Thoughts on this player. Comparisons? Sure-fire HOFer?

[Habsfan18]

James Sie.

Only 4 full seasons in the majors up to this point, but definitely the best Jays hitter of all-time in my 2038 file. Not a huge power/RBI guy but just a damn good hitter. 4 seasons in a row hitting at least .350, with his OBP always above .400. I love those OPS numbers and he's already pretty much a 33 WAR guy before the age of 28.

If he stays somewhat consistent with these numbers for at least a few more years, would it be wrong to consider him one of the all-time greats?

Or am I overrating my own player, here?

[captaincoop17]

He keeps this up, he'll definitely be one of the all time greats, if not the greatest of all time!

[Tram2Whitaker]

I'd sign him to a 6 or 7 year deal now, avoid arbitration. When it expires, keep him on a short leash (1 or 2 year deals, or 4 year deal with 2 team options).

I'm not saying that your experience will be the same as mine, but the aging curve is really bad, especially with really good players

[damientheomen3]

Hopefully his 2037 season isn't an anomaly and he goes back to being a .450+ OBP guy. If he can maintain that for another few seasons there shouldn't be a reason that he isn't a HOFer.

[bwburke94]

What did you have to trade to get him?

[JMDurron]

I'm rather annoyed with your Boston trade partner in this scenario.

Anyway, if he stays consistent through his mid-30s, he could go down as one of the best ever. Even a drop-off in his early 30s might leave him as a HOFer if he stays healthy.

To put this player in context, his .945 career OPS is in line with Ty Cobb's career 366/433/512 line. Sie is just trading AVG/OBP for some power. The key will be longevity, though. Sie is just in his prime, so we're probably seeing the best he will ever be, with none of the late-career decline being reflected. Ty Cobb put up that line over 24 years through age 41, while Sie has only 6 seasons through age 27.

For context, it will only take a modest career decline to put him out of the "best ever" or "HOF" discussions. Ken Griffey, Sr. and Gary Sheffield put up career OPSes near .900 over 22 seasons and aren't HOF material.

So, for now, he's looking like an all-time great. Your range of outcomes is somewhere between "Ty Cobb" and "Hall of Very Good" at this point, barring an immediate career-ending injury.

[chucksabr]

He's not an all-time great now, but he would become an all-time great if he finishes up his career with over 7,500 ABs and a 159 OPS+. That would put him in the company of Foxx, Musial, Pujols and Frank Thomas.

[DustinthePOWERHOUSE]

Originally Posted by Habsfan18

James Sie.

Only 4 full seasons in the majors up to this point, but definitely the best Jays hitter of all-time in my 2038 file. Not a huge power/RBI guy but just a damn good hitter. 4 seasons in a row hitting at least .350, with his OBP always above .400. I love those OPS numbers and he's already pretty much a 33 WAR guy before the age of 28.

If he stays somewhat consistent with these numbers for at least a few more years, would it be wrong to consider him one of the all-time greats?

Or am I overrating my own player, here?

His WAR is what makes him special. A 29 WAR in 4 years is unbelievable and his average is fantastic. He's on his way to being a hall of famer for sure.

[Raidergoo]

Originally Posted by JMDurron

So, for now, he's looking like an all-time great. Your range of outcomes is somewhere between "Ty Cobb" and "Hall of Very Good" at this point, barring an immediate career-ending injury.

Ty Cobb had his decline years during one of the hottest offensive environments in baseball history. This helped his career stats immensely. Once he turned 32, he went from being "Ty Cobb!" to a member of the "Hall of Very Good".

However, I cannot overlook Cobb being the best player in the universe from 1907-1918 when he 100 to 130 BA points better than the league average.

[chucksabr]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

Ty Cobb had his decline years during one of the hottest offensive environments in baseball history. This helped his career stats immensely. Once he turned 32, he went from being "Ty Cobb!" to a member of the "Hall of Very Good".

However, I cannot overlook Cobb being the best player in the universe from 1907-1918 when he 100 to 130 BA points better than the league average.

