Top 40 VORP: An Update
Posted by SBG on Saturday, October 13th, 2007 at 8:45 am
I started a feature last year during the 2006 season writing features about the top 40 Minnesota Twins as rated by their cumulative Value Over Replacement Player or VORP. I got about half way through the list and then the season started, my wife had a baby, and so forth. So, I decided to put off finishing the list until the off-season. Since then, there has been some adjustment, as two new active players have joined the TOP 40, pushing two others out of the list. In addition, there are three other active players on the list, and each of them moved up. I've previously profiled two of them, best buddies Joe Mauer and Torii Hunter. The third one (guess who?) is a little higher up the list and he moved past three all-timers this year (one of whom has his number retired).
I plan (hope) to get through all of the players this off-season. As we move up the list, I would like to take a little more time to write better and more in depth articles. Of course, that desire directly competes with the stated goal of finishing the entire list. Another thing I've thought about is developing a history of the Minnesota Twins section in the website that chronicles the Twins over the course of the last 47 seasons, including recaps of the various teams and articles about the players. To do a bangup job with something like that would take a long, long time (it sounds like a book, actually), so I can't imagine that actually getting finished by just me. If only I could find someone (DPWY) to help me... someone who likes to do research (DPWY)... who has a website already but struggles with a poor server (DPWY).
Anyway, as part of that project, I think that it would be cool to have not just posts of players that are on the front page but are then lost in the rumble of game logs and notes from the ditch, and so forth, but static pages that can be accessed of the truly elite players in Twins history. My idea is to have a post of the TOP 40 VORP player as the beginning -- and feedback and contributions from the Nation could be incorporated into a definitive SBG Nation profile of a given player. These are probably pipe dreams, but if I could just devote my life to this page, that's what I would have. Kind of a WIKI for the Minnesota Twins.
Okay.
Let's review where we've been. Here's a list of the players that I've profiled so far and their positions in the list as of the end of the 2006 season and how that portion of the list looks after the 2007 season.
| Position | 2006 | 2007 |
| 20 | Rick Aguilera | ? |
| 21 | Eric Milton | Rick Aguilera |
| 22 | Brian Harper | Eric Milton |
| 23 | Torii Hunter | Joe Mauer |
| 24 | Earl Battey | Brian Harper |
| 25 | Eddie Guardado | Earl Battey |
| 26 | Gary Gaetti | Eddie Guardado |
| 27 | Larry Hisle | Gary Gaetti |
| 28 | Zoilo Versalles | Larry Hisle |
| 29 | Cesar Tovar | Zoilo Versalles |
| 30 | Scott Erickson | ? |
| 31 | Joe Mays | Cesar Tovar |
| 32 | Joe Mauer | Scott Erickson |
| 33 | Dave Boswell | Joe Mays |
| 34 | Steve Braun | Dave Boswell |
| 35 | Jerry Koosman | Steve Braun |
| 36 | Mike Trombley | ? |
| 37 | Jimmie Hall | Jerry Koosman |
| 38 | Geoff Zahn | Mike Trombley |
| 39 | Matt Lawton | Jimmie Hall |
| 40 | Rich Rollins | Geoff Zahn |
As you can see, Torii Hunter has moved into the top 20 and Joe Mauer moved to position 23 from 32. Also, two current players have moved into positions 36 and 30. All-timers Rich Rollins and Matt Lawton are no longer all-timers. So, I have done 21 profiles so far and I have another 21 to go (plus an update for each of Torii Hunter and Joe Mauer). I'll get cracking soon.
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Not quite sure what you're looking for, but email me a few days out before a player and I'll see what I can dig up.
That was kind of a general request, but I know one thing in particular that I'd love to talk to you about... the Carew stuff when he was traded.
With some digging, I can find an old snapshot from the Big A of Rod and the scoreboard in the distance proclaiming "3000th hit"
I look forward to the continuation of the series. That #20 was a real cliffhanger.
I"ve started work on #36.
I've narrowed it down to two people... though that's only after a few seconds of thinking about it.
After more research, I think I've figured out #36 and #30
I feel like #36 might be #36 if you know what I mean. Or maybe he's #30.
I think he's #36.
wrong.
Good to hear its up and coming, love the write-ups. Love the idea of Wiki for MN Twins, the more the better. #36 cracking the top40 means that there are now 4 pairs of guys who were traded for each other (not necessarily straight up) and both players ended up in the top40 (and now that I think about it, one of those pairs is a trio).
#20 is Lew Ford
Not to be a tease or anything, but I was just looking through some old microfilms and stumbled onto a really interesting subject. Something that occurred in my lifetime, had a huge effect on the franchise, and which I had never even begun to think about until just now...
I'm not going to rush it to post because I want it properly told so keep yourself ready.
Damn you Will, you tease! This had better be good.
Will, the Designated Hitter has beaten senseless already.
Nice to see that Joe Mauer has moved to the #1 spot in the top40 VORP list for catchers. Somebody alert Barreiro.
Don't bother Danny with facts.
Is that a Bill McNeil line? Of course Barreiro also liked to criticise the "clutchness" of KG so his Mauerbashing just falls in line there.
that singles-hitting piece of Waterford Crystal? Trade him!
Don't know how much you want to get into the nuts and bolts of a Twins wiki yet, but I'd suggest checking out wikimatrix.org's Wiki Choice Wizard when you're ready to find the wiki type that best suits what you want to do. I personally think this is an excellent idea.
There was a Twins wiki site at one point two or three years ago (I did some entries on it in the fledgling days), but I see it's no longer a registered domain. This would be a huge addition to the Twins' online following, and I'd do anything I could to support it. It's a pretty massive project, too, and I think there are probably quite a few people in the Nation who would step up and lend a hand in putting something like that online, kind of like an online barn-raising.
And by "I personally think this is an excellent idea" I mean a Twins wiki, not my suggestion of the wizard.