|
|
Post by pippsheadache on May 6, 2019 19:07:57 GMT -5
Rizz, I saw both of them hundreds of times. Brooks was clearly an overall better player. But they were very close with the leather. I would say Clete had a slight edge on the kind of play Gio made -- charging the ball and making the barehand pickup. Brooks probably was better at the ball over the bag and making the long throw to first. He really cemented his legend in the 1970 World Series with a string of great plays on the big stage. But defensively, I thought they were a coin toss. Great to have that sentiment validated by another baseball fan who saw them both. Where would you put Nettles with those two? Right in the conversation, Rizz. A better hitter than either of them. I would rate him a slight bit below Brooks and Clete defensively -- not as consistently spectacular -- but he could play for me any day. You know who else was amazing at the hot corner? Scott Rolen. |
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on May 6, 2019 19:08:10 GMT -5
I was told that Brooks was the greatest third baseman of his generation with the glove but Boyer was not far behind. [ I saw them both play. I saw Nettles of course, too. It was hard to discern a difference in the three. The things Robinson had going for him were that he was ambidextrous, which I feel helped him sprawl and land well on dives. He was also quite a showman, and I saw him more than once lie down to field a routine grounder to thunderous applause, with the whole crowd in the stadium standing. I won’t knock showmanship. The crowd pays their money, and you give them their money’s worth, right? I thought Aurelio Rodriguez was amazing too, with that black glove. The only thing was that he would throw a ball away now and again... I really only saw Nettles with any regularity. I have a tough time thinking anyone better, much less in another class than Puff. |
|
|
|
Post by chiyankee on May 6, 2019 19:09:01 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on May 6, 2019 19:10:21 GMT -5
I was going to mention Aurelio too. My view is the same as yours.
|
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on May 6, 2019 19:12:09 GMT -5
Great to have that sentiment validated by another baseball fan who saw them both. Where would you put Nettles with those two? Right in the conversation, Rizz. A better hitter than either of them. I would rate him a slight bit below Brooks and Clete defensively -- not as consistently spectacular -- but he could play for me any day. You know who else was amazing at the hot corner? Scott Rolen. Rolen was solid, no doubt. Another guy, who was not in that league, but underrated nonetheless was Matt Williams. He could pick it and could throw across the diamond with a flick of his wrist. He just didn’t have the range to be in that upper echelon of thirdsackers. |
|
|
|
Post by greatfatness on May 6, 2019 19:13:14 GMT -5
Rizz, I saw both of them hundreds of times. Brooks was clearly an overall better player. But they were very close with the leather. I would say Clete had a slight edge on the kind of play Gio made -- charging the ball and making the barehand pickup. Brooks probably was better at the ball over the bag and making the long throw to first. He really cemented his legend in the 1970 World Series with a string of great plays on the big stage. But defensively, I thought they were a coin toss. Great to have that sentiment validated by another baseball fan who saw them both. Where would you put Nettles with those two? I only saw Nettles in person, and then as a young kid. But after spending time thinking about where his legacy was, he wasn't quite as great as those two. He was amazing with reflexes so he made some incredible bang bang plays that cemented his reputation. But day in day out he wasn't as spectacular as Robinson or Boyer based on what I've seen and read. Also, this might be heresy, but I put Schmidt ahead of Robinson. He was a very good defensive 3rd baseman who didn't get all of the credit he deserved in part because his bat was so great. To me, Nettles was actually underappreciated as a hitter. Debate for another day over a beer so something like that. |
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on May 6, 2019 19:13:34 GMT -5
Who would have thought that King Felix would pitch as many innings (at least) as CC?
