When Don Mattingly Was Better Than Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson and Dale Murphy

In July, 1986, Don Mattingly was selected the best player in the major leagues by his peers.

The New York Times conducted a poll of players on each of the 26 teams between June 21 and July 2. A total of 417 players responded to the question, "Including pitchers, who is the best baseball player now active in the major leagues?" 

Mattingly led the voting with 13 percent of the votes. When not including pitchers, he received 30 percent of the votes. Interestingly, more National Leaguers than American Leaguers voted for him.

St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog, who knows a few things about great players, explained to Craig Wolff of the New York Times why Mattingly received so many votes.

"You can't defy statistics. That the players in the National League voted for him is a tribute to his greatness."

Sparky Anderson, one of the great managers ever, was impressed with Mattingly's consistency.

"Some guys have a big year and then drop off. This guy has big numbers every year."

Dale Murphy finished second (26 percent), Tony Gwynn was third (15 percent) and Rickey Henderson (14 percent) finished fourth.

In 1982, Mattingly appeared in seven games with the New York Yankees. The following season was his rookie season in which he played in 91 games, batting .283/.333/.409. Then he became a star, but it was not long enough to get into the Hall of Fame.

From 1984-89, Mattingly batted .327/.372/.530. He averaged 29 home runs and 122 RBI when adjusted to a 162 game season. He had an OPS+ of 147.

Back problems cut his career short, but over his 13 seasons, he batted .307/.358/.471.

It is tempting to claim that Mattingly's six peak seasons and his other seasons following his back problems, in which he hit for average but with greatly decreased power, are enough for him to get into the Hall of Fame.

They are not.

Mattingly was a great defensive player who won nine Gold Gloves. Yankees fans had a great time telling New York Mets fans that Mattingly was better defensively than Keith Hernandez, while old Brooklyn Dodgers fans told anyone who would listen that Gil Hodges was better than either.

Mattingly tied a record set by Dale Long when he hit home runs in eight consecutive games in 1987. He hit 10 home runs during the streak, and that same season, hit six grand slam home runs to break the record held by Ernie Banks and Jim Gentile.

There is no doubt that some players in the Hall of Fame don't belong in the Hall of Fame.

Cliff Eastman of Bleacher Report (Least Deserving Hall of Famers) lists shortstops Rabbit Maranville, Joe Tinker, Luis Aparicio, PeeWee Reese and Phil Rizzuto, catchers Roger Bresnahan and Ray Shalk,  second basemen Joe Gordon, Johnny Evers and, of course, Bill Mazeroski, and pitcher Candy Cummings.

Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett, whose career often is compared to Mattingly's, didn't make the list. One reason given against Mattingly's Hall of Fame case is that he had a short career.

Well, folks, Puckett appeared in two fewer games (1,783 to 1,785) than the Yankees first baseman. Their statistics are remarkably similar. 

Puckett hit .318/.360/.477. He averaged 19 home runs and 99 RBI over a 162-game season. Mattingly averaged 20 home runs and 100 RBI over a 162-game season.

The point is that despite the fact that Mattingly was as great or greater than any of the above-cited players, including Puckett, the mistakes or politics that played roles in the selection of those players can't justify Mattingly's election.

Mattingly was a great player for a few seasons, a good player during his other seasons, and a tremendous asset to the Yankees when they didn't rule baseball.

That is more than enough for Mattingly.

References:

By, C. W. (1986, Jul 07). Players call mattingly no. 1 in baseball. New York Times (1923-Current File), pp. C1-C1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/110904546?accountid=46260

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