Sandberg vs. Joe Morgan

wordygurdy · **Posted:** Thu Jan 06, 2005 12:10 am

JJ,

Just for kicks I went to baseball-reference.com and compared Sandberg with Morgan. Sandberg comes out favorably in the matchup:

Morgan: 22 seasons
.271 average
2,517 hits
268 HR
1,133 RBI
689 SB
.392 OBP
.427 SLG
.981 career fielding percentage (.981 career at second base, too, in 2,527 games there)
Five-time Gold Glove winner
Two-time NL MVP and three other Top 10 finishes in the MVP voting

Sandberg: 16 seasons
.285 average
2,386 hits
277 HR
1,061 RBI
344 SB
.344 OBP
.452 SLG
.989 career fielding percentage (.989 career at second base, too, in 1,995 games there)
Nine-time Gold Glove winner
One NL MVP and two other Top 5 finishes in the MVP voting

I don't feel passionately either way about Sandberg, but on the face of it, his numbers seem solid enough for induction.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:41 am

I agree that Sandberg was one of the best second basemen; he's certainly more deserving of Hall membership than some folks inducted over the years.

Having seen (on TV) both play for years, I'd throw in that Morgan probably had better range, was a team leader and was one of the best base runners of his era. Sandberg was quiet on a team that usually lost; he wasn't much of a threat on the basepaths.

I'm too sleepy to check the records, but Morgan was one of the most prolific run scorers--high OBP, smart runner and good power for the position. He was a good enough hitter to bat third much of the time on the Big Red Machine.

Now, could someone explain what happened to Roberto Alomar? He was a cross between these two before losing it at a relatively early age. Injuries? Does he have much left?

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Sandberg vs. Joe Morgan

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