Yordan absolutely has Bagwell potential offensively. But matching Bagwells consistent greatness from 94-01 is a tough act to live up to.
Bagwell retired 17 years ago. I wonder how many fans here really saw/followed him or realize how great he was. Someone said he was never the 2nd best player of his era? WHAT !!! How do you define era? From 1996-2001 Bagwell had 100R, 100 RBI, 30 2b, 30 HR, and 100 BB each year. 6 years in a row. And 4 of those seasons were in the Astrodome Think about Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Barry Bonds, Albert Pujols, etc. Anyone you want. How many other players in MLB history has accomplished that? ZERO How's that for an era? He's the only primary 1B ever to have a 30-30 season and he did it twice. ( Joe Carter did it but played a lot of OF too thatyear) He was the best most knowledgeable and highest "baseball IQ" player I have ever followed. I love Yordan but he will need to Continue to improve and keep that high level for a long time before he hits Bagwell's level.
And that doesn't even account for his defense and baserunning. Yordan could definitely get there, and I hope he does. The trajectory is there (minus the defense and baserunning); he just needs to do it for a decade and a half. Easy, right?
No need to compare Baggy and Alvarez, think they profile pretty differently. From a pure slugging perspective Alvarez might become as good or better, better comparison is obviously David Ortiz.
If Yordan stays relatively healthy I suspect he’ll be the greatest Astro ever in terms of offensive production. That’s not going out on a limb or anything because the potential is obvious. He may not need it but I just can’t see 15 years out of the guy due to his size but who knows.
Last time I checked he’s carrying the team this year? Quite frankly I doubt, scratch that, I KNOW Bagwell never had a season where he had a bum hitting in front and behind him. Quite frankly Brantley hasn’t been good either. Granted that’s on Dusty’s dumbass making that decision (like so many in the past that’s gotten him fired over and over) but the dude is getting thrown 3-0, 3-1 off speed pitches what seems regularly these days with Yuli being basically lifeless behind him. Also, after I believe the 97 season, he never had to carry an offense again…in other words the majority of his career. And let’s be real, he had “help” alright even before then - the same help the majority of sluggers had during the 90s. Once again, I repeat…only Mike Trout, a top 5ish hitter of all time, has been better than him since he’s been up. And he’s 24 coming off major knee surgeries and wasn’t even healthy completely prior to that.
1) Steroids 2) Shifting 3) Data - this overwhelmingly favors pitchers 4) Complete overhaul in pitching philosophy - teams in Bagwell’s era coveted starters who could “eat innings” and didn’t have data to show them how sending them out for a third time around might not be a good idea. These days you’re getting the best each guy has over however long that may be. 5) Velocity and spin. Guys who used to throw 100 were rare. Now? Every team has multiples guys seemingly that can throw 98+. Oh and now you have guys like Graterol and Clase throwing 102 mph sinkers that have a foot of run on them. But yeah…why not take any of that into consideration? Second. Best. Behind. Trout. In. wRC+. Since. Debut.
Seriously question…what’s the point of responding with “OK” like that? Arrogance, narcissistic and condescending is what came to my mind…
Lol if you're naive enough to believe steroids don't still exist. Pitching today isn't better. We have probably the best in baseball we're far from trotting out Maddux, Smoltz and Glavine (plus Millwood was really good for a short period of time). Data, spin rate, ect...all existed then. It just wasn't so positively received in the public as it is now. Look, check my post history. You probably would be hard pressed to find a bigger Air Yordan person on here. He's not Bagwell. That's not to say he's not a great player, that's just a hell of a barometer. I'll happily eat my words if I'm wrong
I agree Yordan has a long way to go to match regular season Bagwell, but he has already surpassed playoff Bagwell. I also like the Fred McGriff comparison, I think its a bit closer.
I was/is/am disinterested at the moment and don't wish to further muddy up this thread. Right this very moment I just got done watching college baseball, making us a snack, checking the brisket in my backyard, and am now watching The Northman. Hope you're OK too.
I'd like to see everyone being compared TO Yordan rather than Yordan TO other players. That means he has had a great career. When I was young, the man was Babe Ruth and even the Mick was being compared to Ruth.
Yordan clearly more power than Bags, but Bags had a better eye, better defense, and better base running... Bags admitted to trying roids before banned by mlb but said he didn't like the side effects... no other evidence and he had no spikes in his career in power once he got to the big leagues... Uh, eat innings? Plenty of dominant pitching that went deep... Why would the data overwhelmingly help pitchers? There is data on tendencies by pitchers and the video/vr is far more advanced for simulation to prep for specific starters. You have fair points but they aren't as one-sided as you act...
It's what Luhnow would've done. Same as he did with Bregs. How does it feel to have space rented in your head?
