Lou Brock vs Jim Rice

[Sockeye]

I'm going to run a series of polls with the winner advancing each time to face another opponent. Will leave each poll up for a week. I'll try to provide as much statistical information as possible. Hopefully we can get some lively insightful debates going and bring to light some overlooked players from yesteryear.
If you could pick between these two players to start your franchise with which would you pick? Please consider all relavent information. Their careers as a whole, peak performance, hitting, fielding, baserunning, positional value, league quality, etc.

Jim Rice

2089 games
9058 plate appearances
8225 at-bats
1249 runs
2452 hits
373 doubles
79 triples
382 home runs
1451 RBI
58 stolen bases
34 caught stealing
670 walks
1423 strikeouts
.298 AVG
.352 OBP
.502 SLG
.854 OPS
128 OPS+
4129 total bases
1384 runs created
6.0 RC/G
102 AIR
.628 OW%
.798 Total Average
.288 Secondary Average
278.5 Win Shares
128.1 WSAB
44.3 rWAR
56.1 fWAR
44.4 sWAR

Lou Brock

2616 games
11240 plate appearances
10332 at-bats
1610 runs
3023 hits
486 doubles
141 triples
149 home runs
900 RBI
938 stolen bases
307 caught stealing
761 walks
1730 strikeouts
.293 AVG
.343 OBP
.410 SLG
.753 OPS
109 OPS+
4238 total bases
1512 runs created
5.2 RC/G
96 AIR
.598 OW%
.735 Total Average
.252 Secondary Average
346.4 Win Shares
140.8 WSAB
42.8 rWAR
53.2 fWAR
42.7 sWAR

Previous results

Willie Montanez vs Dave Kingman
Dave Kingman vs Dante Bichette
Dave Kingman vs Jose Guillen
Dave Kingman vs Dave Philley
Dave Kingman vs Shano Collins
Dave Kingman vs Eric Karros
Dave Kingman vs Charlie Grimm
Charlie Grimm vs Juan Gonzalez
Juan Gonzalez vs Bill Buckner
Juan Gonzalez vs Ruben Sierra
Juan Gonzalez vs Gee Walker
Juan Gonzalez vs Patsy Donovan
Juan Gonzalez vs Joe Carter
Juan Gonzalez vs Tommy Davis
Juan Gonzalez vs Charlie Jamieson
Juan Gonzalez vs Jeff Conine
Juan Gonzalez vs Hal Chase
Juan Gonzalez vs Lee May
Juan Gonzalez vs Joe Kuhel
Juan Gonzalez vs Willie Horton
Juan Gonzalez vs Chris Chambliss
Juan Gonzalez vs Hal McRae
Juan Gonzalez vs Andres Galarraga
Juan Gonzalez vs George Hendrick
Juan Gonzalez vs Garret Anderson
Juan Gonzalez vs George Burns
Juan Gonzalez vs Wally Moses
Juan Gonzalez vs Del Ennis
Juan Gonzalez vs Don Baylor
Juan Gonzalez vs Shawn Green
Juan Gonzalez vs Stuffy McInnis
Juan Gonzalez vs Wally Pipp
Juan Gonzalez vs Gary Matthews
Juan Gonzalez vs Bobby Bonilla
Juan Gonzalez vs Mickey Vernon
Mickey Vernon vs Jose Canseco
Mickey Vernon vs Carlos Delgado
Carlos Delgado vs B.J. Surhoff
Carlos Delgado vs Ken Griffey Sr
Carlos Delgado vs Wally Joyner
Carlos Delgado vs Cecil Cooper
Carlos Delgado vs Jim Bottomley
Carlos Delgado vs Harold Baines
Carlos Delgado vs Chili Davis
Carlos Delgado vs Steve Garvey
Carlos Delgado vs Magglio Ordonez
Carlos Delgado vs Paul O'Neil
Carlos Delgado vs Dave Parker
Carlos Delgado vs Moises Alou
Carlos Delgado vs Jake Daubert
Carlos Delgado vs George J Burns
Carlos Delgado vs Felipe Alou
Carlos Delgado vs Don Mattingly
Carlos Delgado vs Hugh Duffy
Carlos Delgado vs Al Oliver
Carlos Delgado vs Dixie Walker
Carlos Delgado vs Fred Tenney
Carlos Delgado vs Chuck Klein
Carlos Delgado vs Heinie Manush
Carlos Delgado vs Rusty Staub
Carlos Delgado vs Joe Judge
Carlos Delgado vs Mark Grace
Carlos Delgado vs Ed Konetchy
Carlos Delgado vs Bobby Veach
Carlos Delgado vs Jim Rice

[PVNICK]

Interesting. Neither has a defensive gold star. Rice kills on OPS+. Brock on win shares. Brock has the base stealing-running. I'm gonna have to think about this one. It may be that Brock's all-time stud record in the WS will tip the scale for me.

[GiambiJuice]

I think they're two of the more overrated players in the HOF, but I would choose Lou Brock between the two. The stolen base record (since broken by Rickey Henderson) was a significant accomplishment, as is 3,000 hits. All Rice really has going for him is the monster 1978 season (which is not as historic as some would believe) and a span from around 1977-1983 where he was referred to as 'Most Feared Hitter In The American League' - yet he was only 7th in the AL in intentional walks during that span, hmmm.

[Los Bravos]

This should offer a little grim entertainment

Two of this board's favorite targets.

Too bad Catfish Hunter couldn't have been worked in somehow.

[Cowtipper]

I went with Lou Brock. Stolen bases might not be 'worth' much, but man, they are exciting.

[Captain Cold Nose]

Rice is a personal favorite, but Brock's base running gives him an edge in the unique department. A slugger like Rice would be easier to replace on a team than a guy who's dangerous on the base paths when he gets there.

[64Cards]

If my home field is Busch Stadium of the 70's I'd take Brock. And if it was Fenway I'd want Rice.

[pheasant]

I'll take Jim Rice by a whisker over Lou Brock. I think Rice was better defensively than Brock, which tips the scale in his favor.

[brett]

If my home field is Busch Stadium of the 70's I'd take Brock. And if it was Fenway I'd want Rice.

I'd go for that. Rice was .277/.330/.467 on the road. Even with a normal adjustment that would be .282/.335/.475 given a normal home park, and fewer than 1300 RBI.

[TomBodet]

Oh that's easy. Rice was a beast '77-79(no '78 wasn't his only great yr), and if you are staying in the AL, its gotta be him. Brock was a really good leadoff guy and deserves better tnan he gets from our friends the borg.