Gunnar Henderson's Career Start Compared to Cal Ripken Jr's

[Malike]

2 hours ago, Three Run Homer said:

He may not win an MVP award this year, but I think he is the most valuable property in baseball right now, considering his age, current performance, projection, salary and service time.   

I'm fairly confident that Corbin Carroll is at the top of a lot of folks' lists. He's also 22 years old.

[Yossarian]

1 hour ago, Malike said:

I'm fairly confident that Corbin Carroll is at the top of a lot of folks' lists. He's also 22 years old.

Julio Rodriguez is 22 and has a career WAR of 8.5 already. I would say he's up there, too.

[Baltimorecuse]

I know things aren't done this way but if I were the O's I'd be looking to sign Gunnar to a long term contract now.  

Gunnar has all the talent you can imagine.  I think he can put up Mike Trout numbers.  

[Roll Tide]

It’s going to take a real hot streak for Gunnar to catch up. I think the batting average would need to improve 20-40 points. 

[Billy F-Face3]

6 hours ago, Alasdaire said:

Is there a comp you're making beyond that they're both advanced left-side infielders for the Orioles who took a bit of time to adjust to the major leagues before emerging as very good players?

The only  comp, or point that I was making was that they were both great players and even great players take a little period to adjust to Major League pitching. At the time of the original post, there were alot of people who were down on Gunnar. 

My main point was to show that if fans are simply more patient, than everything will be alright.

Using Cal's career start to compare was applicable because of their similar athletic sizes and draft positions to go with the positions they both play.  But nothing more than that.

[Just Regular]

Just outside the 1st round prep bats are the primordial ooze of Ripken and Murray.

As I sit with this morning's coffee, he's a Rookie of the Year candidate and if Ohtani changes LA teams I could see him mixing in the MVP race next year with the kind of growth you hope an Age 23 season can bring.

 

[RZNJ]

2 hours ago, Baltimorecuse said:

I know things aren't done this way but if I were the O's I'd be looking to sign Gunnar to a long term contract now.  

Gunnar has all the talent you can imagine.  I think he can put up Mike Trout numbers.  

I wouldn’t compare him to Trout.  However, if there is one guy to make the face of the franchise and risk a huge long term contract on, my belief is that he’s the one.   Special athlete.   Driven and determined. 

[Billy F-Face3]

Time stamp at 5:52

 

[Gurgi]

5 hours ago, Malike said:

I'm fairly confident that Corbin Carroll is at the top of a lot of folks' lists. He's also 22 years old.

Corbin is amazing but he plays left field and he already has a chronic injury issue.  I think most GMs out there would pick Gunnar between the two even just to avoid the shoulder issues of Corbin.  

[Baltimorecuse]

16 minutes ago, Billy F-Face3 said:

Time stamp at 5:52

 

That guy echos my thoughts.  

[Just Regular]

Billy's "I can't teach it donkey" label I thought wasn't bad.

The graphic that the last 7 World Series champions started the same SS every tournament game was a new tidbit for me, but not surprising.    SS like QB - you got two, you got none.

[Malike]

3 hours ago, Gurgi said:

Corbin is amazing but he plays left field and he already has a chronic injury issue.  I think most GMs out there would pick Gunnar between the two even just to avoid the shoulder issues of Corbin.  

He's also signed through 2030 at 13.8M per year, he's ridiculously cheap for the production. He's also had more ABs than Gunnar this year, how chronic is his injury? If we could get Gunnar for 8/111 then that would be something, and we clearly won't.

[Brooks The Great]

28 minutes ago, Malike said:

He's also signed through 2030 at 13.8M per year, he's ridiculously cheap for the production. He's also had more ABs than Gunnar this year, how chronic is his injury? If we could get Gunnar for 8/111 then that would be something, and we clearly won't.

Injury is chronic enough that he's had to exit games two different times this season because of the shoulder. But he's been able to come back quickly both times.

I'd be terrified of the shoulder if I'm the Dbacks. But I hope Carroll stays healthy, I love watching great talents like him (and Gunnar) play. It's a shame guys like Mike Trout and Ken Griffey Jr. have dealt/dealt with so many injuries in their careers.

[Billy F-Face3]

Now that we have been able to watch Gunnar Henderson's rookie season progress, we are able to look at the statistics and compare with Cal's. Picking up from the original post's sample size in May 28, going from there all the way up to today, Gunnar has 403 Plate Appearances.  If I continue onward into Cal's career from where I left off in the original post's plate appearances, Cal will have 405 Plate Appearances from that point onward, which was the completion of his 1982 season all the way to a few games at the start of the 1983 season. Here's what the statistics show...

Gunnar Henderson, May 28, 2023 - September 18, 2023

403 PA, 106 Hits, 20 Doubles, 7, Triples, 22 HRs, 67 R, 68 RBI, 7 SB, 5.7% BB 23.6% K, .322 BABIP, .283 BA, .325 OBP, .549 SLG, .874 OPS, .366 wOBA, 136 wRC+

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/gunnar-henderson/26289/game-log?position=3B&season=&gds=2023-05-28&gde=2023-09-18&type=0

Cal Ripken Jr, June 28, 1982 - April 09, 1983

405 PA, 93 Hits, 16 Doubles, 2 Triples, 20 HRs, 61 R, 53 RBI, 1 SB, 9.1% BB, 16.0% K, .261 BABIP, .258 BA, .327 OBP, .479 SLG, .806 OPS, .353 wOBA, 120 wRC+.

https://www.fangraphs.com/players/cal-ripken/1010978/game-log?position=SS&season=&gds=1982-06-28&gde=1983-04-09&type=0

In spite of Gunnar's slow start to the season, with nearly the same sample size, with 2 less plate appearances than Cal, Gunnar Henderson has exceeded the starting performance of Cal Ripken Jr's career. And Cal is a Hall of Fame player beloved by all in Baltimore and around baseball.  The only statistics in which Cal still has a better number are the walk rate, OBP, and K rate. The OBP is only .002 of a difference so it's essentially the same.

Gunnar has exceeded Cal's rookie season in wRC+ significantly.

 

I say all this to remind everyone of how special this season is. We can all look back and remember how much we admire the legendary Hall of Fame career that his been a player like Cal, but we should also take time to enjoy the players who are creating their own special place in Baseball history, while we are living it. Sometimes in life we don't appreciate things enough until the moment has passed. I share this comparison in the hopes that we can really enjoy this season and the blossoming careers of our key players, and that we can soak it all in.

[Mooreisbetter27]

How would someone look up the Orioles rookie record for triples?  Gunnar is at 9.