Kevin Baker's book is here!

Kevin Baker's book is here!
"... an exemplary sports book..." Kirkus Reviews

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Spirit of '68 Revisited

As an addendum to what Duque was saying -- if we are indeed in a parallel universe to the late 60s, then a Yankee hitting .300 will be cause for celebration in a few years (as it was in 1970 when Danny Anderson Cater did it).

While we are still theoretically within spitting distance of first place, and inexplicably even over .500, Fangraphs tells the real story.

We are 24th in batting, with a team WAR of 6.4.

We are 19th in advanced fielding, posting a negative number in every category except rSB (stolen base runs saved).

We are 21st in pitching. (But 14th on the advanced pitching list, whoopee!)

And, unlike 1968, a new Beatles release is nowhere on the horizon.





4 comments:

Chico said...

A team WAR of 6.4? Abysmal. Bernie Williams nearly matched that all by himself in his peak years.

Anonymous said...

Just checked--Bernie did put up a 6.4 WAR all by himself in 1995, and was in the mid-5s for the eight ensuing years. One player as valuable as this whole misbegotten troupe of frauds.

No wonder Buck got a louder ovation than Girarid or any of the Yankee-uniformed Old-Timers last Sunday--he built those great teams and insisted on bringing up and developing all that young talent when Steinbrenner was itching to trade them all for Joe Hasbeen.

KD said...

For those of us who can never get enough Bernie:

http://www.bernie51.com


Larry said...

KD--compare Bernie's lifetime numbers with those of Kirby Puckett, first-ballot Hall of Famer. Bernie's are equal or better in every respect--and speaking of "respect," Bernie, like Rodney, don't get none. Not just the lack of Hall of Fame consideration by the dumbass sportswriters, but also the constant refrain of "Core Four," when Bernie was perhaps the most important and productive everyday player on those teams--if not the most marketable by Madison Avenue.