Early Era 2B's
Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2024 3:33 pm
I'd like to start taking a look at some players in the pre-merge era to try to see where we may have forgotten significant contributors to PEBA history.
I have a pretty good idea of some of the top SS's of that era, so I figured I would start this review with second basemen. For some reason, great players who played 2B in that era don't stand out to me as 2B's. The names are familiar but their position, for whatever reason, didn't stick in my head without some prompting. This post is going to be a bit stream of consciousness so you can see my thought process.
First off, the pre-merge era is from 2007 to 2020, so we'll have 14 seasons to review. Now 14 seasons doesn't typically seem like long enough for a Hall of Fame career, and many of the players who debuted in that era that are worthy of the Hall of Fame came later in that time frame, so their careers went beyond the merge. That said, in all of PEBA history, we have had 88 pitchers and 125 batters with a career of at least 14 seasons (through 2039). I will take a look at key players who debuted in that era from a holistic career perspective.
Career Second Base WAR
We can start with a look at career WAR. This time frame is the exact career of the pre-merge 2B WAR leader:
Steve McDonald (2007) - 58.6 WAR
FWIW, McDonald is still 2nd on the 2B career WAR list.
Who else debuted in that era and had a high career WAR?
Rafael Suárez (2011) - 58.0 WAR
If you had asked me, I'd have said that Suárez had a higher career WAR than McDonald. He doesn't, but it's pretty close.
Chris Holmes (2010) - 48.1 WAR
I forgot entirely about Holmes, but he was a 3-time All-Star with Crystal Lake for his first 8 seasons. He played for 7 different teams after that.
Nathan Carter (2015) - 43.1 WAR
A bit of a late debut compared to what I was aiming for, but I'd feel remiss to leave him out. He was a bit of a nemesis while in London, so I'm a bit disgusted to now find out he spent his final year in Amsterdam.
Artie Marsh (2007) - 40.7 WAR
When I saw his name on the list, my first reaction was, "Yes! That guy was great! How'd I forget about him?"
León Valentín (2010) - 38.4 WAR
I have no recollection of him. Ok, that's not entirely true, but it's not far off. Funny how that works given his career production isn't too different from Marsh's.
Mario Tessier (2013) - 34.4 WAR
Tessier was in the Marsh category for me... that guy could hit!
These are the 7 players in the top 10 of career WAR for 2B's who debuted prior to the merge. The 3 other top 10 players are Pablo Ortíz (1), Michael Roberts (4), and Carlos Garza (6). All three are still active. Ortíz is a likely Hall of Famer, and at 65.8 WAR is a Royal Raker type season ahead of any other 2B in career WAR. Roberts... who knows what position he'll end up playing the most in his career. Either way, barring an injury induced catastrophe, he'll be in the Hall of Fame. Garza's an interesting case as his career is winding down. If you think he's a worthy Hall of Famer by reputation, I don't see how you ignore Suárez or McDonald.
I have a pretty good idea of some of the top SS's of that era, so I figured I would start this review with second basemen. For some reason, great players who played 2B in that era don't stand out to me as 2B's. The names are familiar but their position, for whatever reason, didn't stick in my head without some prompting. This post is going to be a bit stream of consciousness so you can see my thought process.
First off, the pre-merge era is from 2007 to 2020, so we'll have 14 seasons to review. Now 14 seasons doesn't typically seem like long enough for a Hall of Fame career, and many of the players who debuted in that era that are worthy of the Hall of Fame came later in that time frame, so their careers went beyond the merge. That said, in all of PEBA history, we have had 88 pitchers and 125 batters with a career of at least 14 seasons (through 2039). I will take a look at key players who debuted in that era from a holistic career perspective.
Career Second Base WAR
We can start with a look at career WAR. This time frame is the exact career of the pre-merge 2B WAR leader:
Steve McDonald (2007) - 58.6 WAR
FWIW, McDonald is still 2nd on the 2B career WAR list.
Who else debuted in that era and had a high career WAR?
Rafael Suárez (2011) - 58.0 WAR
If you had asked me, I'd have said that Suárez had a higher career WAR than McDonald. He doesn't, but it's pretty close.
Chris Holmes (2010) - 48.1 WAR
I forgot entirely about Holmes, but he was a 3-time All-Star with Crystal Lake for his first 8 seasons. He played for 7 different teams after that.
Nathan Carter (2015) - 43.1 WAR
A bit of a late debut compared to what I was aiming for, but I'd feel remiss to leave him out. He was a bit of a nemesis while in London, so I'm a bit disgusted to now find out he spent his final year in Amsterdam.
Artie Marsh (2007) - 40.7 WAR
When I saw his name on the list, my first reaction was, "Yes! That guy was great! How'd I forget about him?"
León Valentín (2010) - 38.4 WAR
I have no recollection of him. Ok, that's not entirely true, but it's not far off. Funny how that works given his career production isn't too different from Marsh's.
Mario Tessier (2013) - 34.4 WAR
Tessier was in the Marsh category for me... that guy could hit!
These are the 7 players in the top 10 of career WAR for 2B's who debuted prior to the merge. The 3 other top 10 players are Pablo Ortíz (1), Michael Roberts (4), and Carlos Garza (6). All three are still active. Ortíz is a likely Hall of Famer, and at 65.8 WAR is a Royal Raker type season ahead of any other 2B in career WAR. Roberts... who knows what position he'll end up playing the most in his career. Either way, barring an injury induced catastrophe, he'll be in the Hall of Fame. Garza's an interesting case as his career is winding down. If you think he's a worthy Hall of Famer by reputation, I don't see how you ignore Suárez or McDonald.