Jimmy Wynn

[Cougar]

Right off the bat, you've got a guy with a .366 career OBP who hit practically 300 HR and 1,000 RBI in a pitcher's park in the 1960s. He was a good fielding center fielder and a three-time All-Star who was mostly overlooked by the national press until he moved to the Dodgers later in his career (whence two of his All-Star appearances came).

Wynn put up a 129 OPS+ in more than 8,000 PA. Here'a a list of all the outfielders with a 125 OPS+ in at least 8,000 PA who have not been elected to Cooperstown:

182 Barry Bonds
154 Manny Ramirez
140 Gary Sheffield
139 Bob Johnson
137 Jack Clark
137 Reggie Smith
137 Sherry Magee
132 Jose Canseco
132 Ken Singleton
129 Bobby Bonds
129 Jimmy Wynn
128 Bobby Abreu
128 Sammy Sosa
127 Dwight Evans
126 Ellis Burks
125 Bernie Williams

You and I see eye-to-eye on PED suspects so I'll just point out that people who refuse to consider those players ought to find this list even more impressive for Wynn (he moves up from 11th to 7th).

Take note that none of the players with a better Adjusted OPS were center fielders for most of their career. And would you place more value on a pre-WWII hitter (Johnson, Magee) or someone who played within your lifetime? Not only was Wynn a better fielder than most of these (with a few notable exceptions), but he was also a better baserunner than half of them, too.

Also, don't mistake my posting this list to suggest that Wynn shouldn't be enshrined because these guys aren't - many of their careers also merit election to Cooperstown.

Without using any uber-metrics, I hope that I've illustrated that Wynn (a) has a better case for Cooperstown than you might have remembered, and (b) is squarely among the sorts of players shown on the above list, not as good as some, but better than a good number, too.

Whether that places him in Cooperstown or not depends on where you think Cooperstown does/should draw the in/out line. IMO, that line falls below James Sherman Wynn.

Was he a good fielding center fielder, though?

I'm not asking rhetorically...I have heard/read opinions on Wynn's fielding that are kind of all over the map. He was before my time, and I haven't seen much film or anything. The defensive stats on Baseball-Reference, generally what I go by, seem to indicate he was an average, if not a below average fielder.

NB: I'm not disputing your larger point.

[Jar of Flies]

Was he a good fielding center fielder, though?

I'm not asking rhetorically...I have heard/read opinions on Wynn's fielding that are kind of all over the map. He was before my time, and I haven't seen much film or anything. The defensive stats on Baseball-Reference, generally what I go by, seem to indicate he was an average, if not a below average fielder.

NB: I'm not disputing your larger point.

Looking at BR, BG, TT, BP, Wynn comes out to average in center for his career, above average in his prime.

[Chadwick]

Looking at BR, BG, TT, BP, Wynn comes out to average in center for his career, above average in his prime.

Think of it like a letter grade. A = great, B = good, C = average, D = poor, F = fail. He was a solid B, maybe a B+ in his prime. (I'm a big peak/prime guy.) Like most all fielders (of any quality), he declined significantly in his latter years. So yes, I don't think calling him a good defender in center is a stretch. Also keep in mind that - all else being equal - even an average fielder in CF is worth at least as much as a good defender in the corners.