I’ve been tasked with assembling a 40-man roster made up of the best players in Padres history. It’s a pretty straightforward exercise, except for two positions: second base and left field. We’re talking about third-stringers here, but I need a little help with these.
Second Base: Bip Roberts vs Quilvio Veras
| G | AB | BA | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics are courtesy of Retrosheet. | |||||
| Roberts | 667 | 2258 | .298 | .361 | .387 |
| Veras | 415 | 1531 | .270 | .366 | .353 |
Arguments for Roberts
- Played with Padres longer than Veras
- Superior offensive player
- Fan favorite
Arguments against Roberts
- Not a full-time second baseman (although his versatility also could be seen as a positive)
Arguments for Veras
- True second baseman
- Catalyst for 1998 World Series team
Arguments against Veras
- Played here just three years
- Inconsistent performer
Left Field: Rickey Henderson vs Greg Vaughn
| G | AB | BA | OBP | SLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics are courtesy of Retrosheet. | |||||
| Henderson | 359 | 1132 | .245 | .399 | .354 |
| Vaughn | 321 | 1075 | .245 | .345 | .510 |
Arguments for Henderson
- Otherworldly OBP
- “This is Rickey calling on behalf of Rickey”
- True entertainer
Arguments against Henderson
- Didn’t hit for average or for power during his nearly three seasons here
Arguments for Vaughn
- Carried the Padres for much of the 1998 season (check out May, June, and July)
Arguments against Vaughn
- Did very little for team in ’96 and ’97
So, who do you like: Roberts or Veras? Henderson or Vaughn?
2B/Utility: Bip
LF: Gene Richards
Third string? In that case I am going with Bip. He provides more flexibility off the bench than Q. In LF you have to go with Rickey. The Padres have too few assoications with truly great players, all time great players, and Rickey is one of them. I vote for Bip and Rickey to fill these last two spots on the roster.
#1@Mike Champion: I probably should have mentioned that Richards is the starter, with Carmelo Martinez backing him up. We’re looking for the third-string left fielder; who do you like between Henderson and Vaughn?
Also, for the sake of completeness, Mark Loretta and Roberto Alomar are already in at second base.
3. And I probably should’ve followed directions. It’s a strange universe that puts Carmelo over Ricky and Vaughn, even with career based stats. I’ll go with Vaughn for the monster year and power off the pine
LF: Vaughn
I would say Bip at 2B and for LF it depends on how we look at it…are we looking at someone who can come off the bench to PH or are we just looking for the 3rd best guy? If its the third best guy I would go with Vaughn because of the power he would add to the lineup but if its someone who is coming off the bench I would go with Rickey because 40% of the time that he pinch hits he will get on base steal second and be a singe away from scoring a run.
Roberts & Vaughn
Have to go with Quilvio and Vaughn.
Vaughn’s huge advantage in SLG % more than outweighs Rickey’s smaller edge in OBP. The pop he will provide off the bench will prove to be quite useful as a PH. Plus, while Vaughn may have done little in 96 or 97, that 98 year was something special and corresponded with one of the franchise’s most memorable seasons. No way he can be left off the team.
As for Q over Robert’s-My rationale is even less sophisticated-I just thought he was pretty cool.
Bip Roberts can play at more positions than 2B and as a 3rd stringer, that’s important.
Rickey or Vaughn? Depends on what you need on the roster, I guess. More OBP or more SLG? Didn’t Rickey used to play CF also? I don’t know if you need anymore players in the OF but that versatility can be a plus. Vaughn only have that one great year in 1998 with the 50 HR and I thought he was only here for about 35-45 games in 1996 and did little other than slugged. Rickey steals more bases too.
OK, my vote is for Rickey Henderson.
Those are tougher choices than they should be for 3rd stringers. Who’s better on their own versus who meant more to Padre teams that mattered. I go with Veras and Vaughn, but mostly because they were key in 1998, one of the best baseball years of my life. The arguments for Roberts and Rickey are also sound.
On Baek: How does a guy who throws that hard and doesn’t walk many get hit around so much? I don’t want him in the rotation, but (especially if next year is basically a tryout camp) he could be a good high-leverage reliever.
2B-Bipster
LF-Rickey
So I guess you are going by strict outfield positions and not starting Winfield. Won’t that anger him and create problems in the clubhouse?
In the rankings on my site, I’ve got Richards, Carmelo, Rickey, Vaughn. But it’s close between Rickey and Vaughn. Not to be confused with Rick Vaughn.
Vaughn (321 games with the Padres) had one of the best seasons in team history in 1998 (30 win shares, MVP-caliber season). But he contributed almost nothing in his other 163 games.
As for Rickey (359 games), none of his three seasons were particularly special: 16, 14 and 12 win shares. But his OBPs were .410, .422 and .366 at 37, 38 and 42 years old. His stolen base percentage was .778 (91-for-117). In 1996, he scored 110 runs while batting .241. In 2001, he broke the all-time runs and walks records while with the Padres.
I’ll take Rickey.
At second base, I’ve got Loretta, Alomar, Bip, then Veras.
I’ll take Bip for the reasons you mentioned, plus his versatility.
By the way, I moved Adrian up about seven or eight spots the other day, based on this season. So my first base rankings are now Klesko, Colbert, Adrian, then McGriff and Joyner in a virtual tie. Then Garvey and Jack Clark.
Rickey Henderson is a Yankee or an Athletic, not a Padre. Vaughn is a Brewer, and maybe could be considered a Devil Ray. I’d rather see guys who stuck in town for awhile and not just add the best player who was forced to play here due to a trade or old age. There are plenty of guys who loved being Padres and made San Diego their home who might not have the great stats Vaughn had or the colorful personality of Rickey, but they were Padres.
As for Veras v. Roberts, I think their performance was pretty similar, and would rather see Roberts on the team because he was a rookie with the Padres, and spent the majority of his career with the team. Also, he wasn’t as much of a flash in the pan.
I’ll take Rickey if for nothing else, he was entertaining as hell to watch and listen to. He always talks about himself in the 3rd party which I always found amusing.
I like Bip and Henderson. Both were just plain fun to watch. Henderson hit a “double” nearly every time he got on base. That could be great off the bench as a pinch runner as well. Bip could play a lot of positions which is great for the bench as well.
#9@Tom Waits: Does Baek really throw that hard? Doesn’t matter how hard you throw when you nibble and end up having to serve them over the heart of the plate.
Rickey’s got to be in. Are you mad at Rickey? Rickey never done nothing to you. Pick Rickey.
Bip, because he laid out to the press how his first at bat against Fernando was going to go, then promptly struck out on three pitches.
#15@SDSUBaseball: He throws 94-95 at times, and if he’s nibbling, you’d expect there to be more walks. His walk rate is pretty good, his strikeouts are good. Relieving might help him cut down on the hits. Linebrink picked up a couple of mph on his fastball when he was switched completely to the pen after coming over from Houston.
I say definitely Bip, due to the versitility he would provide.
For LF I’ll go with Rickey. Overall he was more consistent over his three years here and certainly a fan and media favorite.
The Bipper & the Man of Steal are my picks.
Roberts and Vaughn. Rick the Quick would go on the A’s all-time list, but not Pads.
The first good year (both defensively and offensively) put up by a Padres second bagger was turned in the 12th year of the franchise by Juan Bonilla. I remember at the time that there was actually some excitement about Bonilla as he was really the first young second basemen to make a splash in the 12 years of existence. 1981 was a good season for Bonilla and ’82 started the same until Bonilla broke his wrist and sat out most of ’82. Needless to say, that was more or less the end of Bonilla’s short lived Pads glory.