QUOTE (Flash Tizzle @ Jul 16, 2008 -> 03:02 AM)
Did ESPN get to you too? Cmon now, I understand all he has been through and the great statistics he has put up thus far -- but a possibility of best ever? Only into his second season.....at age 27?! He'll have to begin by inflating that .910 OPS over 1.200 at some point. Better not leave Arlington. Also, he'll have to be producing at this level far into his 30's; since he missed a good portion of his 20's enjoying the lure of sweet, sweet drugs.
If you were to compare his first two offensive seasons with those of other players he'd stack up well (still not among the greatest though -- Ted Williams and Lou Gehrig, for example, had better first two seasons), but it's tough to ignore his age. If you assume, like most players, that it takes several seasons to reach their potential -- then he should be reaching his prime around 30/31. Again, I'd question his longetivity at this point. Especially patrolling the OF. Maybe a hall of famer if everything goes right, but until he summons the ghost of Babe Ruth I'm not thinking of anything more of him.
He hasn't even played a full season yet. Kinda hard to compare his first two seasons to the greats when he hasn't even had two full seasons yet.