Finally some controversy. So far, each of our little sub-debates have been very clear cut. But Ken Griffey (the senior vareity) against Kirk Gibson, in some respects, is a tight match up.

1975 was Ken Griffey’s first full season, and like the other Reds on the team, he had a nice season. He finished just over the .300 mark at .302, and was tenth in the league in OBP at .391. Power was Griffey’s biggest fault, or rather the lack of. He did have nine triples, but he knocked out only four homers and had only fifteen doubles.

1976 was Griffey’s best year, and would have given Kirk Gibson more competition. He finished second for the batting title with a .336 batting average.

So let’s look at the tale of the tape:

Runs 95
Homeruns 4
RBIs 46
Average .305
OBP .391
Slg .402
Runs Created 73
OPS+ 119
Batting Runs Above Replacement 36
Fielding Runs Above Replacement 6
Equivalent Average .294
Wins Above Replacement Player 4.7

Griffey hit a little better, and scored a few more runs, but Gibby had a pretty impressive season at the plate. Both were below average fielders. When all things are looking equal, I usually look at WARP, OPS+ and EqAvg, and Gibby is marginally better in each category. Sigh.

Scorecard – 1975 Reds 5, 1984 Tigers 3

Next are the pitchers. Brian told me he’d get his response up before he left town so you can read it over at Tigerblog. I’ll be up north, and probably won’t be at a computer very much, so if you don’t hear from me, have a great weekend.

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