Best 1B Comparison

Best First Basemen Comparison

Ok now that I got the ball rolling, these should come out quite quickly (hopefully). As I mentioned in the catcher article, I still have some tinkering to do with how to find the best value players, but by keeping it simple I now have enough to go through each position and identify the best charts and top players efficiently based on my metrics (in case you need a refresher, look here). First base is historically a power position, and based on the card universe we have, that’s definitely the case. 

Somewhat surprisingly, a player from the original set actually leads the pack for best chart, and it’s clear as to why. Richie Sexson has 7 HRs, as well as 2 triples, a double and on at 3. Ryan Howard back in his heyday doesn’t fall far behind also having 7 HRs and a surprising triple on his card. Some fun names in here include Pujols’ 2014 season, Orlando Cepeda back in 1961 and old school Gil Hodges on the Dodgers. Cody Bellinger’s 8 OB 7 HR card is dangerous and with 1B and outfield flexibility could be a great card to utilize even at 500 points. 

Had to include the original 11 OBs here. I was lucky enough to snag both these players with booster sets as a kid and despite Giambi seeming to constantly get the advantage he ALWAYS got walks for me. I know he has a ridiculous 9 walks but I swear I don’t think he ever did anything else. This led me to using him in the two hole often. 

Now looking at the top first basement I’m honestly a bit surprised at the results. Pujols, Delgado and Giambi lead the charge followed up by the one and only John Olerud. Digging a bit deeper it goes down to OBP, SLG and OPS. There are a proliferation of 11 OB and you need to go all the way down to the 28^th rank to find a 9 OB and there are only four 9 OBs in the top 40.  There also seems to be significantly less drop off here in comparison to the catchers. In the field of 207 1B eligible players the average was 4.72 runs created which is significantly higher than the 3.39 runs from the catchers. Pujols and Delgado for the far right bar, then from Giambi to Goldschmidt form the second, and then there are 27 players in the third bar. 

Looking at the line graph one big difference between catchers and 1B is that there seems to be players above and below the line from the top to the bottom, whereas the better catchers clearly were outliers. Player one here is none other than John Olerud. Olerud rocks the elusive 11 OB and 2 outs for only 460 points. Besides that there’s not much special with the card, but that alone can make a big difference. Player 2 is another player from about the same era, however he wound up in Cooperstown, Jim Thome! For only 350 points this card packs a TON of value with 10 OB, 4 HRs and 2 doubles. Zero defense and 9 speed are definitely retractors but for only 350 points I feel like you need to sacrifice for the immense offensive production. Player 4 is the one and only Derek Lee, who somehow seems fitting plopped between Olerud and Thome. Lowe is the elusive 9 OB here, and ironically both his 1997 and 2003 cards are identical with 330 points, 19 speed, and 3 HRs. Player 4 is Olerud again. I don’t want to talk about him. Let’s leave it with three. Again, ask me for any specific dot on the chart or where someone you use falls and I’m happy to circle them to show you where they’re at. 

Once again the lower point players come out on top, however as compared to catchers there are many more higher point players here including many over 100. This is in large part because there are only 6 players with under 100 points here. I wonder why this is the case-are 1Bs more valuable? If all the catchers with low points had low defense too that might make sense, but many of them have 5+ def. Anyway it’s nice to see some potentially usable players come in here if you’re really in a pinch, as there are a few 7s and an 8 OB who can at least give you a decent chance of getting the advantage. 

Anyway this post has been long enough so I'm going to skip the points/runs or now unless people ask for it. Figured this is enough to chew on.