OT - Best 3B ever?

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

I'm not taking anything away from his fielding ability -- and he was a very good hitter but nowhere near the level of Schmidt, Brett or Mathews. I would rate him 4th or at best 3rd. Bill James rates him 7th which seems harsh. He surely belongs ahead of Santo. James also rates Boggs and Home Run Baker higher. As a long time Sox fan I feel Boggs is the most overrated player in history, or at least the one with the most deceptive stats.

Boggs is the best 3rd baseman and in no way is overrated.

Since we are obviously only talking offence #'s and how they compared to players in the era they played. Only Barry Bonds has more consecutive years leading the league in IBB than Wade. You can throw out any #'s you want but when the other teams fear you so much that you lead the league 6 years in a row in IBB that has to mean something.

Since 1955 when this became a recorded stat only Barry Bonds has led the league in IBB more times. Not just 3rd basemen but the league.
Chipper Jones never led the league in IBB.
George Brett led the league in IBB twice.
Mike Schmidt led the league in IBB twice.