Bags, Rock & Pudge

This weekend Ivan Rodriguez, Jeff Bagwell, and Tim Raines joined the Cooperstown ranks alongside executives Bud Selig and John Shuerholz. Trevor Hoffman and Vladimir Guerrero narrowly missed joining them, falling just a handful of votes short of election. Both are virtual locks to make it next year.

Even without the greatest closer not named Mariano Rivera and one of last decade's most exciting players, this year's class was a formidable one. It had arguably the greatest catcher of all-time (or at least the greatest since Johnny Bench), the greatest basestealer of all-time (in terms of success rate), and perhaps the greatest first baseman of the integrated era (or at least until Albert Pujols came along).

If  Rodriguez is not the greatest backstop of all-time, then he is certainly the best defensively. Both Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs have him leading the position easily in defensive WAR, with each putting him in the top 10 all-time for all positions. FanGraphs has him as the fourth-most valuable defender ever, ranking behind only Ozzie Smith, Brooks Robinson, and Mark Belanger. The drop-off between him and other backstops is so severe that it's hard to imagine anyone challenging his title, much less his record (for a catcher) of 13 Gold Gloves (Yadier Molina is still five away, in case you're wondering). Throw in his sizeable offensive contributions -- 311 home runs, 2,844 hits, a .296 lifetime average -- and it's clear that he's one of the three greatest catchers ever along with Bench and Yogi Berra.

It's hard to argue that Raines was the greatest base-stealer ever, especially since Rickey Henderson already claimed the title for himself. He never stole 100 bases in a season, which has been done 21 times throughout baseball history (he topped out at 90), and the difference in total thefts between him and Henderson is a whopping 598 -- more than all but 18 players have stolen in their entire careers. But Henderson got caught a lot more than Raines -- 189 times more, to be exact. As such, Raines' 84.7 percent success rate is considerably better than Henderson's 80.8 percent. It's also the highest of all-time for anyone who stole that many bases. So while Raines may not have been the most prolific base-robber of all-time, he was the best at combining volume and efficiency. And like Rodriguez, Raines brought a lot to the table with his bat, too, slashing .294/.385/.425 (123 OPS+) for his career with 2,605 hits and far more walks (1,330) than strikeouts (966). Add it all together and Raines was the second-greatest leadoff hitter of all-time, which somehow took the BBWAA 10 years to recognize.

And last but not least there's Bagwell, who was Pujols before Pujols. Check out their averages through their first 14 seasons:

Bagwell: 151 G 665 PA 108 R 32 HR 108 RBIs .297/.408/.542 (150 OPS+) 99 BB 110 K 14 SB
Pujols: 150 G 660 PA 108 R 37 HR 114 RBIs .317/.403/.588 (162 OPS+) 80 BB 65 K 7 SB

Pujols hit for a higher average and a bit more power while striking out less, but Bagwell walked more and stole twice as many bases. They were both good fielders, winning Gold Gloves for their play at first base, but the metrics say Pujols was better. Overall, you have to give the edge to Pujols, but it's close.

And yet, it took Bagwell seven tries to get into the Hall of Fame, whereas Pujols will be a slam-dunk as soon as he's eligible. The difference is that Bagwell played just 39 games in his 15th season and retired at 37, leaving him well short of several notable milestones such as 500 homers and 500 doubles. Pujols, whose contract runs until he's 42, has continued to play on through debilitating lower body injuries that have rendered him a full-time designated hitter. He's padding his career totals without adding much value on the field, socking his 600th homer this season in a year where he's been over a win below replacement level. A lifetime National Leaguer, Bagwell never had that option except during interleague games, playing a grand total of 10 games as a DH. Perhaps the DH would have lengthened his career, but we'll never know.

If nothing else, this year's class raises the bar for the average Hall of Famer. Next year we'll get Hoffman and Guerrero, along with likely newcomers Chipper Jones and Jim Thome. It's good to see the stars of the '90s and 2000s get the recognition they deserve. Now if we could only do something about the '70s and '80s...

Baseball's Best Number 5's

DiMaggio will always be linked with number five

To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, here are the five best players who wore the number five (for at least five years, which means Hank Aaron and Mel Ott are excluded.

1. Joe DiMaggio
The Yankee Clipper actually wore the number nine (same as future foe Ted Williams) in 1936--his rookie year--because Frankie Crosetti was number five. DiMaggio became five the next year and responded with the best year of his Hall of Fame career (meanwhile, Crosetti became number one). Joltin' Joe became one of the best centerfielders of all-time, winning three MVP awards and leading the Yankees to ten pennants and nine championships in his 13 seasons. His number was retired the year after DiMaggio's final season (1951), meaning no Yankee has worn the number five for over 60 years.

2. Albert Pujols
Pujols has worn the number five in all of his 14 seasons, even after switching teams prior to 2012. "The Machine" is one of the greatest righthanded hitters of all-time and ranks with Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig as one of baseball's best first basemen. The three-time MVP just eclipsed 500 home runs, and at 34 still has plenty of time to ascend the career leaderboards. His career is far from over, but he's already a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The Cardinals, who won two World Series with Pujols, have not given away his number since he left and will likely retire it.

3. George Brett
Widely acknowledged to be the second-best third baseman of all-time behind only Mike Schmidt. Brett was number 25 in his first two seasons, when one-time All-Star Richie Scheinblum was number five, but wore the number five for the remaining 19, all with Kansas City. Brett, of course, was a phenomenal hitter who batted .305 for his career, compiled 3,154 hits (1,119 of which went for extra bases), won three batting titles in three different decades and nearly batted .400 in 1980. A well-rounded player, he also stole 201 bases and played a great (and underrated) third base in his early years, even winning a Gold Glove in 1985. The Royals retired his number in 1994.

4. Johnny Bench
The best catcher of all-time (sorry, Yogi Berra fans) wore number five for all of his 17 years behind the plate with Cincinnati. A ten-time Gold Glove winner who made 14 All-Star teams and slugged 389 home runs, Bench is the best two-way catcher who ever lived. He was at the heart of the Big Red Machine, winning two MVP awards and helping power the Reds to four pennants and two championships in the 1970s. Fittingly, his number was retired in 1984.

5. Jeff Bagwell
Bags donned numero cinco in every one of his 15 years manning first base for the Houston Astros. He isn't in the Hall of Fame yet, but he should be. Though he didn't have the longevity of some of the other guys at the position (Rafael Palmeiro, Tony Perez, Willie McCovey), he crammed enough into his playing days that he still ranks as one of the five-best first baseman of all-time since 1900 (according to JAWs). One of the most complete first-sackers ever, he was an asset on the basepaths (swiping 202 bases) and played solid defense, winning a Gold Glove in 1994--the same year he won the NL MVP award unanimously. One of just three Astros to wear the number (along with Steve Henderson and Hal King), Bagwell will also be the last, for his number was retired in 2007.

Honorable Mention: Brooks Robinson, Hank Greenberg, Nomar Garciaparra