Ty Cobb's .360/.431/.506 and 145 OPS+ after age 32 is good enough only for the Hall of Very Good? That seems a bit tough.

For reference sake, here's a list of all the retired players with OPS+ between 140 and 149, in descending order:

Jeff Bagwell
Harry Heilmann
Jim Thome
Edgar Martinez
Mike Schmidt
Willie Stargell
Willie McCovey
Sam Crawford
Lance Berkman
Mike Piazza
Harmon Killebrew
Eddie Mathews
Eddie Collins
Chipper Jones
Larry Walker
Vladimir Guerrero
Gary Sheffield
Duke Snider

[Habsfan18]

Thanks for the responses guys!

As for what I had to give up to get him, I'll explain a bit of his back story.

Sie was drafted out of high school, 12th overall by the Seattle Mariners in 2030. One year later, Sie was dealt along with a reliever to the Boston Red Sox for a catcher who at the time was considered decent but really ended up flaming out in Seattle. No idea why the Mariners made that move, they must have REALLY needed a catcher. That, and although Sie was considered a decent prospect, nobody thought he would turn out to be THIS good. He was considered the #73 prospect in baseball at the time of the trade.

Fast forward 4 months to the 2031 off-season, and I had Drake Meyer on the trade block:

He was entering the final year of his deal and we couldn't come to terms on an extension. Boston offered me Sie for him, and I accepted.

I bet they wish they could go back and have a do-over on that one.

Although looking back, Meyer did have a damn good season in Boston.

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by Habsfan18

James Sie.

His nickname is 'Thin Man'. And he's 6'2" 230, not really something I'd consider "thin". No, I wouldn't consider him "fat" by any means, but "thin"?

No.

I'd put him in the hall of inappropriate nicknames.

[Habsfan18]

The nicknames can generally be pretty awful.

That being said, this one is bad enough that it stays.

[Padreman]

I love my Japanese Right Fielder nicknames "Tex"

[TomVeal]

Originally Posted by mirrf

His nickname is 'Thin Man'. And he's 6'2" 230, not really something I'd consider "thin". No, I wouldn't consider him "fat" by any means, but "thin"?

No.

I'd put him in the hall of inappropriate nicknames.

I imagine that he got the nickname from his habit of replaying the Thin Man movies over and over on his DVD player during plane rides.

[TomVeal]

Originally Posted by Padreman

I love my Japanese Right Fielder nicknames "Tex"

During a road trip to Houston, he went horseback riding with amusingly disastrous results, and his teammates teased him with the moniker.

Everything in OOTP makes sense if you just think about it hard enough!

[RchW]

Check out "Hacksaw". At age 27 he had 273HR a 0.349BA and a 0.496OBP. Needless to say he is an all time great and in a league with 73 years of history is the career leader in OBP SLG OPS RUNS BB WAR and HR with 711.

He was 2003 ROY and 8 time MVP including 6 in a row from 2007-12

In this case his nickname seems appropriate.

[LastMarlinsFan]

If he keeps doing what he's doing, and loses the mustache, he's got a very good shot. Another four or five years of .300/.400/.500 slash lines like he's been having and I'd say he's more or less certain to get in.

[DustinthePOWERHOUSE]

Originally Posted by Raidergoo

Ty Cobb had his decline years during one of the hottest offensive environments in baseball history. This helped his career stats immensely. Once he turned 32, he went from being "Ty Cobb!" to a member of the "Hall of Very Good".

However, I cannot overlook Cobb being the best player in the universe from 1907-1918 when he 100 to 130 BA points better than the league average.

Hall of Very good? I don't see a post-32 season that isn't elite...

[chucksabr]

Originally Posted by Padreman

I love my Japanese Right Fielder nicknames "Tex"

I can't prevent my English baseball league from assigning nicknames because I started the game before I emptied the nicknames file, but I do have to chuckle whenever the game assigns the nickname "Buckeye" to British-, Irish- and Scottish-born players. It's asinine, but also hilarious.