A couple of weeks ago, I passed by a sports card shop in a mall. I went to that shop once or twice before, but I was just taking a look and didn’t buy anything previously. This time, I was thinking if I could find something interesting there.
I chatted with a staff member and we talked about some trends in sports card. Then, I bought some packs of baseball cards and found a decades’ best insert. Mike Trout is on the front of the card. There’s little doubt that Trout is the best player in this generation. However, I was just thinking about who was also playing well in the last decade. So, I decided to check on the great Fangraphs website.From 2010 to 2019, Nelson Cruz was the home run leader with 346 home runs and there were 4 times that he blasted at least 40 home runs in a single season. Mike Trout made his MLB debut in 2011 and the 2018 season was the last time that Jose Bautista played in the MLB. From 2010 to 2018, Bautista crushed 285 home runs and Trout crushed 285 homers from 2011 to 2019. Additionally, Albert Pujols had 290 homers from 2010 to 2019. At the same time, Edwin Encarnacion and Giancarlo Stanton each blasted 300+ home runs during this period.
In addition, Albert Pujols has collected more than 2000 RBI so far in his great career. 963 RBI came from 2010 to 2019. However, he was more productive from 2001 to 2009. He collected at least 100 RBI in each season from 2001 to 2009 and in his first 9 seasons in the majors, he collected 1112 RBI. Moreover, Nelson Cruz had 961 RBI in the last decade and Edwin Encarnacion collected 956 RBI. Furthermore, Miguel Cabrera just joined the 3000 hit club in late April. He had 900+ RBI in the last decade.
Joey Votto is well known for his plate discipline. He already drew 1300+ walks in his career. In the last decade, Votto drew 1000+ walks and there were 6 times that he drew 100+ walks in a single season. At the same time, Carlos Santana drew 944 walks during this period. Bautista didn’t play after the 2018 season, but he drew 812 walks from 2010 to 2018. Moreover, Mike Trout had 800+ walks from 2011 to 2019.
Finally, let’s look at wins above replacement. Mike Trout’s WAR was 71.2 in the last decade. Meanwhile, Buster Posey won the World Series title three times with the Giants and he was the 2012 NL MVP award winner. Posey’s WAR was over 50 in the last decade and that shows how important he was in the Giants organization. Cano’s WAR was 47.3 from 2010 to 2019, but his career had been ruined because of violating the PED policy. Furthermore, Joey Votto and Andrew McCutchen each posted at least 45 WAR in the last decade. With 71.2 WAR in the last decade, it’s quite obvious to say Trout was the best player of the decade. However, due to injury, Trout only played 36 games last year and he slashed .333/.466/.624 with 8 home runs and 18 RBI. This season, he comes back stronger. Trout currently hits .310/.411/.652 with 13 home runs and 28 RBI after playing 44 games. Perhaps, he will still be this decade’s best.
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