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With big-money free agency dominating professional sports these days, it is rare for athletes to spend their entire careers with one team. As such, we often look back with nostalgia on ballplayers who did indeed only play for one team during their professional careers; during the 1980s and 1990s, two MLB superstars who epitomized this bygone era were Don Mattingly of the New York Yankees and Kirby Puckett of the Minnesota Twins, who for a decade, were each the heart and soul of their respective teams. As their careers essentially overlapped and both players retired in the same year with highly comparable numbers, it is only natural to ask:
Who was better – Don Mattingly or Kirby Puckett?
The Beginning
Though both Mattingly and Puckett were solid high school baseball players, neither was a highly touted professional prospect and each had to work their way up to the major leagues before earning full-time starting roles.
Growing up in Indiana, Mattingly was an All-City, All-Southern Indiana Athletic Conference, and All-State high school baseball player for two years and led Reitz Memorial High School to a state-record 59 consecutive victories. While he initially planned to play baseball for Indiana State on scholarship, he was drafted in the 19th round of the 1979 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees and decided to sign with the team instead. Following three years in the Yankees’ farm system, Mattingly was called up late in the 1982 season as a September call-up; the next year, as a part-time player, he hit .283 with 4 home runs, 32 runs batted in, 34 runs scored, a .333 on-base percentage, and a .409 slugging percentage (107 OPS+ , which measures on-base percentage plus slugging vs. a league-wide average that is set at 100).
Meanwhile, Puckett likewise grew up in the Midwest, on the South Side of Chicago, but did not receive any scholarship offers after high school and thus, went to work at a Ford Motor factory. After then getting a scholarship to Bradley University and later transferring to Triton College, he was drafted with the third pick in the first round of the 1982 MLB January Draft-Regular Phase by the Minnesota Twins. Starting off in rookie league, Puckett spent a couple of seasons gradually moving up the minor league system before being called up 21 games into the 1984 season; that year, he hit .296 with no home runs, 31 runs batted in, 63 runs scored, a .320 on-base percentage, and a .336 slugging percentage (good for a 79 OPS+), which was good enough for third in the AL Rookie of the Year voting.
Career Comparison
Starting in the mid-1980s, Mattingly and Puckett would each establish themselves as among the best players in baseball, though their respective careers both ultimately came to premature ends due to health/medical issues.
While his rookie season was solid, but unspectacular, Mattingly became the Yankees’ starting first baseman in 1984 and for the next six seasons, was one of the best players in baseball. From 1984 to 1989, he was an All-Star each season and won an MVP award, a batting title, three Silver Sluggers, and five Gold Gloves – notably:
- 1984: won a batting title by hitting .343 with a league-high 207 hits (including a league-best 44 doubles), 23 home runs, 110 runs batted in, 91 runs scored, a .381 on-base percentage, and a .537 slugging percentage (156 OPS+); finished fifth for MVP
- 1985: won AL MVP by hitting .324 with 211 hits (including a league-high 48 doubles), a career-high 35 home runs, a league-high and career-best 145 runs batted in, 107 runs scored, a .371 on-base percentage, and a .567 slugging percentage (156 OPS+); also won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger
- 1986: career-high .352 with league-best 238 hits and 53 doubles (both career-highs), 31 home runs, 113 runs batted in, a career-high 117 runs scored, a .394 on-base percentage, and a league-high and career-best .573 slugging percentage (161 OPS+); finished second for MVP and again won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger
- 1987: last 30-100 season – Mattingly hit .327 with 30 home runs, 115 runs batted in, 93 runs scored, a .378 on-base percentage, and a .559 slugging percentage (146 OPS+); finished seventh for MVP and again won both a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger, while also setting a record with six grand slams in a single season (also the only grand slams of his career)
Mattingly began experiencing back problems toward the end of the 1980s, which caused his power numbers to dip to 18 home runs and 88 runs batted in during the 1988 season; however, he did rebound in 1989 to hit .303 with 23 home runs, 113 runs batted in, 79 runs scored, a .351 on-base percentage, and a .477 slugging percentage (133 OPS+), and won another Gold Glove in arguably his last great season. Injuries forced him to the disabled list in 1990 and limited Mattingly to a .256 batting average and only 5 home runs with 42 runs batted in; though he managed to win four consecutive Gold Gloves from 1991 to 1994, he had lost much of his power and never racked up more than 20 home runs or 90 runs batted in again. During this time, his best season came in 1993, when he hit .291 with 17 home runs, 86 runs batted in, 78 runs scored, a .364 on-base percentage, and a .445 slugging percentage (120 OPS+). After a 1995 season in which Mattingly hit .288, but only had 7 home runs and 49 runs batted in, the Yankees signed Tino Martinez to play first base; Mattingly sat out 1996 and subsequently retired in 1997.
