306 with the bases empty, .335 with men on base, although "only" .301 with runners in scoring position.   Allen homered a little more often with men on base than with the bases empty.   Boyer hit .269 with the bases empty, .319 with men on base, and .321 with runners in scoring position, and also homered a little more often with men on base than with the bases empty, although Allen homered more often than Boyer both with the bases empty and with men on base.  

              Dick Allen hit .385 in the late innings of close games; Boyer, .333.  The real difference, though, is that Boyer batted 193 times with runners in scoring position, whereas Allen batted only 147 times with runners in scoring position—a 31% advantage for Boyer, which led to a 31% advantage in RBI.  

              It is my opinion that Boyer won the MVP Award in 1964 substantially because of the exaggerated importance given to RBI.   The NL leader in RBI won the MVP Award in 1957, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1967 and 1969; the AL leader in RBI took home the Award in 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1969.   Some of those players were deserving of the Award; some of them may not have been.  It was just the thinking of the time.

              Team Performance.   The Phillies collapse/Cardinals streak to the pennant, of course, hurt the Phillies and helped the Cardinals in the MVP voting.   If the Phillies had won, I believe that Johnny Callison would have been the MVP.  

              Dick Allen hit .341 in September-October, 1964, scoring 28 runs in 33 games.  Boyer hit .270 in September-October, 1964, but did drive in 26 runs in 32 games. 

 

              Well. . .you can think whatever you want to think about Allen ranking ahead of the MVPs.  I’m not trying to convince you; I am just trying to explain why the calculations come out the way they do. 

              Allen had his problems; Dick Allen was either a troubled personality or a troublemaker, depending on which way you want to see it.   He was not a team-oriented player, but he was a historic talent.  As a hitter, Dick Allen was on the same level as Henry Aaron, Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio.  When he was good, he was really, really good:

 

YEAR	Rank	First	Last	HR	RBI	Avg	OBA	SPct	Value
1964	1	Dick	Allen	29	91	.318	.382	.557	35.81
1964	2	Ron	Santo	30	114	.312	.398	.564	30.99
1964	3	Brooks	Robinson	28	118	.317	.368	.521	28.52
1964	4	Ken	Boyer	24	119	.295	.365	.489	23.68
1964	5	Pete	Ward	23	94	.282	.348	.473	23.61
1964	6	Eddie	Mathews	23	74	.233	.344	.412	23.50
1965	1	Dick	Allen	20	85	.302	.375	.494	34.70
1965	2	Ron	Santo	33	101	.285	.378	.510	32.38
1965	3	Brooks	Robinson	18	80	.297	.351	.445	26.95
1965	4	Jim Ray	Hart	23	96	.299	.349	.487	25.20
1965	5	Deron	Johnson	32	130	.287	.340	.515	23.27
1965	6	Eddie	Mathews	32	95	.251	.341	.469	21.70
1966	1	Dick	Allen	40	110	.317	.396	.632	37.83
1966	2	Ron	Santo	30	94	.312	.412	.538	32.34
1966	3	Harmon	Killebrew	39	110	.281	.391	.538	30.84
1966	4	Jim Ray	Hart	33	93	.285	.342	.510	26.12
1966	5	Brooks	Robinson	23	100	.269	.333	.444	25.66
1966	6	Joe	Foy	15	63	.262	.364	.413	18.64
1967	1	Dick	Allen	23	77	.307	.404	.566	38.08
1967	2	Ron	Santo	31	98	.300	.395	.512	33.67
1967	3	Jim Ray	Hart	29	99	.289	.373	.509	26.19
1967	4	Brooks	Robinson	22	77	.269	.328	.434	24.12
1967	5	Tony	Perez	26	102	.290	.328	.490	20.69
1967	6	Maury	Wills	3	45	.302	.334	.365	20.05

 

              I know that some people believe that Brooks Robinson was the greatest third baseman in baseball history; I know that because, in the last week, two people on Twitter have told me that they believe that Brooks Robinson was the greatest third baseman in baseball history.  To me, saying that Brooks was the greatest third baseman in history is just like saying that Pie Traynor was the greatest third baseman in baseball history.   It’s OK with me if you want to say that, but I don’t see any evidence to support your case. 

              Defense is always popular with the coach mentality.  Defense wins championships; it is the cliché recited by parents in the Progressive Insurance commercial.  Defense is inherently difficult to measure, in all sports, and this enables casual analysts to defend any proposition they choose to advocate by waving the word "Defense" as if it was a magic wand that guarded all the doors. 

 

89. The Time of Four Emperors

              In Roman history the year 69 AD is known as the Year of Four Emperors, as Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian took control from one another in quick order.  (193 AD is known as the Year of Five Emperors, but that’s a different thing.)  In 1968 Dick Allen went to left field, and the Phillies moved the 33-year-old veteran infielder Tony Taylor to third base.

              A word about the scale.  A score of "20". . .a "value" of 20. . .represents a relatively good player, but a very, very weak #1.   A score of "25" indicates a sort of normal first-place player or a little bit weak, but Pie Traynor and George Kell never reached a peak value of 25, and they’re in the Hall of Fame.  A score of "30" indicates a strong first-place player, while a score of "35" indicates a player of historic stature.  

              Dick Allen’s scores as a third baseman in 1966-67 were the highest in the history of the game up to that point.  This fact is a little bit misleading, as we are using a 162-game standard after 1961 and a 154-game standard before then, but that’s a detail, not a denial of the fact that our system shows Allen performing at a historic level.

              We have, then, a problematic contrast:  that our system shows Dick Allen to have been the greatest third baseman in half a century, or near to that, while the Phillies chose to play an aging second baseman at third base.  In part we can mitigate this discrepancy by pointing out that Allen’s value was not in his glove, but in his bat.   When he went to left field, he was still in the batting lineup.  Part of the real explanation is the complicated drama of Allen’s volatile personality—and 1968 was a very odd year, a very intense year.  You can make of this what you want; I am merely acknowledging the problem.

              Once Allen was out of the position, we went through a quick succession of third base emperors.   The position was not weak; it was relatively strong.  Two of the #1 third basemen of that era, Harmon Killebrew in 1969 and Joe Torre in 1971, were Most Valuable Players—and they were not weak MVPs, they were strong MVPs.  While Tony Perez in 1970 did not win the Most Valuable Player Award, he did have a season of comparable quality, and was third in the MVP voting. 

              But while Killebrew, Perez and Torre were really great hitters in those seasons, they were not really third basemen.  They were guys that you had to play somewhere, and they could play third if need be.    Darrell Evans, who came to the top in 1973 and might have stayed there had it not been for the emergence of the next generation, was a real third baseman; he was an excellent defensive third baseman and a hitter ahead of his time.  He was what we now dream of finding: a left-handed hitter with great natural plate discipline and near-optimal launch angles.  A player of ordinary ability, he hit the ball in the air 300 times a year, probably, reaching the seats often enough that his walks, homers and fielding made a valuable combination.  He was Eddie Mathews-Light, but with a better glove.  

              There were many other good third basemen in this era.   Sal Bando was excellent, Graig Nettles was, Bill Melton, Brooks Robinson was still around, Doug Rader, Don Money, Richie Hebner, Rico Petrocelli, Santo was still around (and drove in 123 runs in 1969).  Jim Ray Hart could hit; Aurelio Rodriguez and Clete Boyer were brilliant fielders.  The position was very, very deep—but the emperors were on a short rotation:

YEAR	Rank	First	Last	HR	RBI	Avg	OBA	SPct	Value
1968	1	Ron	Santo	26	98	.246	.354	.421	28.91
1968	2	Tony	Perez	18	92	.282	.338