Cave_Man: Whether he does enough to get into the Hall of Fame is an open issue.
What?! Oh my god, man, no- I don't think it's remotely an open issue that he's a future hall of famer! He's got the 10th highest OPS in history over his career- if you look at that top 20 list, it's all big-time Hall of Famer types, the "no questions asked", with only a couple of exceptions being active players like Thome and Helton and Berkman. If he retired after this World Series, his numbers are already HOF-worthy: baseball-reference puts him slightly below the average HOF in the black-ink test, but his other HOF monitor numbers are through the roof. At 35, he's got 490HR, 471 doubles, 1604 RBI with a .313 career average. Since he'll likely play at least 3-4 more years, and has been historically fairly healthy (
despite that oblique injury that he might have nursed to end this season, he still played in 133 games this year- and only twice since his rookie year has he played in fewer than 130 games), those counting stats will only get more gaudy. Barring a catastrophic injury, he'll likely finish with 600+ HR, and possibly 2000+ RBI. He's a perennial All-Star, silver-slugger, a batting champion, and I don't think anyone in or around baseball wouldn't consider him one of the greatest hitters of his generation. Is he as good as Bonds, as A-Rod, or even Griffey? No, probably not if only because two of those guys were all-world fielders to go along with their production, and Bonds is probably the greatest offensive threat in the history of baseball. But Manny Ramirez is a sure-thing Hall of Famer, and I don't think there's any serious debate to the contrary.
grum@work: Can I get an official ruling on who the clutchiest-clutch-that-ever-
clutched is?
Actually, I think Ortiz is probably your best bet for clutchiest-clutch of this decade at least, and a serious contender for clutchiest-ever. Jeter never had great clutch stats, that was just McCarver jizzing on you through your tv screen. Manny Ramirez isn't as "clutch" a hitter as Ortiz, since Ortiz has actual, serious statistical clout in that area: some of his clutch hit stats (walkoff hits/HR, late inning performance with RISP, etc) are insane, and had sabermetricians scratching their heads and revisiting the "there's no such thing as clutch" drawing board. Ramirez is probably a better hitter than Ortiz, but we might say otherwise in 3 years; Ortiz just gets better and better and better, and he's all but inarguably the best clutch hitter of the decade. However, he's by no means a HOF player (yet) like Ramirez. Like RBI, clutch is a situational stat: Ortiz has likely been at the plate in more key moments than most players, but he's delivered some amazing hits, most notably that 2004 ALCS, and his 2006 season with all those walk-off hits, etc.
Actually, I think Ortiz is probably your best bet for clutchiest-clutch of this decade at least, and a serious contender for clutchiest-ever. I'm not sure you can say that. He has certainly recieved the most recognition for his clutch plays but I'm sure there have been many players through the years who have made similar plays. The extensive media coverage and the existance of the internet have just brought more fame to Ortiz's clutch hits.
Can I get an official ruling on who the clutchiest-clutch-that-ever-
clutched is? I don't have an answer for you. But you can mark Arod off your list.
Other examples of Manny's greatness include:#1 all time in post-season home runs#2 all time in grand slams (behind Lou Gehrig)Has two sons named Manny Jr.Also:
When I asked his teammate David Ortiz, himself a borderline folk hero, how he would describe Ramirez, he replied, "As a crazy motherfucker." Then he pointed at my notebook and said, "You can write it down just like that: 'David Ortiz says Manny is a crazy motherfucker.'" ... "Manny is at the far end of the as-bad-as-you-can-get-in-the-
field spectrum." ... In the outfield and on the base paths, Ramirez can seem oafish and clumsy, and many of the baseball-related incidents for which he is best known reflect a chronic absent-mindedness, but I prefer the most Roy Hobbsian anecdote, in which he hits a home run with a broken bat--it was broken before he swung, that is, and he used it anyway because he was fond of it--since it illustrates both his enthusiasm and his preternatural gift for hitting.
#1 all time in post-season home runs #3 all time in post-season strike outs (tied with David Justice and Reggie Sanders)
#1 in hair.
#1 in hair. Really? I gotta think Oscar Gamble has to rank higher, just on volume alone.
Modern day, grum.
but I'm sure there have been many players through the years who have made similar plays. Please don't say crap like that; have a counter-example. From my third link above: "It was Ortiz's second walk-off hit of the series and his third of the postseason; no other player in history had hit more than two in his entire career." So no, no other players have similar plays.
Modern day, grum. Yeah, comparing Manny's hair to someone from the 70s is like comparing a modern pitcher to a pitcher from the dead ball era. It just isn't fair.
It looks like Manny's batting helmet may have been damaged in a fire. I hope they can get him a replacement. #3 all time in post-season strike outs (tied with David Justice and Reggie Sanders) Oooh, burn. Sluggers always strike out a lot.
"It looks like Manny's batting helmet may have been damaged in a fire. I hope they can get him a replacement." The stuff on Manny's helmet is probaly pine tar. Manny apparently likes his batting helmet, looks like it has been in use for years.
Yeah, it is pine tar; the whole team did it in 2004. Orlando Cabrera still does the same thing with his Angels helmet.
Clutchiest? Apparently they give out a trophy for that now.
Wait just a minute. A-Rod is the clutchiest player of the year? Or most clutch, or whatever the hell it's called? Isn't he golfing right now? Or going to strip clubs with that blonde gal? Anyway, isn't he NOT playing in the World Series (again)? I, of course, get mixed up when it comes to differentiating shit from shinola, but my estimation put A-Rod's performance a few points below clutch this season. Postseason he batted .267 with 4 hits and 1 RBI. Post season would be where I think you would find the definitive clutch perfomance. His appeared to be less than clutchy.
clutchiness. It's a lot like truthiness.
Anyway, isn't he NOT playing in the World Series (again)? To be fair, the Yankees wouldn't have even made the playoffs if he wasn't so super-duper-clutcherrific during season when he was (almost) single-handedly dragging the Yankees to respectability. Just ask Papelbon and Chris Ray about his clutchtasticness.
Right now the only "clutchy" thing related to A-Rod is the aforementioned blonde. I'd ask Papelbon, but he seems to be busy.