|
|
|
|
Post by greatfatness on May 6, 2019 19:14:00 GMT -5
Glad he got that last out. Not many more chances to add a “W” for him at this point... Yes. And if that inning goes the wrong way, maybe this team isn't adding a W today either. |
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on May 6, 2019 19:14:16 GMT -5
Great to have that sentiment validated by another baseball fan who saw them both. Where would you put Nettles with those two? Right in the conversation, Rizz. A better hitter than either of them. I would rate him a slight bit below Brooks and Clete defensively -- not as consistently spectacular -- but he could play for me any day. You know who else was amazing at the hot corner? Scott Rolen. That’s dead on with what my old Yankee buddy said, too. I guess I’ll have to acknowledge the slight edge over Nettles. |
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on May 6, 2019 19:18:10 GMT -5
Great to have that sentiment validated by another baseball fan who saw them both. Where would you put Nettles with those two? I only saw Nettles in person, and then as a young kid. But after spending time thinking about where his legacy was, he wasn't quite as great as those two. He was amazing with reflexes so he made some incredible bang bang plays that cemented his reputation. But day in day out he wasn't as spectacular as Robinson or Boyer based on what I've seen and read. Also, this might be heresy, but I put Schmidt ahead of Robinson. He was a very good defensive 3rd baseman who didn't get all of the credit he deserved in part because his bat was so great. To me, Nettles was actually underappreciated as a hitter. Debate for another day over a beer so something like that. Schmidt was no slouch with ten gold gloves, but that prodigious power overshadowed his defense, certainly. |
|
|
|
Post by pippsheadache on May 6, 2019 19:19:09 GMT -5
Great to have that sentiment validated by another baseball fan who saw them both. Where would you put Nettles with those two? I only saw Nettles in person, and then as a young kid. But after spending time thinking about where his legacy was, he wasn't quite as great as those two. He was amazing with reflexes so he made some incredible bang bang plays that cemented his reputation. But day in day out he wasn't as spectacular as Robinson or Boyer based on what I've seen and read. Also, this might be heresy, but I put Schmidt ahead of Robinson. He was a very good defensive 3rd baseman who didn't get all of the credit he deserved in part because his bat was so great. To me, Nettles was actually underappreciated as a hitter. Debate for another day over a beer so something like that. Absolutely on Schmidt, GF. He was a spectacular third baseman. You are spot on about his HR achievments obscuring his defensive skills. Similar to an earlier third baseman Eddie Mathews. But Schmidt was better than him on both sides of the ball. But not by that much. |
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on May 6, 2019 19:19:26 GMT -5
Holder doesn’t have it.
|
|
|
|
Post by greatfatness on May 6, 2019 19:20:27 GMT -5
Right in the conversation, Rizz. A better hitter than either of them. I would rate him a slight bit below Brooks and Clete defensively -- not as consistently spectacular -- but he could play for me any day. You know who else was amazing at the hot corner? Scott Rolen. Rolen was solid, no doubt. Another guy, who was not in that league, but underrated nonetheless was Matt Williams. He could pick it and could throw across the diamond with a flick of his wrist. He just didn’t have the range to be in that upper echelon of thirdsackers. I would add Gary Gaetti to the conversation then. I actually think he was the best of his era at 3rd defensively. |
|
|
|
Post by rizzuto on May 6, 2019 19:20:29 GMT -5
I only saw Nettles in person, and then as a young kid. But after spending time thinking about where his legacy was, he wasn't quite as great as those two. He was amazing with reflexes so he made some incredible bang bang plays that cemented his reputation. But day in day out he wasn't as spectacular as Robinson or Boyer based on what I've seen and read. Also, this might be heresy, but I put Schmidt ahead of Robinson. He was a very good defensive 3rd baseman who didn't get all of the credit he deserved in part because his bat was so great. To me, Nettles was actually underappreciated as a hitter. Debate for another day over a beer so something like that. Absolutely on Schmidt, GF. He was a spectacular third baseman. You are spot on about his HR achievments obscuring his defensive skills. Similar to an earlier third baseman Eddie Mathews. But Schmidt was better than him on both sides of the ball. But not by that much. Chipper Jones should get some love for all around third basemen. |
|
|
|
Post by greatfatness on May 6, 2019 19:21:26 GMT -5
He's been better lately, which is good to see. I wasn't optimistic. |
|
