59 - Don Mattingly & Kirby Puckett

Baseball Beyond Batting Average

The careers of Don Mattingly and Kirby Puckett, although divergent in many ways--big-market vs. small-market, first baseman vs. center fielder, Hall of Famer vs. Just Really Good--also overlap considerably. The single-franchise heroes essentially played during the same seasons and have remarkably similar statistical profiles. Each one was regarded as a superstar during a career that was cut short by injury/illness. How does each player fare under the advanced stats microscope? Is Puckett's HoF induction warranted? Is Mattingly's exclusion? Mark and Andy take turns dissecting the careers to allow you to draw your own conclusions. The hosts finish it off with a round of Roll The Stat in which they guess the career WHIPs of AL All-Star pitchers from 1986-1989. If that's something you do regularly anyway, this episode is definitely made for you.