Years have passed since I've written about Ken Griffey Jr., who retired on June 2nd. Over the last decade, Griffey's career was defined more often than not by injuries and age, but in his prime, he was a joy, an exceptional player on both offense and defense. He had a thousand-watt smile, was never tainted by serious accusation of steroid use, and was probably the most popular player in the sport at one time.
About a year ago at this time, I collaborated with three of my colleagues in a friendly-but-competitive all-time MLB draft. Griffey was chosen 45th, which sounds about right to me. None of us chose Albert Pujols, though we were all raving about him afterwards, in unanimous agreement that he'd eventually be a sensational choice.
That time may be approaching even faster than we had expected. This is Albert's 10th season in the majors. He has a huge lead in the all-star voting and is a lock to make his ninth all-star team. The one year he wasn't an all-star, Pujols finished second in the NL MVP voting. The greatest thing I've ever read about Pujols, and I forget where I saw this, was that if you took the worst year of his career, and he had that year every season, he would still be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
In fact, I'm ready to argue Pujols as a better player than Griffey. I say this not to down Junior, but to praise Pujols, whom I think already ranks among the 50 greatest players in history. I don't have anything negative to say about Griffey; I simply have a lot of good stuff to say about Albert. At first glance, this is kind of ridiculous. Griffey played 20 seasons, while Pujols hasn't yet finished his 10th. Junior retired with 630 home runs, compared to 380 for Pujols. Griffey earned 10 Gold Gloves, whereas Albert has one Gold Glove at a much less demanding position. Where's the comparison, even?
Griffey played his first 11 seasons for the Seattle Mariners, and all his greatest accomplishments came during those years. During that time, The Kid amassed 1,000 runs, 1,000 RBI, and 398 homers, plus all of his Gold Gloves. He hit .299/.380/.569, with an OPS+ of 149. In the 11 seasons since, Griffey totaled about 600 each of runs and RBI, 232 HR, and no major defensive honors. His line is .262/.355/.493, with an OPS+ of 116. That's damn good for most players, but it's nothing special for an outfielder, certainly not legendary. His final season before leaving Seattle was the last time Griffey ever got 150 hits. It was the last time he topped 40 home runs or 300 total bases, the last time he won a Gold Glove, or finished among the top 10 in MVP voting. It was his last great year. Junior was so skilled that he hung on for another 10 seasons, and when he was healthy, contributed. But he was just hanging on. Griffey's legacy is 1989-99.
Pujols, from 2001-10, has been better than Griffey was in Seattle. Junior was .299/.380/.569, with an OPS+ of 149. That's phenomenal. Pujols is (through Monday) .332/.426/.624, and has an unbelievable OPS+ of 171. Pujols has more hits (1,786), more runs (1,106), more RBI (1,159), and more total bases (3,355). He has more walks and fewer strikeouts, both by a wide margin. Griffey has his own advantages, of course. He was a better baserunner, with many more steals than Pujols, and he grounded into far fewer double plays. Most notably, Griffey won 10 Gold Gloves in center field. Pujols is a Gold Glove first baseman, and not of the Rafael Palmeiro variety. He's a stellar defensive player at his position. But one GG at first isn't even in the same galaxy as 10 in center.
Pujols was a far better offensive player, and Griffey a far better defensive player. If you're a particular fan of either player, that probably strikes you as unfair. Griffey was tremendous at the plate; how can anyone be "far better" offensively? Pujols is a great first baseman, and he wasn't bad at third; it's not fair to call Junior "far better" defensively. Sorry. In both cases, it is totally fair. Griffey was a great offensive player. Pujols has been better, and not by a little. Albert is solid defensively. He's not in Griffey's league.
No one questions the value of Griffey's defensive contributions, but it's not remotely plausible that Griffey saved as many runs with his defense as Pujols created at the plate. The formulae for Runs Created vary according to the system you prefer, but Pujols has created about 150 more runs (1,429 according to the most basic formula) than Griffey did in his first stint with the Mariners (1,260). Does anyone believe Junior's defense saved 150 more runs than Albert's? Pujols is also a much more accomplished postseason player.
It doesn't take a sabermetrician to see that Pujols is ahead. He's finished in the top 10 of MVP voting every season of his career, with three wins and three second-place finishes. Griffey, over his whole career, won a single MVP and was runner-up only once. Junior led the AL in a major offensive category nine times, and the majors once (147 RBI in his 1997 MVP campaign). Pujols has led the NL in a major offensive category 19 times, including four years leading the majors in runs, four in total bases, and three in OPS. He has also led the majors in doubles (51), HR (47), batting average (.359), and slugging (three times).
Compared to Griffey, Pujols already has more 200-hit seasons, 100-run seasons, 100-RBI seasons, 100-BB seasons, .300 batting seasons, .400 OBP seasons, .600 slugging seasons, and 300 total base seasons. In fact, Pujols has never finished a season under. 300 at the plate or without 100 RBI. The one year he didn't make 100 runs, he scored 99. He's walked more than he struck out every year since his rookie season. He has never had an OPS+ under 150. And he shows no sign of slowing down.
The argument for Griffey, then, rests on his years in Cincinnati, those sad 10½ seasons when the Kid couldn't stay healthy and the game gradually passed him by. Look, 10 seasons and 232 dingers is nothing to sneeze at. But Pujols has had a better prime than Junior, and all Junior really has is his prime. Barring something like a catastrophic injury, there's no reason Pujols can't hang around until he's 40 and stay in the lineup by jacking homers and taking walks. There's every reason to believe he can do a lot more than just hang around.
June 16, 2010
Brian:
Dead on analysis Brad.
I was a huge Griffey fan growing up and continue to be. I hated to see him have to go out the way he did. He should have gone out like Ripken and Gwynn with All-Star Game fanfare.
However, I am also a huge Pujols fan and have been watching him from day one. The guy just arrived on the scene in 2001 a pre-made HOFer. Consistency isn’t even a good enough word for Albert b/c it implies that he is just “good” every year. We need to invent a better word for El Hombre’s ability to deliver HOF seasons every year. How about greatnency?