As a follow-up to his rookie season, Puckett hit .288 and racked up 199 hits (including a career-best 13 triples) in 1985 while leading the league in at-bats. Then, in 1986, he would finish sixth for MVP and achieve the first of 10 straight All-Star selections, the first of four straight 200+ hit seasons, and the first of four consecutive Gold Gloves and Silver Sluggers by hitting .328 with 223 hits, a career-high 31 home runs, 96 runs batted in, a career-best 119 runs scored, a .366 on-base percentage, and a .537 slugging percentage (equating to a 142 OPS+). From 1987 to 1989, Puckett led the AL in hits each year:
- 1987: .322 with 207 hits, 28 home runs, 99 runs batted in, 96 runs scored, a .367 on-base percentage, and a .534 slugging percentage (132 OPS+); finished third for MVP
- 1988: a career-best .356 with a career-high 234 hits, 24 home runs, a career-best 121 runs batted in, 109 runs scored, a .375 on-base percentage, and a career-high .545 slugging percentage (153 OPS+); again finished third for MVP
- 1989: won his only batting title by hitting .339 with 215 hits, 9 home runs, 85 runs batted in, 75 runs scored, a .379 on-base percentage, and a .465 slugging percentage (131 OPS+); seventh for MVP
Puckett would have two additional strong seasons, including another Gold Glove in 1991, before achieving his highest MVP finish (second) in 1992: a .329 batting average with a league-high 210 hits (his last 200-hit season), 19 home runs, 110 runs batted in, 104 runs scored, a .374 on-base percentage, and a .490 slugging percentage (139 OPS+) to again earn the Gold Glove/Silver Slugger double. In fact, over his first 10 seasons, Puckett is third all-time in hits behind only Ichiro Suzuki and Paul Waner. In his penultimate season in 1994, he hit .317 with 20 home runs and a league-high 112 runs batted in during the strike-shortened campaign, good for his last Silver Slugger and seventh-place for MVP. In 1995, Puckett was enjoying another solid campaign, hitting .314 with 23 home runs, 99 runs batted in, 83 runs scored, a .379 on-base percentage, and a .515 slugging percentage (130 OPS+) when a Dennis Martinez fastball broke his jaw and ended his season in September. During 1996 spring training, he woke up without vision in his right eye, which was diagnosed as glaucoma; following three unsuccessful surgeries to restore his vision, Puckett was forced to retire at age 36.
Even though Mattingly technically played for two more seasons than Puckett, this only resulted in two more games played given the Yankee great’s injury issues. Across a similar number of career at-bats (less than 250 at-bat difference), Puckett has the edge in hits, runs, stolen bases, batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage, while Mattingly leads in home runs, runs batted in, walks, and OPS+. Additionally, Puckett has more .300+ batting seasons (8 to 7), 200+ hit seasons (5 to 3), and 20+ home run seasons (6 to 5), but Mattingly drove in 100+ runs more times (5 to 3). During their careers, Puckett earned more All-Star selections (10 to 6) and Silver Sluggers (6 to 3) vs. Mattingly winning an MVP and more Gold Gloves (9 to 6); each also won one batting title. When you look at advanced metrics, the edge again goes to Puckett in terms of career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) at 51.1 vs. 42.4. Interestingly, despite their comparable careers, one player was inducted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot (Puckett), while the other remains on the outside looking in.
Regular Season Statistics
| Don Mattingly | Player | Kirby Puckett |
| 14 (1982-1995) | Seasons | 12 (1984-1995) |
| 1,785 | Games Played | 1,783 |
| 7,003 | At-Bats | 7,244 |
| 2,153 | Hits | 2,304 |
| 1,007 | Runs | 1,071 |
| 222 | Home Runs | 207 |
| 1,099 | Runs Batted In | 1,085 |
| 588 | Walks | 450 |
| 14 | Stolen Bases | 134 |
| .307 | Batting Average | .318 |
| .358 | On-Base Percentage | .360 |
| .471 | Slugging Percentage | .477 |
| 127 | OPS+ | 124 |
| 42.4 | Wins Above Replacement | 51.1 |
| 6x | All-Star Games | 10x |
| 1x | MVP | – |
| – | World Series Titles | 2x |
| 1x Batting Title, 3x Silver Slugger, 9x Gold Glove | Other Awards | 1x Batting Title, 6x Silver Slugger, 6x Gold Glove |
| – | Hall of Fame Induction | 2001 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
The postseason careers of Mattingly and Puckett are a study in contrasts – whereas Mattingly is perhaps ironically one of the few Yankees legends not to experience playoff and championship success, Puckett helped lead the Twins to their only World Series titles in franchise history.
