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Originally Posted by btcarfagno
That's the problem with the "eye test". Never tells the whole story and often does not tell the correct one. Bobby Grich is one of the ten best players at his position in history. I would put him top 8. Ahead of many many HOFers at the position. Legitimate HOFers I might add. Garvey is way WAY down the list at 1B. How many HOF 1B is Garvey better than? Two. Bottomley and Kelly. Kelly certainly doesn't belong there and Bottomley is borderline at very best.
Tom C
Edit: And you are correct that Garvey was pretty decent in three of the four years he won the gold glove. But being third best in the league in TZR doesn't mean that your gold glove was merited. The last two, certainly, when Hernandez played full seasons in no way shape or form should Garvey have won. I'll be kind and say that he wasn't a terrible selection for the first two years, and that the next two were honorary.
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And that's the problem Sabermetrics. The "eye test" is more important than any "formula." If you take advanced statistics, that is one of the first things that you are taught. With sabermaticians, they say if your observations don't fit their formula, ignore them. That is unscientific. Scientists make their formulas fit their observations.
I disagree on Grich. Like Simmons, he is better than mistakes in the HOF. He is not top 10 in my opinion. He is not even the best 2b not in the HOF, that is Lou Whitaker. He is not a slam dunk, but I am fine with him in or out of HOF once Whitaker and Garvey are in.
We do agree that Garvey would be towards the bottom of the 1st basemen in the HOF. I just have him a lot higher than you. I have him only behind Keith Hernandez, who along with Alan Trammell are my 2 slam dunks. If we are taking guys who in my mind are marginal candidates, I would take a winner like Garvey and guys who had higher peaks like Mattingly and Murphy. Guys who everyone knew were superstars, but just were not for long enough. It is the Hall of Fame with emphasis on fame, not being above average for a long time.