Lack of a Dominant Player

[Carp]

Yeah but offense around the game was better at that time.

And Chipper was still dominant, even in that era. I don't think you truly appreciate just how great Chipper was. Finished in the Top 10 in Offensive rWAR about 5 or 6 times I believe. And currently he has the 25th highest career offensive WAR in the history of baseball

 

[50PoundHead]

Those kinds of teams--lots of good players no dominant players--tend to be more consistent. I would also add the absence of bad players or more specifically bad players being given significant numbers of at bats and innings pitched is also very important.

I guess that's my point. If you get a good mix of players you don't really need a guy like Miggy Cabrera. It is surely nice to have someone of that ilk, but it doesn't put you on the rocket to stardom.

 

[Carp]

Having/not having "elite" players doesn't guarantee anything anyways. How many times have the Angels made the playoffs since Trout came up? The Royals were a game away from winning the WS with practically no offensive stars.

Obviously you want elite players if you can get them. But you can still win a lot of games with a mixed bag of decent to really good players.

 

[Knucksie]

I get what you are saying but Chipper was pretty ****ing dominant man. 7 6+ war seasons, 3 of those 7+.

The amazing part is that several of those seasons was before WAR even existed.

 

[cajunrevenge]

Freddie is a top 15-20 hitter in the game at 25. I would say Chipper was dominant from 99 through 01 at ages Freddie has yet to reach. Chipper was just breaking into the majors at the age Freeman is now. There is every reason to think the best is yet to come from Freeman.

 

[Carp]

Certainly Freddie could get better. Again, this is coming from someone who still thinks Freddie is a dominant hitter. I mean certainly in 2013 Freddie was dominant, finishing 5th in MVP voting that year.

I just think you are selling Chipper short here. Had Chipper remained healthy and reached career milestones like 500 homers and 3000 hits, then you are talking about an inner circle HOFer, imo. Let's temper expectations for Freddie for a bit. Expecting a HOF career or even simply a peak as good as Chipper's are quite some lofty projections.

 

[Julio3000]

Agree about Chipper. We're talking about a 1st-ballot HOFer here. Freddie has worked his way up to being top-5 in his position in the majors… Chipper is top 5 (top 3, really) at his position in HISTORY.

 

[Dalyn]

Not many players have a second prime at 34 (arguably better than the first).