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Alex Rodriguez vs. Honus Wagner ESPN.com | |||||||||||||||||
Honus Wagner's greatness has been lost to time, but the Dutchman could play a little ... Player G AVG OBP SLG OPS* OPS+^ Runs RBI TPR# Hans 2794 .328 .391 .467 .858 150 1739 1733 81.8 A-Rod 790 .309 .377 .561 .938 138 627 595 25.3* on-base percentage + slugging percentage ^ OPS adjusted for home park and normalized to league average (from "Total Baseball") # Total Player Rating (wins above average player at his position -- from "Total Baseball") How great was Wagner, who played with Louisville and Pittsburgh from 1897 to 1917? He led the NL eight times in batting average, five times in RBI, six times in slugging percentage, eight times in OPS and five times in stolen bases. One strike against him is he didn't become a full-time shortstop until he was 29 years old. Of course, he then played the position until he was 42 and finished with 1,887 career games at shortstop. True, he played in a different era. But check the photo above. Wagner was known for his enormous hands, and at 5-11, 200 pounds, he was really the first big shortstop, not Cal Ripken or Ernie Banks. You don't think he would be hitting 40 home runs if he played today? As for Rodriguez, at age 25 he's already compiled a 25.3 TPR after five full seasons. Triple that you and you get a 75.9 rating -- and he's still just 35 years old. In other words, he has a chance. For more, check out Rob Neyer's article. The final tally: Rodriguez had a 7.7 TPR last year -- higher than any single season of Wagner's career. We think he'll have more seasons like that. --David Schoenfield  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories | ALSO SEE Best now vs. best ever: Catcher Best now vs. best ever: First base Best now vs. best ever: Second base Best now vs. best ever: Third base Best now vs. best ever: Left field Best now vs. best ever: Center field Best now vs. best ever: Right field Best now vs. best ever: Pitcher | ||||||||||||||||
