I'll preface this with the fact I like Altuve, but you neglected to mention his horrible base running. He gets thrown out on the bases more than any other player in the league (pick offs, attempted steals, advancing an extra base). By the way, in 20 years, Biggio grounded into 150 double plays (26 his first 5 years) including an astounding ZERO in 1997 despite 744 plate appearances. Altuve is already half way there.
Altuve is a good doubles hitter, but considering how prolific Biggio was in the doubles stat during his prime I doubt Altuve will be able to touch him there when all is said and done.
Maybe the title should read "through the age of 25". people are comparing the hof numbers to altuve's now. that's impossible too many variables to factor in, injuries and such. but what if he does reach 3,000 hits? has there ever been a player that has 3,000 hits and not reached the hof? minus peds and gambling. Hope altuve can stay healthy. every time i read an article online, they refer to him as a superstar except for his own city.
Biggio has more of a story than Altuve. Catcher, dirty helmet, hit by pitch. Numbers mean less than they used to. Part of it is being famous. So I think Altuve will also need a narrative that has not been developed yet. Doing something in Yankee stadium is a good start.
As someone who was advocating for it, it's a purposefully sensationalized summation of the discussion. The topic came up in late June when Altuve was looking a lot like he did in, well, every other year but 2014. His average had dipped to .285; he wasn't walking (just 17 in 289 PAs) and his power was non-existent (.386 SLG%). Meanwhile, Tony Kemp had an extended stretch in which he was an OB machine - frankly, exactly what this team lacks. So... it wasn't a totally baseless discussion. And, those of us who were souring a bit on Altuve have since repented. His game still has problems (33 walks is just abysmal for a lead-off hitter and his baserunning is atrocious - frankly, I'd probably STILL include him a deal if I could significantly upgrade the team because I just don't think his lack of plate discipline has long-term viability) - but he has been AWESOME down the stretch (.334/.372/.512/.884 since his bottomed out at .285 on June 24). Invaluable, frankly.
I love the comparison, but the advantage for RBI's will go to Altuve, since he is playing in the AL, and not the NL. Regardless, he is putting up some amazing numbers.
Altuve is great. I don't see the ceiling that Biggio hit immediately following his first 5-6 seasons. But I don't know if I saw it coming from Biggio either...so I suppose there's always a chance? In hindsight I think I'd say Biggio always had a higher ceiling, but I honestly can't remember what I thought before he became and MVP candidate
I don't think Biggio's stats themselves are HOF worthy, what got him in was his versatility , Consistency, and staying with 1 organization for so long. Those plus having good but not great offensive stats.
Biggio's numbers are great for his position(s). It's unfair to expect 500 HRs from a middle infielder.
No; what got him in was 3,000 hits. Period. It was also, ironically, what knocked him down from being sure-HoF'er to borderline-HoFer.
I think a lot of people here are comparing the Altuve of today with the prime of Biggio. Yes Biggio at his best, is better than Altuve right now, but Altuve hasn't even gotten to his prime yet. Altuve clearly has had a better first 5 years than Biggio did. If he stays healthy and continues to get better (i.e. a higher OBP) then I think, at least number-wise, he will be the better player.
Not really related, but I thought this was cool. I went through other teams' 200+ hit seasons...stumbled across Ichiro. Man, I thought Altuve was always getting hits. This streak is ridiculous. 2009 - 225 - Ichiro Suzuki 2008 - 213 - Ichiro Suzuki 2007 - 238 - Ichiro Suzuki 2006 - 224 - Ichiro Suzuki 2005 - 206 - Ichiro Suzuki 2004 - 262 - Ichiro Suzuki 2003 - 212 - Ichiro Suzuki 2002 - 208 - Ichiro Suzuki 2001 - 242 - Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro is arguably the best contact hitter in baseball history, if you include his Japan days. 4,213 professional hits!
No he didn't. Biggio through his 1st 5 years had a war of 14.4 vs 13.7 for altuve. You can't make the argument altuve was clearly better.
ichiro is phenomenal. felt we got robbed by not watching him in the majors when he was younger. He did all that from age 27-37. I'm curious to how fast biggio was, from the batter's box to home plate ?
Neither of which punches an automatic ticket to Cooperstown; 3,000 hits does. If he finished with 2,999 hits, he probably struggles to get in.
