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TheKid · 08-06-2001, 11:46 AM

Tony being better than Cal, that's a tough one but I would have to agree. The only reason it becomes tough is Cal played shortstop which is the toughest position on the infield to defend and him being 6'4" really shows how versatile he was. NOW as a hitter, Cal was AVERAGE at best. There are a lot of people who may not agree with me, but it's the truth. Think about the fact that this guy NEVER missed a game for about 12 years playing 182 games a year and he just surpassed 3,000 hits about 3 years ago. If he played an average of 165 games (which is what the average player plays a year) he would STILL be trying to reach the 3,000 hit mark.

Gwynn on the other hand was also a decent defender. He has some gold gloves to his credit so it's not like he sucked on defense. As far as his batting goes, I could care less that he doesn't hit a lot of HR's. Give me a guy who will ALWAYS give you a hit in the clutch (doesn't need to be a HR) and I'll take him anyday. The guy was AMAZING with Runners in scoring position, he had an amazing OBP, and he could hit ANY pitcher. Doesn't matter. I guarantee you GREAT pitchers would tell you if they were in the 9th inning and they had a choice to pitch to a player like Gwynn or McGwire, they would take McGwire. Either a player like McGwire is going to hit a HR or strike out. Gwynn, YOU KNOW he's going to make contact and there's no telling what could happen. When you have a player that's as hard an out as Gwynn is, he's remarkable. That's what Gwynn has that Cal didn't.

So I'll give the edge to Gwynn too. Not by much, but definately better.

08-06-2001, 11:46 AM	#15
TheKid Diamond Member Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 3,109	Tony being better than Cal, that's a tough one but I would have to agree. The only reason it becomes tough is Cal played shortstop which is the toughest position on the infield to defend and him being 6'4" really shows how versatile he was. NOW as a hitter, Cal was AVERAGE at best. There are a lot of people who may not agree with me, but it's the truth. Think about the fact that this guy NEVER missed a game for about 12 years playing 182 games a year and he just surpassed 3,000 hits about 3 years ago. If he played an average of 165 games (which is what the average player plays a year) he would STILL be trying to reach the 3,000 hit mark. Gwynn on the other hand was also a decent defender. He has some gold gloves to his credit so it's not like he sucked on defense. As far as his batting goes, I could care less that he doesn't hit a lot of HR's. Give me a guy who will ALWAYS give you a hit in the clutch (doesn't need to be a HR) and I'll take him anyday. The guy was AMAZING with Runners in scoring position, he had an amazing OBP, and he could hit ANY pitcher. Doesn't matter. I guarantee you GREAT pitchers would tell you if they were in the 9th inning and they had a choice to pitch to a player like Gwynn or McGwire, they would take McGwire. Either a player like McGwire is going to hit a HR or strike out. Gwynn, YOU KNOW he's going to make contact and there's no telling what could happen. When you have a player that's as hard an out as Gwynn is, he's remarkable. That's what Gwynn has that Cal didn't. So I'll give the edge to Gwynn too. Not by much, but definately better. __________________ Ask not what you can do for your country but ask what you can do for THE KID!