Hey Baseball History buffs: rate the following 2B all-time

...really interested in hearing from some of the guys here who follow baseball really closely. A disclaimer: be careful only judging on stats, as it's hard to compare folks from different eras (does anyone have era-adjusted stats, and do you put much stock in them?).

All for fun. I'll try to list them below the way I'd rank them, but I'm really not qualified to be ranking them.

Finally, add someone to the list if I've left anyone off. I'm pretty much just grabbing some (not all) guys from the Hall and throwing in Biggio and Kent. I don't think Alomar or Sandberg make it on this list.

<table><tr><td><b>Player</b></td><td><b>Era</b></td><td><b>Runs</b></td><td><b>Hits</b></td><td><b>HR</b></td><td><b>RBI</b></td><td><b>SB</b></td><td><b>avg</b></td></tr><tr><td>Eddie Collins</td><td>10s&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>1821&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>3315&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>47&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>1300&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>744&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>.333</td></tr><tr><td>Rogers Hornsby</td><td>20s</td><td>1579</td><td>2930</td><td>301</td><td>1584</td><td>135</td><td>.358</td></tr><tr><td>Nap Lajoie</td><td>1900s</td><td>1504</td><td>3242</td><td>83</td><td>1599</td><td>380</td><td>.338</td></tr><tr><td>Joe Morgan</td><td>70s</td><td>1650</td><td>2517</td><td>268</td><td>1133</td><td>689</td><td>.271</td></tr><tr><td>Jackie Robinson</td><td>50s</td><td>947</td><td>1518</td><td>137</td><td>734</td><td>197</td><td>.311</td></tr><tr><td>Craig Biggio</td><td>90s</td><td>1820</td><td>2996</td><td>286&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>1151</td><td>413</td><td>.282</td></tr><tr><td>Charlie Gehringer&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>30s</td><td>1774</td><td>2839</td><td>184</td><td>1427</td><td>181</td><td>.320</td></tr><tr><td>Frankie Frisch</td><td>20s</td><td>1532</td><td>2880</td><td>105</td><td>1244</td><td>419</td><td>.316</td></tr><tr><td>Jeff Kent</td><td>2000s</td><td>1241</td><td>2256</td><td>355</td><td>1416</td><td>94</td><td>.289</td></tr></table>

 

You're right about Alomar offensively--I had forgotten just how profilic he was.

Based on what was he *much better* defensively?

 

Additionally, while Biggio only hit .268 in his prime (I guessed it at '92 through '04), he had an .800+ OPS eight times as well--and he did in again in '05.

I don't grade Biggio defensively by his Gold Gloves, but I also don't rate him defensively based upon the pitiful showing we've had recently. He was *awesome* in the mid and late '90s. Awesome.

 

Curious as to why? Collins, at least by his numbers, looks like an offensive juggernaut. The HRs are low because of the era he was in.

I was curious, so I looked up other offensive "power" stats--he had 438 career doubles, 187 triples, and his career OPS was .853.

By comparison, Biggio's career OPS is currently .799, Morgan's was .819, Alomar's was .814, Jeff Kent's is .859.

 

A new list:
<table><tr><td><b>Player</b></td><td><b>Era</b></td><td><b>Runs</b></td><td><b>Hits</b></td><td><b>HR</b></td><td><b>RBI</b></td><td><b>SB</b></td><td><b>avg</b></td><td><b>OPS</b></td></tr><tr><td>Rogers Hornsby</td><td>20s</td><td>1579</td><td>2930</td><td>301</td><td>1584</td><td>135</td><td>.358</td><td>1.011</td></tr><tr><td>Eddie Collins</td><td>10s&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>1821&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>3315&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>47&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>1300&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>744&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>.333</td><td>.835</td></tr><tr><td>Nap Lajoie</td><td>1900s</td><td>1504</td><td>3242</td><td>83</td><td>1599</td><td>380</td><td>.338</td><td>.838</td></tr><tr><td>Joe Morgan</td><td>70s</td><td>1650</td><td>2517</td><td>268</td><td>1133</td><td>689</td><td>.271</td><td>.819</td></tr><tr><td>Jackie Robinson</td><td>50s</td><td>947</td><td>1518</td><td>137</td><td>734</td><td>197</td><td>.311</td><td>.883</td></tr><tr><td>Craig Biggio</td><td>90s</td><td>1820</td><td>2996</td><td>286&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>1151</td><td>413</td><td>.282</td><td>.799</td></tr><tr><td>Robbie Alomar</td><td>90s</td><td>1508</td><td>2724</td><td>210</td><td>1134</td><td>474</td><td>.300</td><td>.814</td></tr><tr><td>Charlie Gehringer&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td>30s</td><td>1774</td><td>2839</td><td>184</td><td>1427</td><td>181</td><td>.320</td><td>.879</td></tr><tr><td>Frankie Frisch</td><td>20s</td><td>1532</td><td>2880</td><td>105</td><td>1244</td><td>419</td><td>.316</td><td>.792</td></tr><tr><td>Jeff Kent</td><td>2000s</td><td>1241</td><td>2256</td><td>355</td><td>1416</td><td>94</td><td>.289</td><td>.859</td></tr></table>

...I don't have much of a case for ranking Biggio over Alomar. It's that damned southeast Texas bias again.

 

He was a member of the team, but not one of the eight that were alleged to have participated, or else he wouldn't be in the hall of fame. The eight, fwiw, were "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Eddie Cicotte, Claude "Lefty" Williams, Buck Weaver, Arnold "Chick" Gandil, Fred McMullin, Charles "Swede" Risberg, and Oscar "Happy" Felsch.

 

Thanks; this is the commentary I was looking for.

I'm not a fan of "stats-only" evaluation, but I would like to see ZR and RF numbers for some of these guys (I'm sure they don't exist for the older ones). Anyone know where such things can be found?