Okay, LF was a no-brainer. But how about your All-Time Blue Jays CF?
Rick Bosetti '79 | 1 (0.47%) |
Lloyd Moseby '83 | 34 (15.89%) |
Devon White '91 | 58 (27.10%) |
Otis Nixon '96 | 0 (0.00%) |
Jose Cruz Jr. '01 | 2 (0.93%) |
Vernon Wells '06 | 119 (55.61%) |
In all honesty, I know that VW should have received my vote, but (as my username implies) I was a huge Moseby fan growing up.
Thus, nostagia trumps reason, and Lloyd gets the nod.
Anytime someone mentions a trade involving Mr. Wells, I vetoe it. I love this dude. The only way you trade him is if he tells you he won't re-sign. Actually tells you. No phantom "sources from inside the Jays" to Keith Law. He is the centre of the team, the heart of it and a star.
But honourable mention to Devo. That catch in the 92 WS that started the "triple play" was one of those mythical things from my childhood. That boy had wings.
I suspect the vote is falling pretty evenly along age-demographic lines and that VW's lead reflects the younger crowd's vote. Now, to be clear, I expected him to win -- but the margin is shocking, as at the time I write this, he has a majority of the votes (56 percent).
I figured it'd be VW-Moseby-Devo at 40-30-20 with a smattering of votes for others -- but I see only those three have ANY votes, which is as it should be (sorry Otis).
Lloyd Moseby (84) 9.9
Devon White (91) 9.9
Lloyd Moseby (83) 8.2
Devon White (93) 8.1
V. Wells (03) 7.9
V. Wells (06) 7.0 (extrapolated from 6.2)
O. Nixon (96) 5.1
J. Cruz (99) 4.7
J. Cruz (00) 4.7
J. Cruz (01) 4.7
Rick Bosetti (78) 3.9
It's a dead heat - Moseby & White. Wow. Even their second best seasons are almost equal.
Even though he's going to win this poll due to the recency effect and the demographics of the voters, the 2006 Vernon Wells is not really that close, primarily due to his dramatically reduced defensive contribution.
Really can't ask for a more consistent player than Jose Cruz from 99 to 01.
Well I don't know how Mr Warren got those numbers but I don't think VW's votes are just all demographics. Here are the stats:
DW.282/.342/.455
LM .315/.376/.499
VW .309/.362/.558
VW's offense is as good as LM's if not better (if you like power) and he is a better defender than Moseby was (I think - better arm and range). White was a better defender than Wells is but his offence was nowhere close. I have seen them all play and I voted for Wells. I think Wells and White are the best CF I have seen play. They both have the rare ability to predict where the ball will land off the bat and just run there. Devo used to take his eye off the ball for goodness sake.
A lot of voters may not have looked up the stats and might have remembered LM had a lot of years where he hit below .250
83 - 315/376/499 - OPS+134 27-8 SB-CS
84 - 280/368/470 - OPS+127 career high 78 BB, 39-9 SB-CS, career best 15 triples
87 - 282/358/473 - OPS+117 career high 26 HR's, 39-7 SB-CS
Funny how the outfield of the 80's all died off quickly after 30 though. Moseby's last season was at age 31, Barfield 32 (with a 22 OPS+), Bell 33 (OPS+63 after coming in 20th in MVP votes the year before and being an all-star the 2 years before that). All born within 15 days of each other. All 3 made it to the majors at 21. Weird eh?
He was a distant third in the LF poll last week.