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The All-Decade Team The Best Players from 2000-2009 by the Co-Founders of BaseballEvolution.com December 31,2009
It's the end of the decade. Time to evaluate the best players of the past ten years and to prognosticate who the best players of the next ten years will be. Here are our picks with statistics from 2000-2009 and commentary where appropriate. Feel free to email us with disagreements and players we may have overlooked, but please keep the "Hey, this decade doesn't actually end until 2011" emails to yourself.
Best Overall Players of this Decade, by
Contribution in this Decade:
We
realize that he only played seven seasons this decade, but it's hard to
argue with a .517 OBP and a .724 SLG. Omar Vizquel
merits an honorable mention, but it's hard to think that he impacted
his games as much as Pudge did. Not Vizquel's fault, really, as it has
more to do with the differences between the positions than the differences
between the players.
This comes down to Pedro, Johan Santana (122-60, 3.12 in 1710 IP), and the
underrated Roy Oswalt (137-70, 3.23 in 1803 IP). Obviously, Martinez
did not pitch as much as the other to did, but he had clearly better rate stats and
peripherals despite having pitched in harsher conditions than the
other two. Just ten years ago, Ken Griffey Jr. was guaranteed to break Hank Aaron's
home run record and poised to bring the next generation of the Big Red
Machine to Cincinnati. As it happened, Griffey was an injury-riddled
nightmare, doing as much damage to his own team on defense as he did to
others on offense. When a 20-year
old pitcher strikes out 20 batters in one game, anything less than a
Hall of Fame career is a disappointment. It should be noted,
however, that Wood's 3.71 ERA ranks 18th among pitchers with
at least 1,000 innings this decade.
After nearly becoming
the first rookie to ever go 30-30, the sky appeared to be the limit for this
toolsy centerfielder. That is, he appeared that way to people who
hadn't watched him flail away haplessly at curveballs all year. Young now
gets a steady diet of breaking pitches every at-bat and even his stellar
defensive play may not be enough to keep him in the big leagues. The man with supposedly impeccable mechanics has
become nothing more than a punch line due to constant injuries. Oliver Perez
merits a mention here as well. Had his 2004 season occurred in New
York rather than Pittsburgh, he would have been touted as the best young
pitcher in the game. In reality, he wouldn't become overrated in New
York until he had already proven himself a complete bust. Official word of retirement could have put either Troy Percival or Armando Benitez here over Hernandez.
Best Players Based upon Anticipated Performance
in the Next Decade:
Believe it
or not, King Felix is nearly two years younger than Tim Lincecum. He
also isn't quite the injury risk that The Freak is. Sorta cheating here. So sue us. If forced, we would have to go with A-Rod at both positions, since Chipper's stats here include his two seasons in left field and neither he nor Jeter is exactly a defensive wizard. Right Fielder: Vladamir Guerrero (315-1037-.323/.960)
Jim Thome has only played four seasons at DH, whereas
Ortiz only has 244 games at first base and has
never been a full timer there. Curt Schilling (117-63, 3.53 in
1569 IP) and Tim Hudson (137-76, 3.50 in 1923 IP) are honorable
mentions. Surprisingly, Jason
Isringhausen is tied with Wagner for the third most saves this
decade. He had a relatively high ERA of 3.03, however.
Jose Reyes has a case, particularly since Hanley Ramirez may not stick at shortstop for five more years, let alone ten. But if he does, his offensive production more than atones for his defensive demerits.
Right Fielder: Justin
Upton Grady Sizemore might bounce back from
his sub-par 2009 season and be the centerfielder of the teens and Curtis
Granderson has a case with a left-handed stroke that should play well at
Yankee Stadium. But Matt Kemp was probably the best all-around
centerfielder in baseball last year, ans it appears that he has only
begun to realize his full potential. Defense isn't all that important in left field.
Designated Hitter: Miguel Cabrera
Brandon Webb was a lock for this rotation prior to his
shoulder surgery, but now, who knows what the next decade will bring?
Roy Halladay's case just got better by joining a National League team with a
terrific infield defense, but his age leaves him just shy in our minds.
Questions? Concerns? Comments? the staff of Baseball Evolution can be reached at comments@baseballevolution.com. |
