Jim Edmonds is the best center fielder in St. Louis Cardinals history. This much we know.
With all due respect to Terry Moore (who captained the Swifties), Willie McGee (who was beloved during Whiteyball), and Curt Flood (who forever changed the playing field), Edmonds was the best combination of production and range to ever regularly man the position at any of the Busch stadiums.
Edmonds' 241 home runs are the most for a Cardinals center fielder, nearly tripling the second-highest total, Flood's 84. Edmonds has the most RBIs (713 to Flood's 633), the most extra-base hits (486 to Flood's 399) and the highest OPS+ of any Cardinal with at least 500 at-bats at the position (143 to Doc Smoot's 121). Sure, Flood had more Runs Created (841 to 832) and more total bases (2,464 to 2,012), but he also had 630 more games in CF than Edmonds.
From a 2007 article I wrote for the season preview:
From 1982 to today - a span of 25 seasons and 3,980 games - center field has been remarkably stable for the Cardinals. Three players have manned the beat in that span. Willie McGee started the run and moved to right field in the game Ray Lankford made his 1990 debut in center. Lankford moved to left in 2000 in the game Edmonds debuted at center.
Two others, Terry Moore of the 1940s dynasty and Curt Flood from the 1960s, also have 1,000 games in center for the Cardinals, and both were considered the finest defensively in their era.
But Edmonds is the best of a signature bunch.
"All you have to do is put his figures together," Cardinals broadcaster Mike Shannon said. "There's not anything that Jimmy can't do. You look at the other guys and maybe they were lacking something. Whether that was consistency or power or defense or whatever. But when you put the whole package together, Jimmy is the whole package."
This past weekend I returned from my annual pre-spring vanishing act to news of Walt Jocketty's brief comment about Edmonds. The Cincinnati Reds' general manager, Edmonds' once and most recent boss, told local writers there that Jimmy Ballgame is "probably going to retire." This doesn't come as a surprise. Edmonds did not play at all in 2009, and from 2008 to 2010 he mostly bounced around the National League Central as a part-time player and streak starter. In 197 games during that span Edmonds hit .253/.342/.490 with 31 homers and 78 RBIs. A few weeks ago, he was scheduled for foot surgery, and a guaranteed contract was not likely headed his way for 2011.
His official retirement would force the obvious question: Already the best center fielder in Cardinals history, is he a Hall of Famer?
Edmonds' raw totals put him in the conversation. He has eight Gold Gloves in center field, though contemporaries Andruw Jones (10) and Torii Hunter (nine) have more. Flood has seven and isn't in the Hall. Edmonds would finish his career seven homers shy of 400. It's a neat, tidy number, but his power totals already put him in good company. Where he ranks with other outfielders who played at least 1,000 games and had at least 75 percent of their games in center:
.284 BA (27th) ... .376 OBP (12th) ... .527 SLG (5th*) ... .903 OPS (6th*) ... 132 OPS+ (7th*) ...393 HR (4th) ... 1,251 Runs (11th) ... 1,199 RBIs (7th)
* The four center fielders with a higher career slugging percentage than Edmonds are all in Cooperstown or headed there: Joe DiMaggio, Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays and Earl Averill. For OPS, add Tris Speaker, a Hall of Famer. For OPS+, add Larry Doby, another Hall of Famer.
Coloring Edmonds' raw totals is the era in which he played. Not just the power-mad stretch of steroids, but one loaded with similarly talented and all-around center fielders. With Kirby Puckett and Devon White fading toward retirement, the next generation of CFs took flight, dazzling the game with the likes of Griffey Jr., Andruw Jones, Bernie Williams and Kenny Lofton.
Edmonds holds up well against his peers (sorted by OPS+):
Ken Griffey Jr. (1989-2010) ... .284/.370/.538 ... 630 HR, 1836 RBI, 1662 Runs ... 135 OPS+ ... 10 Gold Gloves
Jim Edmonds (1993-2010) ... .284/.376/.527 ...393 HR, 1199 RBI, 1251 Runs ... 132 OPS+ ... 8 Gold Gloves
Bernie Williams (1991-2006) ... .297/.381/.477 ... 287 HR, 1257 RBI, 1366 Runs ...125 OPS+ ... 4 Gold Gloves
Carlos Beltran (1998-present) ... .282/.359/.494 ... 280 HR, 1062 RBI, 1106 Runs ... 118 OPS+ ... 3 Gold Gloves
Andruw Jones (1996-present) ... .256/.338/.488 ...407 HR, 1222 RBI, 1150 Runs ... 111 OPS+ ... 10 Gold Gloves
Torii Hunter (1997-present) ... .275/.332/.471 ... 258 HR, 969 RBI, 906 Runs ... 108 OPS+ ... 9 Gold Gloves
Kenny Lofton (1991-2007) ... .299/.372/.423 ... 130 HR, 781 RBI, 1528 Runs ...107 OPS+ ... 4 Gold Gloves
Mike Cameron (1995-present) ... .250/.340/.447 ... 269 HR, 941 RBI, 1037 Runs ... 106 OPS+ ... 3 Gold Gloves
Steve Finley (1989-2007) ... .271/.332/.442 ... 304 HR, 1167 RBI, 1443 Runs ... 104 OPS+ ...5 Gold Gloves
To those totals, which put him squarely behind Griffey in the last two decades of CF play, Edmonds adds two National League pennants, one World Series championship, a rather dramatic National League Championship Series home run and, of course, those signature catches. His back-to-home dive at the warning track in Kansas City while playing center for the Anaheim Angels will give him highlight immortality. That certainly sweetens his Cooperstown credentials because it makes him memorable, it makes his name pop off the ballot, and then it's up to his totals and his peripherals.
