Sorry, but it’s true. Mike Schmidt has 12 points of OPS+ on him (135 to 147). Brett has a significantly higher BA, but Schmidt has a better OBP and significantly higher SLG. Bill James has them as 1) Schmidt, 2) Brett.

But, like Buzz Aldrin says, “Second comes right next to first!”

I was actually thinking about he A-Rod thing today… (And, as of now, baseball-reference has his OPS+ 1 point higher than Schmidts, but who knows how A-Rod’s decline will affect the overall line). I remember Rob Neyer talking about A-Rod moving off of SS when he first went to New York, and writing that it was sad because whereas we were once watching the greatest SS since Honus Wagner, we’re now watching the best player since Barry Bonds. But my main thought is, aren’t Schmidt and Brett pissed? Whichever one you think is better, they are a pretty solid 1-2. And now A-Rod moves, and gets “credit” for his SS years, too? How do you work out where A-Rod “goes” in ranking players by position, since he made the switch?

As for the clutch thing… well, although it isn’t as stupid as A-Rod being compared negatively to Jeter (who’s nearing the tipping point, among bloggers, of going from being called out for being so overrated that his career as a whole is being underrated) in regard to “clutch” performance, I’m guessing that a similar dynamic goes on with respect to Schmidt and Brett—particularly among Royals fans. E.g., “well, maybe every stat says Schmidt was better, but he struck out too much in big situations!”

I look at playoffs stats for 2 reasons.
#1
They are batting against the better pitchers of those teams. You get to throw out the #4/5 starters. They are smaller sample sizes but you get to throwout the grind of a 162 games. How many Ab’s does a good hitter lose because it’s a Sunday game and he’s thinking about his stupid wifes latest purchase or that his jock iches from the whore he banged the night before. It’s full concentration vs full concentration.
.236/.304/.386 in 36 G’s 140 Abs
#2 It suits my argument that he is better

Don’t even try to tell me that I’m wrong.

is the greatest athlete in human history. He was better at baseball than Jordan was at basketball. He was better at baseball than Tiger Woods is at golf. He was better at baseball than Ali was at boxing.

He’s also dreamy.

There is no doubt in my mind that if Brett’s career started in 1995/1996, his offensive numbers would be far superior. Due to the specialization of bullpen roles, I doubt he would have ever hit .390, but, playing on grass (instead of the concrete with astro-turf on top) and the smaller ballparks around the league, and the advent of emphasis being placed on OBP (taking pitches and walks being an admirable quality) – he would have astounding numbers.

That being said – Mike Schmidt would have had amazing numbers if he played in the current era too. Could you imagine how many homers he would have hit if he played in the Phillies current stadium?? He would’ve been in the 650 range.

I admitted my bias when I wrote the piece and I know there are other hitters with better stats but I had the pleasure of watching Brett for 20 years not Schmidt or Bonds. Again, bias on my part and I freely acknowledge it.