Friday, January 8, 2016

The Greatest Player to Ever Come out of Donora, PA?

We've heard the trivia many times- Stan Musial and Ken Griffey, Jr. both were born in the tiny borough of Donora, PA. Ken Griffey, Sr. was also a Donora native.


 So... What's the story of Donora? When Stan Musial was born in 1920, Donora was at its peak - the population per the 1920 U.S. Census was 14,131. By Comparison, a year after Griffey was born in 1970, the census reported a population of 8,825. A steel town 20 miles south of Pittsburgh.



Can we once and for all end the debate about the best player to come out of Donora?

Griffey won one MVP award, Musial won three. Musial had a career OPS+ of 159, while Griffey's was 136. Griffey had more Homers, Musial more base hits. Musial only stole 78 bases in his career, Griffey had 184. Musial won the World Series three times, Griffey never reached the final round of the playoffs. Griffey was a superlative defender at a premium position. Musial was a capable if unspectacular outfielder and first baseman. Musial's career WAR was 128.1, Griffey's was 83.6.

I don't think the debate will end here... but we can say both were all time greats and now both are Hall Of Famers. Congrats to the Kid and the Man.

5 comments:

  1. If I was a GM I would take Musial without thinking twice. His best years salary was only 35k! BARGAIN!!!!

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  2. The real question here is how the hell is that CC box still sealed!? If Griffey hadn't been plagued by injury there would be no debate but as is its hard to call.

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    Replies
    1. Well it's not sealed anymore...

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    2. Good, one of my favorite sets of all time. Need to find me one to bust.

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  3. It always amazes me when I go back and look at Musials stats

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