Mattingly joined the Yankees in 1982, the year after they lost in the World Series; unlike other Yankee greats like Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi Berra, and Mickey Mantle who won a plethora of titles, Mattingly did not make the playoffs in his first 13 major league seasons (the drought likely would have ended in 1994 as the Yankees were in first place in the AL before the strike). In his last season, he finally reached the playoffs in 1995 as the Yankees won the wild card – in a five-game loss in the ALDS to Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., and the Seattle Mariners, Mattingly batted .417 with 10 hits in 24 at-bats, including the go-ahead home run in Game 2, which would be his last career game at Yankee Stadium.
While Puckett only played in the postseason twice, he helped lead the Twins to a World Series title both times. The first time around in 1987, he hit .357 with 10 hits in 28 at-bats as Minnesota beat the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Four years later, Puckett was the MVP of the ALCS in a five-game victory over the Toronto Blue Jays (.429 with 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in); then, in the World Series, he hit .250 with another pair of home runs and 4 runs batted in (including his iconic home run in extra innings of Game 6 to force Game 7) as the Twins won another seven-game thriller vs. Tom Glavine, John Smoltz, and the Atlanta Braves.
Playoff Statistics
| Don Mattingly | Player | Kirby Puckett |
| 5 | Games Played | 24 |
| 24 | At-Bats | 97 |
| 10 | Hits | 30 |
| 3 | Runs | 16 |
| 1 | Home Runs | 5 |
| 6 | Runs Batted In | 16 |
| 1 | Walks | 8 |
| – | Stolen Bases | 3 |
| .417 | Batting Average | .309 |
| .440 | On-Base Percentage | .361 |
| .708 | Slugging Percentage | .536 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; Mattingly’s peak was limited to roughly half a dozen years due to persistent back issues, while glaucoma prematurely ended Puckett’s career. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Don Mattingly | Player | Kirby Puckett |
| 1984-1989, 1991-1994 | Decade of Dominance | 1986-1995 |
| 1,457 | Games Played | 1,494 |
| 5,860 | At-Bats | 5,996 |
| 1,839 | Hits | 1,940 |
| 874 | Runs | 928 |
| 206 | Home Runs | 203 |
| 975 | Runs Batted In | 980 |
| 499 | Walks | 393 |
| 13 | Stolen Bases | 99 |
| .314 | Batting Average | .324 |
| .365 | On-Base Percentage | .367 |
| .489 | Slugging Percentage | .500 |
| 42.5 | Wins Above Replacement | 44.9 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Again, when you look at the 10 best years for each player, Puckett comes out slightly ahead in pretty much every major offensive category, with the exception of walks. Note that the gap in WAR between the two players is much smaller here, which can be attributed to the fact that Mattingly was essentially injured or ineffective for the other few years of his career (again, his peak only lasted half a dozen years), while Puckett was an All-Star caliber player beyond just his decade of dominance.
My Thoughts
Despite the similarities in their final career numbers, the career trajectories of Don Mattingly and Kirby Puckett are very different and perhaps contribute to the way baseball pundits and fans view them. Yes, at his late 1980s peak, Mattingly was one of the best players in the game and arguably better than Puckett; however, with his back injuries that gradually took their toll, that zenith was brief and by the end of his career, he was clearly a shell of his former greatness. As to whether or not Mattingly should be in the Hall of Fame, I think he is just a tad short, in the same group with the likes of Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, and Roger Maris. In contrast, in his final season, Puckett was still an All-Star and .300 hitter and the sense is that had glaucoma not forced him to suddenly retire, he would have continued playing at a high level for at least a few more seasons, thus adding to his career numbers and achievements. Moreover, he helped guide the Twins to their only two World Series titles and is one of the all-time greats in Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins history (my top five in no particular order would be Walter Johnson, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew, Puckett, and Joe Mauer).
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Kirby Puckett
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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