Elmer Valo vs. Tony Gonzalez

[Cowtipper]

We're playing the "who is better than his most similar comp" game.

My starting point was Tommy Dowd, the guy with the lowest WAR among all batters with at least 5,000 plate appearances. I hope to work my way up to *somebody* vs. Babe Ruth. That'd be cool.

Which of these players would you like to build your franchise around?

Valo:

1806 G
6901 PA
5029 AB
768 R
1420 H
228 2B
73 3B
58 HR
601 RBI
110 SB
79 CS
942 BB
284 K
.282 BA
.398 OBP
.391 SLG
.790 OPS
115 OPS+
1968 TB
111 GDP
38 HBP
65 SH
>=17 SH
>=12 IBB
25.8 WAR

Gonzalez:

1559 G
5795 PA
5195 AB
690 R
1485 H
238 2B
57 3B
103 HR
615 RBI
79 SB
61 CS
467 BB
706 K
.286 BA
.350 OBP
.413 SLG
.764 OPS
114 OPS+
2146 TB
124 GDP
71 HBP
20 SH
37 SF
63 IBB
24.5 WAR

If Valo wins, he will face his second-most similar comp's second-most similar comp. If Gonzalez wins, he will face his second-most similar comp.

Past face-offs (winner in bold):

Tommy Dowd vs. Ned Hanlon (as a player)
Ned Hanlon (as a player) vs. Joe Hornung
Ned Hanlon (as a player) vs. Curt Welch
Curt Welch vs. Blondie Purcell
Curt Welch vs. Bob Bescher
Curt Welch vs. George Pinkney
Curt Welch vs. Joe Hornung
Curt Welch vs. Rube Oldring
Curt Welch vs. Solly Hofman
Curt Welch vs. Tom York
Curt Welch vs. George Case
Curt Welch vs. Tommy Dowd
Curt Welch vs. Charlie Hemphill
Curt Welch vs. George Browne
Curt Welch vs. Jack McCarthy
Curt Welch vs. Shad Barry
Curt Welch vs. Patsy Dougherty
Patsy Dougherty vs. Carson Bigbee
Patsy Dougherty vs. Jack Smith
Patsy Dougherty vs. Johnny Bates - tie
Patsy Dougherty vs. Johnny Bates vs. Cliff Heathcote vs. Mike Mitchell
Patsy Dougherty vs. Lou Finney
Patsy Dougherty vs. Whitey Witt
Patsy Dougherty vs. Ducky Holmes
Patsy Dougherty vs. Matty McIntyre
Patsy Dougherty vs. Gene Richards
Patsy Dougherty vs. Tom Goodwin
Patsy Dougherty vs. Peanuts Lowrey
Patsy Dougherty vs. Patsy Tebeau
Patsy Dougherty vs. Billy Hatcher
Patsy Dougherty vs. Red Murray
Patsy Dougherty vs. Hi Myers
Patsy Dougherty vs. Mike Kreevich
Patsy Dougherty vs. Luis Polonia
Patsy Dougherty vs. Darryl Hamilton
Patsy Dougherty vs. Max Flack
Patsy Dougherty vs. Al Bumbry
Patsy Dougherty vs. Ron LeFlore
Ron LeFlore vs. Mookie Wilson
Ron LeFlore vs. Dan Gladden
Ron LeFlore vs. Doug Glanville
Ron LeFlore vs. Taylor Douthit
Ron LeFlore vs. Terry Puhl
Terry Puhl vs. Jerry Mumphrey
Terry Puhl vs. Les Mann
Terry Puhl vs. John Titus
John Titus vs. Amos Strunk
John Titus vs. Tommy Griffith
John Titus vs. Elmer Valo
Elmer Valo vs. Stan Javier
Elmer Valo vs. Dave Martinez

[PVNICK]

They are close but I will give my vote to Gonzalez who played post-integration. It may seem like a weak argument but they look on paper to be very close so any little thing tips the scale.

[pheasant]

Gonzalez due to league quality.

[chicagowhitesox1173]

I picked Valo, I feel he's more valuable as a hitter off the bench or in tough situations.

[Ben Grimm]

Both are very close, but with neither having much power, I'd rather take the CFer over the corner outfielder. I chose Gonzalez.

[westsidegrounds]

I picked Valo, I feel he's more valuable as a hitter off the bench or in tough situations.

I voted for Valo too, but there's only one vote for him showing up????????????????????????????????????????

[1905 Giants]

Very Very Close but I went with Gonzalez based on LQ & Position.

[Cowtipper]

I think I'm going to go with Gonzalez as well. He was a better player longer--from 1960 to 1969, he posted a 119 OPS+ while never having a season mark below 103 during that stretch. Valo's 1946 to 1952 stretch was slightly better, but he couldn't keep it up as long.