As with anything statistical, Edmonds' totals can be massaged and tailored for greatness. Consider four of his "counting stats" and their combination. Using Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index it's possible to sort every player since 1901 to find who has the Edmonds Compilation of: at least 75 percent of games in center, at least 350 HR, at least 1250 runs, at least 1190 RBIs, and at least 3600 total bases.
There are four players with those totals. Four total.
Willie Mays ... 660 HR, 2062 Runs, 1902 RBI, 6066 TB
Ken Griffey Jr. ... 630 HR, 1662 Runs, 1836 RBI, 5271 TB
Jim Edmonds ... 393 HR, 1251 Runs, 1199 RBI, 3615 TB
Joe DiMaggio ... 361 HR, 1390 Runs, 1537 RBI, 3948 TB
It may be this list that offers the most contexts for Cooperstown.
True, Edmonds has a career palette that when organized with the right series of numbers and compared with the right spectrum of players shines. But the above list also shows how significant the gap is between, say, Griffey's totals and Edmonds', or even DiMaggio's. Edmonds is mentioned with the greats, and the question still unanswered is whether he belongs enshrined with the greats.
Baseball-Reference.com to the rescue, again.
At the bottom of each player's page at B-R, there are a series of "Hall of Fame Statistics." They are, essentially, greatness indicators. Each takes the player's career and compares it against current Hall of Famers to arrive at an integer that defines that player's Cooperstown chances. For example, the Hall of Fame monitor is a Bill James creation that calculates an active player's credentials. A score of 100 is good. A score of 130 is a cinch. The average Hall of Famer scores about 100. Albert Pujols has a current score of 262.
Edmonds' numbers:
Gray Ink ... Avg. HoFer scores 144, Edmonds scores 60
HoF Monitor ... Avg. HoFer scores 100, Edmonds scores 88.
HoF Standards ... Avg. HoFer scores 50, Edmonds scores 39.
If anything we've seen the recent trend in voting is to be stingier with players of this era, even to the point of cynical toward their numbers. If Edmonds does indeed retire this winter and hits the ballot five years from now, there's no reason to believe that climate with change. His place on that ballot gains some clarity if you scroll down on his B-R page, just past his "Hall of Fame statistics." There, the site compares players against others through history with a similarity score. Of the 10 players who compare most similarly with Edmonds, only one - Duke Snider - is in the Hall of Fame.
The list also includes Jones, Dale Murphy, Fred Lynn and Larry Walker. Each has their advocates for the Hall. Jones has yet to retire, but the other three have and have failed to gain election. Murphy has two MVPs to his career. Walker, also an MVP, was arguably the best outfielder in the game for a stretch and he won three batting titles. They offer probably the clearest picture yet of Edmonds' chances.
They're great players.
Voters have said they're not great enough.
**
Speaking of former Cardinals and retirement: reliever Russ Springer told The Alexandria (La.) Town Talk this past weekend that he's calling it a career. Check out Bob Tompkins story by following this link, and be sure to read the remarkable claim that accompanies the photo on the right. Eighteen years?! Yikes.
**
While touring Joyce's Dublin, I saw that Albert Pujols, Inc. launched a new-look Web site and a Twitter feed, complete with slick new logo. The front page of the new site, which you can see here, has pics from some of Pujols' charitable activities even as it shouts "It's 10 weeks and counting for the Cardinals," and then reprints an ESPN story from the Winter Meetings. The Twitter feed has 450 followers for every one of its tweets. Oops, make that 500. Nope, 550. And, apparently there is also an updated look at the PujolsFive Facebook page (132,000 fans strong).
The award-winning boys over at Joe Sports Fan had some fun with a Venn diagram that compares Pujols' crown logo to The Decision's. ("I'm taking my talents to South Grand." Wait? No?) But there's something else that caught my eye.
It's the No. 5.
That digit is lodged in that logo like a popcorn kernel in molars. Take five out of that slick knot of interlocking letters and it would unravel quicker than the Cardinals' lineup. Heck, "five" is part of the address, part of the Twitter handle, indeed part of the Pujols Brand. Judging from the strain some outlets have made to conjure headlines from the gag-ruled Pujols' negotiations, I'm surprised this hasn't inspired a few: "Pujols Limits Pool of Potential Suitors". "Got Five? You're Alive." "Pujols to Joe D.: Hand it Over."
Because clearly with this logo, he can't play for a team that doesn't have the No. 5 available. There are eight teams with No. 5 retired.
Baltimore Orioles - Brooks Robinson
Cleveland Indians - Lou Boudreau
Kansas City - George Brett
Cincinnati Reds - Johnny Bench
Detroit Tigers - Hank Greenberg
New York Yankees - Joe DiMaggio
Houston Astros - Jeff Bagwell
Florida Marlins - Carl Barger
The last number there - the Marlins' - is retired for the executive, Barger, who died before the expansion team played its first season. The Marlins chose No.5 to honor Barger reportedly because DiMaggio was his favorite player.
Several big-wallet teams already fail to meet the Logo Clause. But there, ready with the jersey are 21 other teams, including the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and, yep, those Los Angeles Angels. Somewhere there is certainly an Angels fan stripping the "M-A-T-H-I" of his Jeff Mathis No. 5 jersey and readying the "P-U-J-O-L" for some optimistic stitching.
Take a deep breath.
That "5" does seem in embedded in there, but for the most part I bring all this up just because some levity appears necessary. Just joking around. The logo isn't a hint. It can't be.
Right? Right?
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