HOF results

[glchen]

That's where it vexes me, especially for 2nd basemen. You don't have the arm or athleticism for SS. And you don't have much of a bat either, but you're decent on defense, just not as good as our SS. Yet we need to meet our quota for 2nd basemen in the HOF. This and catcher are like where players who can't hit try to get a position on the team. (e.g., if Piazza played 1B, I doubt he'd be in the HOF.)

[howard38]

Originally Posted by glchen

That's where it vexes me, especially for 2nd basemen. You don't have the arm or athleticism for SS. And you don't have much of a bat either, but you're decent on defense, just not as good as our SS. Yet we need to meet our quota for 2nd basemen in the HOF. This and catcher are like where players who can't hit try to get a position on the team. (e.g., if Piazza played 1B, I doubt he'd be in the HOF.)

He did have the athleticism and the arm to play SS. He was recognized as an outstanding SS in the minor leagues and played the position for the Orioles when he first made the majors where he was still considered outstanding. He was only moved to 2B to accommodate Mark Belanger who probably ranks w/Ozzie Smith as the GOAT defensively at the position. As it turned out Grich was even better at 2B than he was at SS so he remained there for the rest of his career.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by howard38

He did have the athleticism and the arm to play SS. He was recognized as an outstanding SS in the minor leagues and played the position for the Orioles when he first made the majors where he was still considered outstanding. He was only moved to 2B to accommodate Mark Belanger who probably ranks w/Ozzie Smith as the GOAT defensively at the position. As it turned out Grich was even better at 2B than he was at SS so he remained there for the rest of his career.

Belanger came up years before Grich. I think he was injured Grich's rookie year which is why Grich played some SS. Once Belanger was healthy, Grich was moved.

[howard38]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Belanger came up years before Grich. I think he was injured Grich's rookie year which is why Grich played some SS. Once Belanger was healthy, Grich was moved.

Belanger wasn't injured in 1972 (at least he wasn't on the DL) but he hit so poorly that Earl Weaver benched him frequently. Grich played most of his minor league career at SS and had progressed to the point that he was named the IL's best defensive IF as well as being the league's best hitter in 1971. So it was a logical move to try him in place of Belanger in 1972. It might have stayed that way but 2B Davey Johnson was so bad in 1972 that he was traded, making room for Grich and making Belanger the regular SS again.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by howard38

Belanger wasn't injured in 1972 (at least he wasn't on the DL) but he hit so poorly that Earl Weaver benched him frequently. Grich played most of his minor league career at SS and had progressed to the point that he was named the IL's best defensive IF as well as being the league's best hitter in 1971. So it was a logical move to try him in place of Belanger in 1972. It might have stayed that way but 2B Davey Johnson was so bad in 1972 that he was traded, making room for Grich and making Belanger the regular SS again.

Oh he played only 100 games as opposed to 150 for all the years before and all the years after so I just assumed it was injury. Yeah the guy couldn't hit although he somehow managed to throw a couple of pretty good years in there along with all the awful ones. He had a .287 a .270 and a .266 along with a slew of absolute dogs.

[howard38]

Originally Posted by Peter_Spaeth

Oh he played only 100 games as opposed to 150 for all the years before and all the years after so I just assumed it was injury. Yeah the guy couldn't hit although he somehow managed to throw a couple of pretty good years in there along with all the awful ones. He had a .287 a .270 and a .266 along with a slew of absolute dogs.

Go figure. If he was anywhere near those numbers for the rest of his career he might be a hall of famer. Yet he never even reached .230 in any other season.