Robinson Cano: My Thoughts

Robinson Cano has moved on from the Bronx and away from his former double play partner, Derek Jeter. For once, the Yankees seem to be the smart team in this scenario due to the huge 240 million dollars that the Seattle Mariners will have to pay Cano over the next 10 years. Before I talk about what I think about Robinson Cano and the deal he signed, I wanted to show some comparisons between him and some of the greatest second basemen that have ever played the game.

(I will be comparing the players by their 162 game average)

Batting Average:                                                  Home Runs        

Robinson Cano: .309                                             Robinson Cano: 24

Eddie Collins: .333                                                Eddie Collins: 3

Rogers Hornsby: .358                                           Rogers Hornsby: 22

Joe Morgan: .271                                                  Joe Morgan: 16

Jackie Robinson: .311                                           Jackie Robinson: 16

Roberto Alomar: .300                                           Roberto Alomar: 14

Rod Carew: .328                                                  Rod Carew: 6

Hits                                                                           RBI

                      Robinson Cano: 194                                                 Robinson Cano: 97                

     Eddie Collins: 190                                                     Eddie Collins: 75

      Rogers Hornsby: 210                                                Rogers Hornsby: 114

Joe Morgan: 154                                                       Joe Morgan: 69

   Jackie Robinson: 178                                                Jackie Robinson: 86

        Roberto Alomar: 185                                                Roberto Alomar: 77

Rod Carew: 200                                                        Rod Carew: 67

Slugging Percentage                                              On Base Percentage

               Robinson Cano: .504%                                                 Robinson Cano: .355%         Eddie Collins: .429%                                                       Eddie Collins: .424

      Rogers Hornsby: ..577%                                                Rogers Hornsby: ..434%

Joe Morgan: ..427%                                                       Joe Morgan: .392%

        Jackie Robinson: .474%                                                  Jackie Robinson: ..409%

     Roberto Alomar: .443%                                                   Roberto Alomar: .371%

Rod Carew: ..429%                                                        Rod Carew: .393%

I know, blah blah blah...numbers. But those numbers should scream at what people are saying. Robinson Cano is clearly the best second basemen in Major League Baseball today. However, where does he actually stack up against the greats of all time and how is he worth 24 million dollars a year? It's easily seen that Cano is arguably the most productive of the guys that I listed. He doesn't have the power that Jeff Kent had in his prime (Kent would average 26 home runs per 162 games), but 24 a season will put him among the all time home run leaders by second baseman. 

Cano gets as many hits as the guys that were listed, but notice that his On Base Percentage is almost 40 points lower than Joe Morgan's, while Cano has 40 more total hits.This could be due to the fact that Cano doesn't walk as much as he should, or that he gets more at bats than former players did. However, offensively, Cano will go down in history as probably the all-time home run leader for second basemen.

Kiss the World Series goodbye, Robinson.

Does that make him worth 24 million dollars a year? To me, no way. First off, there are very few, if any players that I would remotely consider to signing for 10 years OR 200 million dollars. Is he worth a million dollars every time he hits a home run (see about chart)? There's no way. The Seattle Mariners have little to nothing around Cano, and will just put more pressure on guys around him. I agree that the team has one of the best pitchers in the league in Felix Hernandez, and one of the best young pitchers in Taijuan Walker, but one bat isn't going to change your fate. 

If the Mariners did this to put fans in the stands, it will work. Until the All-Star Break when the team is more than 9 or 10 games out of first place. Then what is Cano good for? Taking your money? 

Speaking of taking money, what in the world was Robinson Cano thinking? You leave the New York Yankees. The most hated, despised, winning, prestigious team in the HISTORY OF BASEBALL, for simply more money. Now, some will say that the Yankees aren't going to win this year and you're right. They won't win this year. But the Mariners are guaranteed to finish 4th in their division this year. Write it down. 4th in the AL West. 

So does money make up for winning? Has it come to a point in professional sports where players want money more than they want to win? What would the great Pete Rose or Ty Cobb say? Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig would be ashamed of a Yankee turning his back on his team for just money. I want to see guys start playing more for their pride and winning a World Series than having to pack up for a few more million dollars a year. Especially when you are set financially for the rest of your life. 

Hall of Fame Discussion Pt. 2

Now, yesterday I told you that I had four guys possibly getting into the Hall of Fame this 2014 year. My two guys that I think are automatically in are Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. Their statistics stand alone for pitchers in the era they threw the ball in, but the other two players I feel that have a chance to get in did none of their work on the pitchers mound.

The "Big Hurt" Frank Thomas

When we think of 1990's-2000's hitters, we think of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Alex Rodriguez. Some of the more die hard, old school guy think of a tainted era, but out of the guys eligible for the Hall this year, the number one hitter I see is Frank Thomas. Now a lot of voters have said "No way, no how" to voting for hitters from this era, but I see no reason to leave out guys that were never "convicted" or suspected of using PEDs. Thomas is a guy that has rarely, if ever, brought up with PEDs. His numbers, let them talk please. Start with this fact: even though he hit 521 home runs, he also hit .301 in his 19 year career. Add along with that 1,704 RBI, you have a guy that hit for average, power, and knocked in runs every time he stood at the plate. With all of these statistics, he also won the AL MVP award in 1993 and 1994 and won a battling title in 1997. He was one of the most dominant forces during his major league stay.

Oh, he also looks just like Tom Brady!

Now, Frank Thomas was a huge guy, 6'4" and weighed 240 pounds to be exact. Think more like 5'11" and weighing 185 pounds. Yeah, you know now: Craig Biggio. This guy was the best second baseman in the MLB during his time in the league, and clearly a class guy that belong in the hallowed Hall. He knocked out 3,060 hits, 291 home runs, and 414 stolen bases. He also holds a record that many baseball fans remember: he was hit by more pitches than any one player that has ever played the game (285 times). This doesn't tell the whole story about Biggs though. He was a 5 time Silver Slugger award winner and a 4 time Gold Glove award winner. He also stands 5th all time in the MLB in doubles with 668 (behind
Cobb, Rose, Musial, and Tris Speaker). A classy figure that hit well, fielded well, and set records belongs in the Hall. Easily.