Tagged As: baseball, MLB, Sports, Yankees, Mets, Alex Rodriguez, David Wright

A few months ago if you asked me who was the best third baseman in New York I would have to begrudgingly give A-Rod the honor. He was an offensive force that successfully made the transition from shortstop to the corner.

Since then it has been confirmed that those offensive numbers were not only aided by playing in the super heat-infused air in Texas that makes every fly ball a potential souvenir in the bleachers, but also by performance enhancing drugs while he was with the Rangers. It has also been alleged that the player who once stated that the player that did not need any chemical help may have been juicing since high school.

Now, the question is who is better, the New York Yankees tarnished Alex Rodriguez or the New York Mets savior, David Wright?

A quick comparison of everything but home run numbers shows that the two are remarkably similar. If you look at the handy dandy seasonal averages on ESPN you find two players that are difficult to distinguish offensively.

There are some noticeable differences in runs and RBI, but if you remember that a home run gives you one of each I think you can safely say the numbers are equal once you discount more than a few home runs each year from A-Rod’s numbers.

Since playing third base is an actual defensive position, a defensive comparison must be made. It appears that A-Rod may actually be better, but the higher rate of errors may be a symptom of Wright's superior range that causes him to take more chances.

A more in depth investigation of the players includes a look into the postseason numbers. Most fans would tell you that A-Rod is anything but clutch as soon as the weather turns a little chilly and the pressure is on. However, he has respectable averages throughout 39 games in the playoffs. He is hitting .279, has an OBP Of .373, and an OPS of .856.

While the Yankees have been able to make postseason appearances for five or A-Rod’s six years in Yankee Stadium, most often with a better record than the new postseason dandies, the Boston Red Sox. Wright has been stuck behind the Philadelphia Phillies or the Atlanta Braves as a member of the Mets.

As a result, Wright has had a single postseason of experience, in 2006 for 10 games as the Mets swept the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games in the NLCS.

His stats through the first 10 games of the playoffs are more than less impressive. They include a .216 average, a .310 OBP, a .378 SLG, and a .688 OPS. However, 10 games after a single postseason run is hardly enough experience to deem a player a clutch bust or a postseason star.

In the end, since the numbers are so close, it comes down to which player I would rather want in my locker room. All proof seems to suggest that while steroids blew up Barry Bonds head, performance enhancing drugs blew up A-Rod’s ego, making him a “clubhouse cancer” who is obsessed with his public perception and is really quite uncomfortable with himself.

Thus, I must give Wright the title. He is a young likeable guy (26 years old) with a bright future that would get more recognition from the casual baseball fan if his team was not playing in the immense shadow of the Yankees.

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