I was talking about this with a Cub fan buddy the other day, remember back in the late 90's early 00's the big "argument" was

 

Sosa > Thomas

 

and

 

Wood > Buehrle

 

Ah, what a little time and perspective can do...

It always amazes me how players tend to mirror their fanbase.

To be fair, if Wood could have stayed healthy, he would have been on whole another level above Mark as a pitcher. That being said, what makes Mark so good is his ability to churn out 200+ innings year after year.

Wood/Buehrle was actually a debate. And I will admit that in 2003 I would've taken Wood over Buehrle in a second. There's really no way a non-biased person wouldn't. Thomas/Sosa was never a debate. If you take Frank's peak from '91-'97 and Sosa's peak from I guess '97-2003, Thomas still has a considerably higher OPS+. Imagine a roided up Frank? He would've trumped 2001-2004 with relative ease.

Wood/Buehrle was actually a debate. And I will admit that in 2003 I would've taken Wood over Buehrle in a second. There's really no way a non-biased person wouldn't. Thomas/Sosa was never a debate. If you take Frank's peak from '91-'97 and Sosa's peak from I guess '97-2003, Thomas still has a considerably higher OPS+. Imagine a roided up Frank? He would've trumped 2001-2004 with relative ease.

 

A roided up Frank would have been hitting balls to Indiana. There wouldn't have been a helmet big enough for that already massive head. A shot back to the mound could have been fatal to a pitcher. You get the picture.

 

I remember back in the day when I was enamored with all of the Sosa bombs just like everyone else. I've always been a Sox fan, but I've always liked Sosa too. I'll never forget listening to the radio one morning when a caller to the Score tried to convince the host that Sosa was so much better than Thomas. This was back in like 96-97 before everyone had the "internets" and stats were readily available. Well whoever the host was on the Score at the time DID have stats, and he made the poor Sosa fan look pretty foolish.

 

 

I'm not a big fan of OPS and OPS+ being the ultimate measure of a hitter. But all measures show Big Frank is better.

I'm not a big fan of OPS and OPS+ being the ultimate measure of a hitter. But all measures show Big Frank is better.

 

What would you go by then?

Just throwing it out there. Frank was worth 49.1 WAR from '91 through '97. A blatant cheater in Sosa was worth 41.0 WAR from '97-'03. Frank was just a MUCH better hitter. HR totals be damned. I almost wish Frank had roided up just to see what kinda Sega Genesis numbers he could've put up. I'm thinking 1994 times 5.

Edited January 28, 201115 yr by Jordan4life

I could be wrong but I think Dusty Baker's sandwich might have been better than Ozzie's. I forget the particulars of that city showdown.

What would you go by then?

Batting Average and RBI's.

Also, say what you will about Wood not being able to stay healthy early in the decade, the guy went on to have a very interesting and good career.

Check the handle.

Yeah both Beurhle and Thomas could be HOf. Thomas a lock. Wood will be forgotten and Sosa is a joke. Who would'a thunk it?