Saturday, June 10, 2023

1970'S ALL-DECADE TEAM: A.L. FIRST BASEMAN GEORGE SCOTT

OK!

Here's another of my picks for position player of the 1970's that I am sure will cause an argument or two: my pick for the American League's top first baseman for the decade, and here I went with a guy who played the WHOLE decade at the position, George Scott, aka "Boomer":


Now hear me out.
While Hall of Famers like Carl Yastrzemski and Rod Carew put in time at the position during the decade, they certainly did not play the whole decade there, while Scott not only did, but also took home six Gold Gloves as a first baseman between 1970 and 1979, while giving the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers serious power, even leading the league with 36 homers and 109 runs batted in in 1975.
This combination of consistent hitting and fielding for all ten years of the 1970s made this my surprise pick, as I initially thought I'd go with Yaz.
He put together an excellent career playing for the Red Sox, Brewers, Royals and Yankees between 1966 and 1979, slamming 271 home runs with 1051 RBI's, 1992 hits and a .268 batting average.
Defensively all he managed to do was take home eight Gold Gloves for his work at first base, and though he was only named to three all-star games, he garnered MVP attention in seven seasons, or half his career!
Not too shabby to say the least...
So what say ye out there, do you agree with this pick or not?
Let me hear it up on Twitter!