If you follow Beyond the Box Score at all, you'll know that they do a Graph of the Day everyday,...

If you follow Beyond the Box Score at all, you'll know that they do a Graph of the Day everyday, usually comparing two players wins above replacement historically using data from Sean Smith's Historical WAR database.

Today, I'm doing something similar, but I'm comparing one player to himself. Above, you'll see Ken Griffey Jr.'s career sorted from best to worst WAR. His seasons with the Reds are in red, with the Mariners are in blue. (larger image)

NOTE: These are not displayed in order by year but by quality. That's right, every season Griffey had with the Reds was worse than any season he had with the Mariners except for one. What a disappointment.

almost 3 years ago Slyde 16 comments 0 recs |

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What an... aging slugger beset by injuries

Not really that surprising, or even particularly disappointing. We got a guy who had been an All-Century player just as he was coming out of his prime. Realistically, we could only expect a few players every century to recreate that production. I think the most disappointing thing was that we blew our wad on Griffey, then didn’t surround him with any good players. And then he got hurt, and there was no viable way to move him. It was a bad situation, but I’m not going to be disappointed that he didn’t continue to be the once-in-a-generation Kid that he was in Seattle. Hey, we could have stuck with Greg Vaughn.

by Brendanukkah on Mar 30, 2009 9:42 AM EDT reply actions

Perhaps I should say it this way

He only had one season above average as a Red and three that were basically replacement level or worse. No, we shouldn’t have expected him to remain otherworldly, but I would have taken not mediocre. He was only 30 when he got here. Similarly, Frank Robinson was 30 when he went to Baltimore and put up 3 of his 7 best seasons there – including the best of his career in 1966.

So, yeah, the injuries killed Griffey, but I don’t think it was unrealistic to expect 4+ WAR for a couple of years. We didn’t even get half of that except once.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Mar 30, 2009 10:04 AM EDT up reply actions

BTW what were the sabremetrician community's expectations of KGJ as he was leaving Seattle?

"What wrath, Daddy?"

by Fat Vegas Alan on Mar 30, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions

I don't know

I was months from discovering Rob Neyer at that point and my Bill James Experience hadn’t quite made sense yet.

"It seems like we're not hitting because we're not getting hits." - Dusty being Dusty

by Slyde on Mar 30, 2009 10:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Bang! Bang!

The witch is dead. Not that it has anything to do with this thread, But Jacque Jones has been Designated for assignment. I had to give this BIG sigh of relief publicly. Sorry to high jack. Now back to our regularly scheduled programing.

by fourrunhomer on Mar 30, 2009 9:50 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs

A rec for bringing good news!

by Brendanukkah on Mar 30, 2009 9:51 AM EDT up reply actions

You and your numbers, Slyde.

I would have preferred to only have the sneaking suspicion that what we got was an aging slugger who didn’t perform to the levels he did in Seattle but was nevertheless one of my favorite players on the team (for better or for worse) rather than very strong statistical evidence that what we got was an aging slugger who aged very badly on the downslope of his career.

Sigh.

Thanks a lot. (_)

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on Mar 30, 2009 10:29 AM EDT reply actions

BTW...

Not sure why it turned out that way, but the last little bit of gibberish was meant to be a smiley.

And Adam Dunn's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell, / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice / Cry 'Havoc,' and let slip the dogs of war...

by Paul Householder on Mar 30, 2009 10:30 AM EDT up reply actions