Cal Ripken vs Adrian Beltre

RogerMarisCollector61 · Jun 30, 2013

Before you call me an idiot, look at this:

Adrian Beltre
.280/.331/.476
.807 OPS
112 OPS+
115 steals/ 40 cs
elite fielder
WAR per 650 plate appearances: 5.3

Cal Ripken
.276/.340/.447
.788 OPS
112 OPS+
36 steals/ 39 cs
Holds all time record for grounding into double plays
elite fielder
WAR per 650 plate appearances: 5.3

Gwynn545 · Jun 30, 2013

I'm right with you, brother! Sounds a lot like one of my posts:
http://www.freedomcardboard.com/for...raines-good-better-than-roberto-clemente.html

SamHell · Jun 30, 2013

Interesting comparison. As a Rangers fan, I initially thought his contract was an overpay.:???: Been proven really wrong on that one. Statistically they are fairly even but when you compare the era Ripken played, the STREAK, and the fact that he spent the majority of his career at shortstop, I think Cal comes out on top. Ripken opened the door for the big, slugging shortstops. But Beltre is far from finished. Three or four more years at the Ballpark and I believe Beltre is a HOF'er.

gmarutiak · Jun 30, 2013

Gwynn545 said:
I'm right with you, brother! Sounds a lot like one of my posts:
http://www.freedomcardboard.com/for...raines-good-better-than-roberto-clemente.html

Clemente never slid head-first so as not to ruin the cocaine in his back pocket.

matfanofold · Jun 30, 2013

I have always been an advocate for Adrian Beltre, and the numbers clearly speak for themselves. However, they do not tell the full story. Even though there was only a decade or so separating playing time(s) (even overlapping a few years), the era was quite different. Ripken was the premier SS for much of his playing time and had as much popularity in the game as anyone before or since, not to mention he broke the 3000 hit barrior when it was still considered a OMFG plateau, and least we forget his play streak and work ethic. Beltre has a long way to go to finish a career as productive as Ripken even though he is on the right track, but in the end (and even if he does get 3000+ hits and 430+ HR's) he simply will never, nor never had, the popularity of Ripken or the same impact on the game.

gt2590 · Jun 30, 2013

Ask the Red Sox fans their opinion.

And the most glaring omission in both these comparisons is that both Clemente and Ripken were the THE iconic player for their Teams while the other two were considered selfish, annoying Mercanaries who didn't get much respect from teammates until late in their careers...

uniquebaseballcards · Jun 30, 2013

Tough to compare two different positions, but I still think Beltre will be there one day.

Beltre
JAWS Third Base (10th), 67.0 career WAR/44.9 7yr-peak WAR/55.9 JAWS
Average HOF 3B (out of 13) = 67.4 career WAR/42.6 7yr-peak WAR/55.0 JAWS

Ripken

JAWS	Shortstop (3rd), 95.6 career WAR/56.1 7yr-peak WAR/75.8 JAWS Average HOF SS (out of 21) = 66.6 career WAR/42.8 7yr-peak WAR/54.7 JAWS

Austin · Jun 30, 2013

I'm a Rangers fan and like Beltre, but I think he's a former steroid user, at least for the one season before his free agency.

2003, 158 games: .240 avg., 23 homers, 80 rbi
2004, 156 games: .334 avg., 48 homers, 121 rbi
2005, 156 games: .255 avg., 19 homers, 87 rbi

His first 12 years in the majors, and every season was similar to 2003 and 2005, except for that one monster year in 2004 before he signs a free agent contract.
He never hit .300 had 30 homers or 100 rbi, in his first 12 years, except for one season when he hits .334, 48, 121? That's not natural.

cgilmo · Jun 30, 2013

Longevity

RogerMarisCollector61 · Jun 30, 2013

Austin said:
I'm a Rangers fan and like Beltre, but I think he's a former steroid user, at least for the one season before his free agency.

2003, 158 games: .240 avg., 23 homers, 80 rbi
2004, 156 games: .334 avg., 48 homers, 121 rbi
2005, 156 games: .255 avg., 19 homers, 87 rbi

His first 12 years in the majors, and every season was similar to 2003 and 2005, except for that one monster year in 2004 before he signs a free agent contract.
He never hit .300 had 30 homers or 100 rbi, in his first 12 years, except for one season when he hits .334, 48, 121? That's not natural.

A change in approach may have had something to do with this monster year. I don't know why he stopped doing this in the years following this season, but in 2004:

He swung at just 20.9% of pitches outside the strike zone(career low)
He swung at 77.5% of pitches inside the strike zone(career high)
His babip was also .325 which is the 2nd highest of his career.

Steroids doesn't improve the plate discipline. Oddly enough, he has yet to come even close to either of those percentages in the 9 years since.

mcgoo2 · Jun 30, 2013

Can't forget Ripken's has 2 MVP awards and 19 AS games compared to Beltre's 3 AS games and no MVPs. In fact, Beltre has only placed in MVP voting 4 times in his career.

MansGame · Jul 1, 2013

mcgoo2 said:
Can't forget Ripken's has 2 MVP awards and 19 AS games compared to Beltre's 3 AS games and no MVPs. In fact, Beltre has only placed in MVP voting 4 times in his career.

And gold gloves... Interesting Beltre has four compared to only two for Ripken, which were back to back before Vizquel hit the scene for nine in a row.

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