Interesting Ringolsby Article

They are the same age and Freeman has 5 more bWAR and 6 more fWAR. One clearly has had the better career so far than the other.
 
The better question is are there ANY 1B under 30 who will make the hall?

Will Freeman OR Rizzo have the career of Votto? Is Votto a HoF? For me, Votto isn't as it stands and he has an MVP, 2nd and 3rd runner up MVP finishes, and has 58.9 fWar. But he's somewhat close where a little extra credit may help. (Frank Thomas had 73.9 fWar, Jimmie Foxx 95.8). Miguel Cabrera has 69.7 and Albert Pujols has 100. Of course some of those guys spent significant time at other positions.

Will Freddie (or Rizzo) be anywhere close to the player they are today when they are 35 as Votto is now (Votto has struggled the last 2 years, as has Cabrera, as has Pujols).

First basemen don't age well, especially 1B who have always been primarily 1B.
 
Edwin Diaz? Lol. 1B is a tough position to crack. Freddie is going to need a big peak or to stay good through to his late 30's.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
The better question is are there ANY 1B under 30 who will make the hall?

Will Freeman OR Rizzo have the career of Votto? Is Votto a HoF? For me, Votto isn't as it stands and he has an MVP, 2nd and 3rd runner up MVP finishes, and has 58.9 fWar. But he's somewhat close where a little extra credit may help. (Frank Thomas had 73.9 fWar, Jimmie Foxx 95.8). Miguel Cabrera has 69.7 and Albert Pujols has 100. Of course some of those guys spent significant time at other positions.

Will Freddie (or Rizzo) be anywhere close to the player they are today when they are 35 as Votto is now (Votto has struggled the last 2 years, as has Cabrera, as has Pujols).

First basemen don't age well, especially 1B who have always been primarily 1B.
Click to expand...

The DH is coming to both leagues. If Freddie's bat speed doesn't decrease too much and he'll hit some big numbers. Big enough for the HOF? Hard to tell.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
The better question is are there ANY 1B under 30 who will make the hall?

Will Freeman OR Rizzo have the career of Votto? Is Votto a HoF? For me, Votto isn't as it stands and he has an MVP, 2nd and 3rd runner up MVP finishes, and has 58.9 fWar. But he's somewhat close where a little extra credit may help. (Frank Thomas had 73.9 fWar, Jimmie Foxx 95.8). Miguel Cabrera has 69.7 and Albert Pujols has 100. Of course some of those guys spent significant time at other positions.

Will Freddie (or Rizzo) be anywhere close to the player they are today when they are 35 as Votto is now (Votto has struggled the last 2 years, as has Cabrera, as has Pujols).

First basemen don't age well, especially 1B who have always been primarily 1B.
Click to expand...

To me Votto is a HOF. Since 2008 he is 2nd to only Trout in total WAR among position players. He likely will get to 60 WAR by the time he is done and with his MVP that's going to be good enough.

You are right about 1B though. Those guys can crater at any time once they get to 30. Even the best of all-time (Pujols,Thomas, and Cabrera) aren't immune. Another comparison to Rizzo and Freedie who is a couple of years older is Goldschmidt. It will be interesting to see how he does the rest of the year but this could the start of his decline and he's 31. I like Freeman as much as anyone but we have him signed through age 31 and any extension talks after that need to be with extreme caution.
 
Horsehide Harry said:
The better question is are there ANY 1B under 30 who will make the hall?

Will Freeman OR Rizzo have the career of Votto? Is Votto a HoF? For me, Votto isn't as it stands and he has an MVP, 2nd and 3rd runner up MVP finishes, and has 58.9 fWar. But he's somewhat close where a little extra credit may help. (Frank Thomas had 73.9 fWar, Jimmie Foxx 95.8). Miguel Cabrera has 69.7 and Albert Pujols has 100. Of course some of those guys spent significant time at other positions.

Will Freddie (or Rizzo) be anywhere close to the player they are today when they are 35 as Votto is now (Votto has struggled the last 2 years, as has Cabrera, as has Pujols).

First basemen don't age well, especially 1B who have always been primarily 1B.
Click to expand...

Its just going to be a matter of Freddie staying good well into his 30s. He's gonna need at least 6-7 seasons of ~4 WAR baseball (or 5-6 seasons of 5+ WAR) in order to make the Hall for sure. If he can get to ~60 career WAR, then I think he'll be in pretty good shape. It wouldn't hurt if he had a few more 30+ homer seasons in the future to give him a shot a cracking 400.

Its a pretty tall order and he's going to have to beat the standard aging curve for 1st basemen, but I think he's capable of staying an elite player into his mid-30s.
 
thewupk said:
To me Votto is a HOF. Since 2008 he is 2nd to only Trout in total WAR among position players. He likely will get to 60 WAR by the time he is done and with his MVP that's going to be good enough.

You are right about 1B though. Those guys can crater at any time once they get to 30. Even the best of all-time (Pujols,Thomas, and Cabrera) aren't immune. Another comparison to Rizzo and Freedie who is a couple of years older is Goldschmidt. It will be interesting to see how he does the rest of the year but this could the start of his decline and he's 31. I like Freeman as much as anyone but we have him signed through age 31 and any extension talks after that need to be with extreme caution.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't sign Freeman to anything longer than a 2 or MAYYYYYYBBBBEEE 3 year deal after his current deal ends. A lot is going to depend on how he looks in the next couple of seasons. If there are ANY signs of decline, we need to bail. If he's still great, extend him for a couple years and then go to 1 year deals after that if he still wants to be here. If Freeman wants something more long term after his current deal, then we need to wish him well and let another team make that mistake.
 
BeanieAntics said:
I wouldn't sign Freeman to anything longer than a 2 or MAYYYYYYBBBBEEE 3 year deal after his current deal ends. A lot is going to depend on how he looks in the next couple of seasons. If there are ANY signs of decline, we need to bail. If he's still great, extend him for a couple years and then go to 1 year deals after that if he still wants to be here. If Freeman wants something more long term after his current deal, then we need to wish him well and let another team make that mistake.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I think the right approach with a Face of the Franchise type player like Freddie who wants to stay with the team for his career is a series of short-term extensions once he gets into his thirties. That allows the club and him to calibrate his salary to his production and maintain a situation that is fair to everyone.
 
People still read BA? After content like that?

Freeman was 4th in the MVP race last year. He gets about as much publicity as any guy not in a major market.

Everyone who matters understands exactly how valuable Freeman is.
 
The old-school numbers are pretty much in Freddie's corner. Both are 29, Freddie turns 30 in September.

Their 162-game averages are similar: Rizzo slashed .270/30/98 on a 162 avearage, Freeman is .294/27/95.

Both have at this moment 210 career homers, with Freddie owning more hits (1,370-1,127) and RBIs (745-688).

Each has been a 3-time all-star previous to 2019.
 
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