Wednesday catch-all thread (1/22/25)
Please use this thread all week to discuss any Mets-specific topic you wish.
There’s been a meme circulating on social media the past few days that perhaps you’ve seen. It compares Brian Giles to Juan Soto. In case you haven’t seen it – here it is:
It’s impossible to say what the intent was of the person who created it. My guess is that it’s to suggest that Soto is overrated. Regardless, here’s my take on this:
1. Giles was very good
2. This comparison includes three years of Giles’ prime and zero of Soto’s
3. Giles had 539 more PA than Soto here, almost a full year’s worth
4. Giles’ numbers were put up in the Silly Ball era
That last point needs more context. The Silly Ball era saw incredible offensive performances in both leagues, with at least some of these numbers – not specifically implicating Giles here – being chemically enhanced, whether thru guys like Barry Bonds and “the clear” or Mark McGwire and Androstenedione. Offense was at extreme levels.
This is why Giles had a higher raw OPS than Soto in this comparison. It was just easier to hit in this time frame picked for Giles. But when we put things in context, Soto has the higher OPS+. That explains how Soto had five Silver Slugger Awards and Giles had zero. There were multiple guys putting up numbers equal to or better than Giles in the time frame chosen. You can’t say the same about Soto in this era.
It’s very exciting to me that we’re just a little over two months away from getting to see Soto play in a regular season game for the Mets. It’s reminiscent of when the Mets acquired Dave Kingman. The team simply didn’t have a HR hitter like Kingman, at least since they moved to Shea Stadium. It’s the same thing with Soto. The Mets simply haven’t had a player with 40 HR and a .400 OBP, although Carlos Beltran and David Wright came close. But even those guys did it 15-20 years ago. There is a whole generation of fans who never saw them play. But they’ll get a stud of their own with Soto.
And it works for us old guys, too.
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FYI, my life basically revolves around checking MLBTR several times a day to see if Pete Alonso has signed… anywhere.
I am betting no one thought of Brian Giles as a generational talent but if you look at his career averages over the 15 years he played, he averaged 25HR, 95 RBI, 98 Runs, 36 doubles, five triples, had a batting average of .291 and and OPS of .902 with three years over 1.0. It will be interesting to see this comparison in the future, but I'd take Giles on my team any day.
Now on to the HOF voting.
What brilliant sportswriter deemed Ichiro Suzuki not worthy of a HOF vote preventing him from a unanimous election? Yes, there have been a large group of players who should have been unanimously elected (Tom Seaver, Ken Griffey Jr., and Derek Jeter to name a few), but some writers clearly missed the boat. Votes should be cast on what the player did on the field and either they are HOF worthy or not. The can't be a unanimous entry
At the other end of the spectrum, how could any self-respecting sportswriter vote for Ian Kiinsler, Brian McCann, Russell Martin or Troy Tulowitzki. Also, Curtis Granderson, perhaps the most likeable player in the last 20 years, got three votes. Great guy, but not HOF worthy. Loved seeing David Wright get enough votes to go on for another year, but despite my not being objective about him, he deserves the upcoming honor of induction into the Mets HOF, but did not have the stats to make it to Cooperstown.
Lastly, perhaps they should remove the PED guilty players from the ballot instead of putting the pressure on voters to throw them a bone. That would include Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez and Andy Pettitte.