rog
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Post by rog on Feb 10, 2019 10:38:51 GMT -5
As expected, the MLB Network didn't pick Brandon Crawford among its Top 10 Shortstops Right Now. Was that a case of East Coast Bias, or has the landscape at shortstop changed that much the past three seasons?
The show on the MLB Network last night made it pretty clear it's the latter. It's rather obvious that Brandon has declined significantly on both sides of the ball the past two seasons, and while I truly believe he was the best shortstop in baseball in 2015, the influx of tremendous shortstop talent since then is likely unprecedented.
The shortstops ahead of Brandon now -- and there are likely MORE than 10, as even over half of the five other shortstops shown along with Brandon in the "Just Missed" category appeared to have good cases for being better -- are made up of possible future Hall of Famers and a group of young guys who not only can pick it, but can hit the heck out of it. The show cited that the slugging percentage of shorstops last season was the second-highest of all time.
And in case you still think it is East Coast Bias, and you know some of you do, on the same show, Brandon was picked on both show lists as the best shortstop of the past 10 years. That's pretty impressive for Brian, who took advantage of three World Championships, being a major leaguer for most of that decade, and putting in multiple times as many seasons as most of the potential future Hall of Famers.
So when we watch Brandon's defensive excellence and timely hitting in 2019, we can enjoy that we are watching the player who was chosen the best shortstop of the past 10 years. East Coast Bias or not.
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Post by Islandboagie on Feb 10, 2019 12:30:01 GMT -5
A stupid list, made by stupid, biased people and a machine that also clearly has been programmed to have a bias.
Seager was on the list and he didn't even play last season. What got him on the list? He's a Dodger so obviously he's loved by the liberal mainstream media.
Elvis Andrus? Seriously? Crawford is much better defensively and beat Andrus is almost all offensive categories, and Andrus plays in an offensive park. What the hell got him on the list? The liberal media loves to coddle Latin players.
Granted, a number of these guys I can't argue. a handful of them should be considered ahead of Crawford because of their offensive prowess, but definitely not 10.
As for the best overall in the last 10 seasons, that's more factual, and can't be hidden with biases. Just think Rog, the best shortstop over the past ten years is a guy you thought would never make it at the big league level.
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rog
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Post by rog on Feb 10, 2019 12:41:10 GMT -5
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rog
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Post by rog on Feb 10, 2019 12:44:51 GMT -5
Seager was on the list and he didn't even play last season. What got him on the list? He's a Dodger so obviously he's loved by the liberal mainstream media. Rog -- Or possibly it's because his brief career has begun at a Hall of Fame pace. Are you honestly saying that you'd rather have Brandon than Seager this year? With Seager recovering from two surgeries, Brandon doesn't have the same health risk Seager has, but Brandon has declined the past two seasons, and he's much older than Corey. Seager is young enough that he'll likely bounce back from the surgeries, and there is no reason to expect that he won't continue to play at a Hall of Fame pace. Do you know something medically that the rest of us don't? Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5074/east-coast-bias-changing-landscape?page=1#ixzz5f9RBRxtS |
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rog
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Post by rog on Feb 10, 2019 13:00:37 GMT -5
Elvis Andrus? Seriously? Crawford is much better defensively and beat Andrus is almost all offensive categories, and Andrus plays in an offensive park. What the hell got him on the list? The liberal media loves to coddle Latin players. Rog -- IMO Andrus is a good choice on your part to argue on Brandon's behalf. That said, two out of the past three seasons Elvis has hit .297 or higher, with an OPS of .800 or more. Last season he was severely limited by injury. He's two years younger than Brandon, and while he isn't as good a fielder as Crawford, he hasn't shown as many signs of decline in the field as Brandon has. Brandon has stolen 28 bases in his career, while Elvis has left the building with 271 bags. One can certainly argue that Brandon has enjoyed the better career. The MLB Network certainly picked him over Andrus over the past 10 years, even though Elvis played in all 10 seasons, while Brandon played in only eight. But Brandon has shown clear signs of decline since the 2016 All-Star break, while until his injuries last season, Andrus has played some of the best ball of his career. Andrus wasn't very good last season after he came back from injury, but in his brief time before the injury he was right on track with a .327 average and a .926 OPS. I suspect he'll be healthy again in 2019, and if so, he will likely outplay Brandon, as was certainly the case in 2017. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5074/east-coast-bias-changing-landscape?page=1#ixzz5f9SAGqju |
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rog
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Post by rog on Feb 10, 2019 13:11:02 GMT -5
Granted, a number of these guys I can't argue. a handful of them should be considered ahead of Crawford because of their offensive prowess, but definitely not 10. Rog -- It's not because Brandon isn't still a good shortstop, but the position may be the strongest it's been in the history of the game. Brandon may bounce back this season, but at this point he's much closer to the middle of the pack than he is to its leadership. I can easily put 13 guys ahead of him right now. Hopefully a year from now I will feel differently, or at least if I don't feel differently, it's because the position continues to improve so much that Brandon just can't pass other shortstops. Read more: sfgiantsmessageboard.proboards.com/thread/5074/east-coast-bias-changing-landscape?page=1#ixzz5f9W4z5st |
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rog
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Post by rog on Feb 10, 2019 13:12:56 GMT -5
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rog
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Post by rog on Feb 10, 2019 13:30:01 GMT -5
I myself wouldn't have put Brandon #1 over the past 10 years, but I believe he would have made my top five.
What do you do with a guy like Francisco Lindor, who has played only four seasons but has played them at a Hall of Fame level? Looking back, I chose Brandon as the #1 shortstop in 2015, but was it really the rookie Lindor? Francisco is one of the few shorstops playing today who could be said to be in Brandon's class defensively, and as a rookie, he his .313 with an .835 OPS. Because Francisco wasn't called up until June and played only 99 games that season, I chose Brandon over him.
Should we choose Brandon over Francisco for the past 10 seasons? I don't know. Clearly the MLB Network did.
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rog
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Post by rog on Feb 11, 2019 0:11:21 GMT -5
By the way, even though Elvis is a good player, he wasn't chosen by the MLB Network over Brandon as one of the Top 10 Shortstops Right Now. Like Brandon, he was one of the six who nearly missed. Nor was Elvis among the 13 shortstops I placed ahead of Brandon, although he could have become a 14th.
The three shorstops who didn't make the top 10 but that I would still rate higher than Brandon right now are Xander Bogaerts (.883 OPS), Trea Turner (.273 with 19 homers and a league-leading 43 steals), and Adalberto Mondesi (.498 SLG with 32 steals in just 75 games).
Remember, Brandon's OPS the past two seasons have been .709 and .719, and his fielding has been down too.
Brandon is still a pretty fair ballplayer. Among the Giants' position players, only Buster Posey is clearly better. And it's not that he's fallen apart. It's that over the past three years or so shortstop has gone from a so-so position to possibly the best position in the majors. There are at least half a dozen shortstops playing now who have some kind of shot at the Hall of Fame.
In 2018 there were seven shortstops who hit 20 home runs, and 20 shortstops who stole 20 bases. Three hit 37 or more homers, and two stole 32 or more bases, including Mondesi, who stole his 32 in half a season. Fifteen shortstops had OPS of .750 or higher. Not only that, but as a group, they played very good defense.
Again, it's not that Brandon has suddenly become bad. He isn't. It's just that the position likely has never been this good.
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