When you think of the archetype first baseman, probably the first image that comes to mind is that of a big and powerful middle-of-the-order slugger who smashes home runs and drives in runs with the best of them. Among the greatest first basemen in MLB history, two sluggers who perfectly fit this description are Harmon Killebrew of the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins and Willie McCovey of the San Francisco Giants. Their careers overlapped for over 15 season, one on the junior circuit and the other on the senior circuit, with each player hitting over 500 career home runs – in fact, in comparing their playing days, the statistics and achievements for Killebrew and McCovey are remarkably similar, leading to the inevitable question:
Who was better – Harmon Killebrew or Willie McCovey?
As perhaps the most valuable defensive position in baseball (outside of catcher), shortstops are required to be slick fielders with rocket arms, even at the expense of their offensive production. Among the long list of great shortstops in MLB history, two of the best ever defensively were Barry Larkin of the Cincinnati Reds and Ozzie Smith, most famously of the St. Louis Cardinals. Smith is arguably the greatest defensive player in baseball history (either him or Brooks Robinson, take your pick), while Larkin was excellent for many years with both the bat and the glove, thus leading to an interesting comparison/debate between the two Hall of Fame shortstops:
The 1970s saw a record seven MLB players reach the magical 3,000-hit mark, starting with Hank Aaron in May 1970 and concluding with Carl Yastrzemski in September 1979 (the others being Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline, Pete Rose, and Lou Brock). Among this sterling seven, only Kaline and Yastrzemski hailed from the AL, serving as the respective franchise faces for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox over their lengthy careers. There are deep similarities between the two players – each was an outfielder, each was both an excellent hitter and fielder, each played 20+ years, and each was a first-ballot Hall of Famer. With their careers overlapping for more than a dozen years, it is natural to ask the question:
From speedsters like Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines to sluggers like Jim Rice and Dale Murphy, the 1980s saw a variety of multifaceted talents patrolling MLB outfields. Among this talented group of outfielders, two Hall of Famers who stood out with their combination of consistency and five-tool versatility were Andre Dawson and Dave Winfield. Both outfielders starred in the big leagues for more than 20 years across three different decades (1970s, 1980s, and 1990s) with multiple teams and were among the best players of the 1980s, earning MVP awards, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, All-Star selections, etc. en route to Cooperstown. Given the similarities in comparing this pair of star outfielders, the natural question to ask is:
In 2019, Mike Mussina was selected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his sixth year of eligibility with 76.7% of the vote, just barely clearing the 75% threshold needed for induction. In contrast, Curt Schilling, in his seventh year of eligibility, finished on the outside looking in with 60.9% of votes; in 2020, he continued to inch closer to induction, but missed out once again with 70.0% of votes. While there has been much speculation about Schilling’s personality, political affiliations, and other post-career activities hurting his Hall of Fame chances, interestingly, when you look at the careers and accomplishments of Mussina and Schilling side-by-side, they are actually very comparable – thus, this leads to the question:
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