Garvey vs. Player X

I wrote a little something about Steve Garvey, №6 on the Modern Era ballot. Still left: Dale Murphy; Alan Trammell and Jack Morris.

I wanted to give you a little comparison for Garvey. We call him Player X. Then, in the comments if you like, you can tell me which player has the better Hall of Fame case.

Player X is an almost exact contemporary of Garvey’s.

Garvey’s career: 1969–87

Player X: 1968–85

They played almost exactly the same amount of time

Garvey played in 2,332 games and had 9,466 plate appearances in 19 seasons.

Player X played in 2,368 games and had 9,778 plate appearances in 18 seasons.

And here we go:

Splits

Garvey: .294/.329/.446

Player X: .303/.344/.451

That’s pretty similar with a pretty big on-base edge for Player X.

Hits

Garvey, 2,599 hits, 440 doubles, 43 triples, 272 homers.

Player X: 2,743 hits, 529 doubles, 77 triples, 219 homers.

Pretty close again, with the edge once more going to Player X.

Runs produced

Garvey: 1,308 RBIs, 1,143 runs, 1,232 runs created

Player X: 1,326 RBIs, 1,189 runs, 1,347 runs created

Once more, edge to Player X.

Advanced metrics

Garvey: 37.7 bWAR, 37.8 fWAR, Tango W-L record 79–60

Player X: 43.3 bWAR, 43.4 fWAR, Tango W-L record 82–57

The difference is not huge, but it is clearly tilted toward Player X.

Defense

Garvey: Four gold gloves as a first baseman.

Player X: Generally regarded as mediocre fielder but played more games in centerfield than anywhere else.

You can give a slight edge to Garvey if you like because of the Gold Gloves but Player X was the more versatile fielder.

Postseason performance

Garvey: Two NLCS MVP awards, a .319 average in five World Series and 11 postseason home runs.

Player X: Almost no postseason impact, hit .211 in his only World Series appearance.

Here is a decisive edge for Garvey. He played on better teams throughout his career and played some of his best baseball in October.

Fame

Garvey: One of the most famous players in baseball history.

Player X: Hardly mentioned at all throughout his career, and if he was mentioned it was usually with the word “Underrated” before his name.

And so where do we land? I think Player X was at least as good as Garvey and perhaps a little bit better. And I think Garvey took advantage of his charisma and the fact that he played on numerous great teams to achieve much greater fame and numerous Hall of Fame looks. Player X was on one Hall of Fame ballot in 1991 and had hardly been thought about again.

Player X, as you probably guessed a while ago, is Al Oliver.