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Adamsince1981
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http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.ph ... o-win-zki/
In fact, Tulowitzki may just be the best player in the National League. Using WAR, he and Roy Halladay stand atop the heap as six-win players this year. On the offensive side, his wOBA, wRC+ and ISO are all top 25, and on defense, he ranks fourth overall in UZR and is tied for eighth in DRS. He is poised to have just the 31st season with 30 or more homers by a shortstop in the Integrated Era (1947-present), and if he does so, he will become just the sixth shortstop in that time frame to do so in consecutive seasons, joining Vern Stephens, Ernie Banks, Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada. But, as Eno Sarris showed yesterday, seasons themselves can be arbitrary endpoints. What happens if we sort by the past calendar year? Well, the results are even better — the top two names on the leader board are Jose Bautista, 9.3 WAR, and Troy Tulowitzki, 9.2. And over the past two calendar years, Tulo vaults the top, as his 15.0 WAR in that timeframe is tied with Justin Verlander for number one in baseball. No matter how you slice it, Tulowitzki has put himself in rarified air.
To say that Tulowitzki is the best, or one of the best shortstops in the game has become cliché. In what may turn out to be his best season, it’s time to remove the word “shortstop” from the description. And when one considers that he’s still just 26 years old, and that he’s still getting better, we may be witnessing this greatness for many years to come.
In fact, Tulowitzki may just be the best player in the National League. Using WAR, he and Roy Halladay stand atop the heap as six-win players this year. On the offensive side, his wOBA, wRC+ and ISO are all top 25, and on defense, he ranks fourth overall in UZR and is tied for eighth in DRS. He is poised to have just the 31st season with 30 or more homers by a shortstop in the Integrated Era (1947-present), and if he does so, he will become just the sixth shortstop in that time frame to do so in consecutive seasons, joining Vern Stephens, Ernie Banks, Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Tejada. But, as Eno Sarris showed yesterday, seasons themselves can be arbitrary endpoints. What happens if we sort by the past calendar year? Well, the results are even better — the top two names on the leader board are Jose Bautista, 9.3 WAR, and Troy Tulowitzki, 9.2. And over the past two calendar years, Tulo vaults the top, as his 15.0 WAR in that timeframe is tied with Justin Verlander for number one in baseball. No matter how you slice it, Tulowitzki has put himself in rarified air.
To say that Tulowitzki is the best, or one of the best shortstops in the game has become cliché. In what may turn out to be his best season, it’s time to remove the word “shortstop” from the description. And when one considers that he’s still just 26 years old, and that he’s still getting better, we may be witnessing this greatness for many years to come.
