Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
February 28, 2008
Green Out to Pasture

Jon Weisman muses on the retirement of Shawn Green.

But though I wish the Dodgers and Green had faced up to his declining play sooner, I always liked Green. It's probably been a couple years since I've even thought about it, but remember the joy of waiting to see him cross home plate at Dodger Stadium after a home run and toss his batting gloves to a kid in the stands? He was a good guy who, for a significant stretch, could slam the ball. I hope, as he settles down in Irvine, he isn't shy about coming by Dodger Stadium for a game and getting some well-deserved applause from the fans - including the daughter of one reader here in particular.

Shawn shares some similarities to Don Mattingly, in that he lost his power suddenly due to an injury. Mattingly was a bit better before the injury, but Green kept his power two years longer than Don. Both were done at age 34 and decided to move on rather than linger in the majors. I doubt, however, if anyone will ask me if Green belongs in the Hall of Fame.


Posted by David Pinto at 10:55 AM | Players | TrackBack (0)
Comments

On the night the Mets clinched the division title in 2006, Shawn Green gave me his autograph before the game. Thank you Shawn....Happy retirement.

Posted by: Leco at February 28, 2008 09:40 PM

re: shawn green

shawn green actually does have some pretty good career numbers, although they're not HOF, he had a great career;

.283/.355/.494 BA/OBA/SA

2003 total hits
328 total HRs
445 total 2Bs
1129 runs scored
1070 RBI
career adjusted ops of .849 (almost 100 points higher than league)
2 time all star
1 time silver slugger
top ten in league in hits twice
top ten in league in slugging percentage twice
led AL in total bases in 1999
2d in AL in runs scored in 1999
1st in AL in doubles with 45 in 1999
top 5 in power-speed number three different years
top five at bats per home run 2001 & 2002 NL

baseball-reference.com has him most similar to players like del ennis, andre dawson, rafael palmeiro, billy williams, etc. also dale murphy. i think in his prime shawn green was a lot like those guys--a dependable home run, rbi guy who also gave you defense, ran the bases well, hit balls hard into the gap and got a lot of doubles, and played the game hard.

Finally, on his retiring early, it's important to note the green started his career very early, at age 20 or so. he was a very young player when he broke in, so his career numbers reflect a long career despite his retiring early.

While i do not believe he will ever achieve the HOF, i do believe with time, the achievements of Shawn Green will become clearer as his statistical accomplishments become more apparent.

Also the fact that he hit well in both the AL and the NL is an interesting fact.

--art kyriazis, philly

Posted by: art kyriazis at March 4, 2008 11:04 AM
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