Quote:
Originally Posted by D. Bergin
I think I made my point pretty clear even if I was a little dramatic in saying it. You'd put him in the HOF over Jim Rice because he had over 600 plate appearances a couple times?
The guy won 4 batting titles, barely walked and never had even close to 200 hits in a single season, and was rarely ever considered in the MVP voting.
Not to denigrate Madlock as he was obviously a fantastic contact hitter with a little bit of pop, but he is nowhere in Rice's league.
I'm just tired of this anti-Jim Rice bias that seems to have no basis in reality for anybody who actually watched him play on a regular basis.
People throw out his lifetime accumulated stats for a guy with a relatively shortened career and then throw out a name like Bill Madlock (maybe not the same people, but it's just as headscratching) as more deserving.................somebody whose overall stats don't hold a candle to Rice's.
Was Madlock a part-time player? He played over 140 games a grand total of 4 times in his entire career. Whether it was because of injuries or not having the DH to fall back on, what's it matter?
Rice was thought of highly enough in his era to earn 6, Top 5 MVP finishes despite being pretty despised by the press. Norm Cash, one year wonder..............I think not.
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Madlock was a regular except for his rookie year and his last year, when he had 350 at bats. He was a fine fielder, a great baserunner, and a line drive hitter with pop. Four batting titles should be a ticket to the hall. And he did all this hitting in the National League, which used to be a lot tougher than hitting in the American League. I saw him play a lot, and my observations and his stats both tell me that he ought to get more attention. In addition, I should say that I get to see him every couple of weeks, since he gives lessons to kids at the local batting cages, and he is about the nicest guy I've ever met.