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BBA Hall of Fame: Left Field Wing

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 3:26 pm
by RonCo
"Left Field"
A Wing of the BBA Hall of Fame
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Can he field a little? Does he carry a big bat? Toss him out there to left field, right? That's the image of the prototypical left fielder, anyway. As you're going to see, though. The BBA has had its share of pretty legendary left fielders
Johnnie Iraq
Calgary
1992-2009

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2,498 Hits, 379 HR, 1,389 RBI, 598 SB, .307/.372/.526, 75.3 WAR
Zimmer Diamond Fielder Award: 1998, 2001, 2002
All-Star: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008

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At his peak, Johnnie Iraq was a dominating kind of player, creating a string of 7-straight seasons of essentially 7-9 WAR. He was a power and speed combination with great versatility (arguably should be inducted as "outfielder" rather than left field, as he split his career about equally in all three outfield slots). Iraq played his entire career with Calgary before spending a single season in Paris as part of the EBA.
Daniel Labrie
Baltimore
1995-2012

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3,131 Hits, 374 HR, 1,382 RBI, 1 SB, .337/.440/.504, 85.9 WAR
All-Star: 13 Times

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A face of the Baltimore (Brooklyn) franchise. THe switch-hitting Labrie combined a leathal bat from both sides of the plate with legendary discipline. His .440 career OBP is the best in league history. Led the league in hits once, batting average three times, and walks seven.

Gary Barr
Greenville
1982-2004

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3,345 Hits, 480 HR, 1,734 RBI, 430 SB, .307/.352/.501, 86.3 WAR
Landis Memorial Winner: 1991
1993 Owner's Choice Hitter of the Year
Slick Fielder: 1985, 1987
All-Star: 1984, 1992, 1993

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Gary Barr is an ode to what happens when you add longevity to quality. At his peak he was a great defender, though it's easy to overlook that when you just do a cursory scan of his career numbers. But Barr played 23 seasons, and indeed had some of his best years after age 30. He was #2 on the all-time hit list when he was inducted, and stands at #7 right now. It's perhaps of merit to note that his career was spread over three teams, and his induction was accompanied by a quite appropriate discussion of which of the three to induct him in under.
Jim Wilson
Washington
2002-2015

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2,228 Hits, 535 HR, 1,430 RBI, 2 SB, .290/.344/.559, 43.3 WAR
Gillstrom Newcommer of the Year: 2003
All-Star: 8 Times

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Facts are facts, and the facct is that Jim Wilson didn't make it this far on the strength of his glove. His big left-handed bat averaged just shy of 50 homers a season fo 8-straight years, though, and up near 30 the rest. Broke in with Washington (currently Nashvillle), finished in Baltimore.
Juan García
Washington
2013-2024

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2,200 Hits, 349 HR, 1,228 RBI, 68 SB, .332/.355/.537, 54.8 WAR
Sawyer Silk Award: 2016, 2021
Charles Puckett Golden Bat: 2016, 2021
All-Star: 8 times

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Garcia's career numbers are down a touch from some of the others on this list, but that's mostly because his career fell a bit shorter in years than those players. Garcia made up for quantity with quality, however, including a 2016 that goes down as ome of the more impressive seasons put up by a hitter in Halifx. As a younger player, he was a solid enough defensder to cover centerfield, before moving to left. Broke in at 23, and was on a path to perhaps become one of the All-Time greats until his early 30s, when he fell off. So, instead, he's merely in the Hall of Fame.
Héctor Canó
Washington
2014-2032

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2,663 Hits, 643 HR, 1,753 RBI, 189 SB, .281/.322/.550, 65.9 WAR
Landis Champion: 2018, 2021
Sawyer Silk Award: 2021
Charles Puckett Golden Bat: 2021, 2022, 2025, 2026, 2027
All-Star: 7 times

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One of the most feared hitters in the league over a career that spanned 18 seasons all in Calgary. He was a mainstay for the organization, and a key component of two Landis Champions. His five Pucket Awards and 7 All-Star appearances speak volumes for how he was viewed across the league. Led the league in homers five times, slugging 4 times, RBI twice, and filled up leaderboards for miles around.

Re: BBA Hall of Fame: Left Field Wing

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:12 pm
by Ted
Juan Garcia had a weird career. While he out WARs a couple guys n this list, I didn't feel he belonged in the Hall. Belinda and Wilson are questionable from a WAR standpoint, they both at least were milestone type guys when it comes to homers. Garcia made it on name recognition alone. He established that name with a few incredible years in the first half of a career, rode it to a bunch of all star games he didn't deserve, and was merely okay later on. The dude really only had 4 "great" years. He only played eleven seasons where he was above replacement level by any significant margin. He had an oddly short career, and declined rather early, but still managed 55ish WAR. It's just weird. Consider even further that he provided more than a third of that value in his two Silk years, and it gets stranger. In an earlier version of this post, I made a stronger statement that he shouldn't be in. I see the case. I mean, two time Silk winners are rare enough, but Garcia is just an odd duck. If you are a small hall guy, he definitely doesn't belong (and neither does Belinda or Wilson).

Re: BBA Hall of Fame: Left Field Wing

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:31 pm
by RonCo
I need to move a few of these guys to other wings. Working on that now. :)

I'm thinking the next stage will be to add some of Chris Wilson's work on tiers and pantheons.

Re: BBA Hall of Fame: Left Field Wing

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:34 pm
by Ted
RonCo wrote:
Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:31 pm
I need to move a few of these guys to other wings. Working on that now. :)

I'm thinking the next stage will be to add some of Chris Wilson's work on tiers and pantheons.
Wow, a lot of them really. Where are all the actual left fielders?

Re: BBA Hall of Fame: Left Field Wing

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:35 pm
by RonCo
We have relatively few LF in the hall.

Re: BBA Hall of Fame: Left Field Wing

Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2019 4:37 pm
by Ted
Left field, where we stash guys who can't defend for a few years until they can't hit either.