The Greatest Center Fielder of All Time???

[DarkKnight81]

So its about 730pm pac time and baseball tonight and I heard maybe the worst thing I've ever heard out of a sports broadcaster. The guy is fairly new to ESPN, Buster Olney, and according to him, Andruw Jones is the GREATEST center fielder of all time. My inital reaction was a chuckle thinking it was a joke and when I saw that he was serious I couldnt believe my ears. So let me get this straight, Andruw Jones, .268 career AVG, 327 HR's, 989 RBI's, 1517 hits, is better than Ken Griffey Jr., career avg..291, 559 HR's, 1599 RBIs, 2383 hits, and Willie Mays avg. 302, 660 hrs, 1903 RBIs, 3283 hits. Don't make me fucking laugh you dipshit Buster. And no its not all about the batting, Griffey and Mays were both outstanding fielders.

[Buck Turgidson]

*Sigh*

Another "Piss on Andruw Jones" thread. Lovely.

Look, I hate Olney more than you do. He's one of a non-stop caravan of morons working in studio for ESPN. It's an embarrassment.

When you factor in both things, Mays is the greatest CF. Griffey is the best player of his generation and one of the all time greats. Both were defensive wizards.

If you want to simply limit this to magical defensive play, then you have to bring Curt Flood, Paul Blair and Garry Maddox into the conversation. But try as you might, you simply can't read Andruw out of this discussion. I watch him every fucking night and he is beyond brilliant in his outfield play.

If you want someone to compare him to as an outfielder, I'll give you someone: Henry Aaron. Go back and read conteporary accounts. Lazy and stupid writers and fans thought he was dumb and lazy, just the same sort of things I hear incessantly about Andruw, and never gave him credit for his defensive brilliance. Granted, he didn't play center, but the analogy is sound.

[brodeurnumber1]

Originally posted by Buck Turgidson
If you want to simply limit this to magical defensive play, then you have to bring Curt Flood, Paul Blair and Garry Maddox into the conversation. But try as you might, you simply can't read Andruw out of this discussion. I watch him every fucking night and he is beyond brilliant in his outfield play.


What about Tris Speaker? Speaker is far and away the best defensive CF of all time. As for modern players, Jim Edmonds is right up there defensively with Andruw Jones if not on equal ground.

And when you consider all time great CF's, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, and Joe DiMaggio should always be in the discussion.

[TheMazVolta]

Originally posted by brodeurnumber1
And when you consider all time great CF's, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle, and Joe DiMaggio should always be in the discussion.

Could not agree more with the ones above...Also Cool Papa Bell should be put on that list...he may have been the fastest player to ever play the game

[DarkKnight81]

My plight here is not with Andruw Jones, I am NOT bashing him. But to compare him to the all time greats and then say that he IS the best all time is just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard. And I know there are a lot of great CF's out there I was just using the two that Olney comapred Jones to and managed to say he was better than them. If Jones keeps this up he could be among those greats but its ludacris to say he has surpassed them.

[Buck Turgidson]

All right, fair enough.

Buster Olney is a moron. He can't even pronounce AJ's name correctly.

And I can't speak about anyone I never saw play. I'm limiting myself to people I've seen live or on film, so Cobb, Speaker, Bell, et. al. are mainly out of play, for me.

I thought about mentioning Mantle, who was insanely fast before his knee injuries and not listing DiMaggio was a huge, embarrassing oversight on my part, which I apoloigize for.

[mdpuff01]

Defensively, Andruw Jones is as good as any one. Also, if I'm not mistaken, he was the youngest player ever to several home run milestones (200, 250, etc.). Now, he's not the best center fielder ever by a long shot because he's still relatively young and baseball is a sport where greatness is defined by longevity. 10 years ago, every one on the planet would have said that Griffey would become the best center fielder ever but now that argument can't be made because of what he's done recently. Jones is a great power hitter, and if he goes on to hit 650+ home runs with 15 gold gloves, he has the right to be considered among the legends. As for now though, it has to be Willie Mays, hands down.

[DarkKnight81]

Agreed.

[Buck Turgidson]

He's the youngest guy to hit a homer in the World Series.

I think Slappy Rodriguez owns most of those "Youngest to" milestones, actually.

I still think Griffey is the best player, all around, of his generation. He and Bonds were like Mays and Aaron: equally brilliant at the same time.

[bigred760]

I'm a Braves fan and even I wouldn't consider Andruw the greatest CF of all time, though I believe he should at least be in the discussion. The man knows how to field a baseball; he makes difficult plays look easy as shit. He's got eight gold gloves and isn't even 30 yet. His batting average is nothing to brag about, but he can hit the ball long and hard and his RBI count is growing more and more each season. He's not the best . . . yet . . . but he does belong in the discussion.

[RicochetShaw]

Originally posted by brodeurnumber1
What about Tris Speaker? Speaker is far and away the best defensive CF of all time. As for modern players, Jim Edmonds is right up there defensively with Andruw Jones if not on equal ground.



The hell? Tris Speaker is far and away the best defensive Centerfielder of all time? OK, I know he is remembered in legend as a great defensive CF, but what stats, or video reels prove it? Are you just going on pure Word of mouth from what people from the DEADBALL era said? Because there's not really any stats or video evidence to prove Speaker's defensive prowess other than that... which leaves me befuddled on how it makes you confident enough not only to say he's the best ever, but also far and away. The answer is painfully easy here - Willie Mays. He had by far the most put outs from centerfield, and there's plenty of celluloid evidence. And this reasoning may be oversimplistic - but just look at the two of them, Mays is easily the more athletic player, which usually translates to a better player - at least on defense.

[docholiday_13]

Devon White