Boggs was famous at the time for putting on an awesome power display during batting practice. He’d hit shots out of every ballpark, kind of what Ichiro does (or used to do). So… a lot of observers would say “if he can do that in BP, why can’t he hit more than 6-10 HR a year in the REAL games?”. Plus, he _did_ hit 24 HR in 1987. They concluded that he was rather selfish, in deliberately hitting singles instead of trying for HRs in order to boost his average. Bryan,I agree with your analysis, but remember that back in… Read more »

Ironically, althoughBoggs was considered a below-average baserunner, he was one of the fastest runers from home-to-first on a batted ball. More fodder for those who claimed he was only interested in his batting average.

If you compared him to Tim Raines, he did seem to score less runs than expected for someone who was on base so often. I think the cost in actual runs, however, is far less than what his detractors claimed. And he did score 100 or more runs seven years in a row and lead the AL twice.

RJ @149:

Ted Williams, for one.

“Selfish” is a strange word. Many of the athletes who compete at the highest level are selfish in the sense that they are really driven and often single-minded. They don’t want to fail, and they push themselves harder. Not that different from the business world. Steve Jobs was also that kind of selfish.

@151 The year before Cullenbine was traded he was an All-Star, 10th in the MVP vote, and slashed: .317 .452 .465 .917 140+ But perhaps it was a ‘what have you done for me lately’ syndrome, as at the time of the trade: .193 .367 .330 .697 95 30 walks and 21 hits ________________ The Senators waived him later in the year, and he ended the seaon on the pennant-winning Yanks, looking like a beast in 21 games: .364 .484 .532 1.017 ________________ The guy he was traded for, Mike Chartak, walked a fair amount, but he was far better… Read more »

” The pennant-winning 1942 Yankees thought enough of him to put him third in the lineup in all five games of the 1942 World Series, batting him ahead of Joe DiMaggio. ”

__________________________

The Tigers released him after 1947, at age 33, and he never got into another game. He only batted .224 that year. Ooooof.

(.224 .401 .422 .823 125)

In 1947 Cullenbine’s .224 BA was the lowest for a batter with an OBP of .400+. His 137 BB that year was the 2nd best by a switch-hitter, trailing only Mantle. He also set an ML record for most consecutive games with a BB, 22 games. His .452 OBP in 1941 is the 5th best by a switch-hitter, trailing only Mantle and Chipper Jones.

#162/Richard Chester –

In 1951 catcher Wes Westrum had a .400 OBA for the Giants, but only a .219 BA. 79 hits, 104 walks.

Manager Leo Durocher sure knew the value of a walk – the Giants were 1st in walks, 2nd in OBA (.347; Dodgers .352). Three Giants were in the Top-10 in OBA, and that doesn’t even include Westrum, a few PA’s short.

Your last paragraph before your closing statement, Artie, is what I’m railing against. To me, being a compiler should not necessarily have negative connotations attached to it.

P.S. Chili Davis (35 career WAR) would be another good example of the Baines/Staub type of player.