Athletics Nation

Slide on into the Delorean next to me (um, ignore that suspicious parcel in the trunk) and get ready for a short trip back in time, McFly.

We're going to perform a little experiment. It's a cliched little number called "Player A vs Player B," where I provide the blinded trendlines, and you try to identify the players and note (or dispute) the similarities.

I'll make this one easy on you, McFly. I'll give you the first similarity: Players A and B both suffer/suffered from chronic back problems. OK, another one: both are/were regarded as among the better-fielding players at their positions.

Here goes. Strapped in? Helmet strap tightened? Flux capacitor ready? 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

< temp card on screen: SFX TO COME >

<industry leader>

Whew, yeah, those unfinished special effects can be really taxing on the ol' taxonomy, eh, McFly. Well, here we are in some unspecified ancient time. Now, I brought along a box full of statistics from our own time, so we can compare 'em against whatever we're looking for here.

Ah! There he is! Player B! Ugh! Look at those disgusting sideburns, and that declasse mullet. What a disgrace to his owner. Sorry, mixing fictional voices there. Happens sometimes when we pass through certain zones of temporal disruption.

OK, McFly, pull out that box. Let's see what we have from Player A from our own time.

Player A

Age   OPS    OPS+
21    .798    94
22    .760   118
23    .850   131
24    .878   122
25    .861   132
26    .864   132
27    .898   106
28    .795   106
29    .786   103

Alright, McFly, now pull that big, cartoonish, men-in-white-jackets-from-the-institution-style butterfly net out of the Delorean. Now, you go snag Player B. Because I'm running this experiment, that's why! Good lad. E-e-e-e-excellent. Whoa! Bbpbpbpbpbpbpphhhhh! Sorry, temporal-fictional cross-flux again. OK, now extract the statistics from Player B. No, it won't hurt him. He'll just wake up in the morning thinking that he's been probed by aliens. Ah! Yes. Very nice. Here we are:

Player B

Age   OPS    OPS+
21    .321    -11
22    .742    107
23    .918    156
24    .938    156
25    .967    161
26    .937    146
27    .815    128
28    .828    133
29    .643    81
30    .733    103
31    .743    108
32    .809    118
33    .808    113
34    .754    97

Of course, yes, McFly, you're right -- our Player A never hit the heights that Player B did. Yes, sometimes the history books are  true -- not every single element of society steps forward in even, measured increments. The ancients had their secrets, too.

But McFly, you're not seeing the forest for the trees! Don't look at the specific highs and lows, but the trendlines, m'boy -- the trendlines! Especially that OPS+ -- look at that drastic drop in production in the Age 27 year, and the apparent inability to recover. Oh, sure, a small Renaissance there near the end, but too little, too late.

What's that, McFly? What does the future -- our future, that is -- I mean, the future we -- I mean, you -- have yet to see -- what does the future, that future hold for Player A? Ahhhhh, McFly, m'boy, there are some things you have to wait to see for yourself.