I'd like to introduce you to a future Hall of Famer. You know his name, and may have even voted for him for the All-Star game. But if I asked you his HoF chances, you would balk. You might not immediately identify him as the best player in his league at his position.
This player, now in his fourth full season, has put up slash stats (BA/OBP/SP) of .298/.360/.504 with 82 home runs. In other words, he hits for average and power. Let's compare him to the greatest ever at his position. (The slash stats are career numbers; the home run total is for the player's first four full seasons)
Our Player .298/.360/.504 82 HR
Player A .285/.348/.482 89 HR
Player B .255/.308/.432 113 HR
Player C .308/.377/.545 127 HR
Player D .261/.357/.366 36 HR
Player E .276/.362/.500 108 HR
Remember, our current player hasn't finished his fourth season, so there are more HRs to come.
It's worth noting that Player C toiled virtually all of his career in two of the three hitting-averse parks in baseball -- Dodger and Shea Stadiums. Mike Piazza wasn't the best backstop, but he could rake like no other.
Which brings us to Brian McCann, who is no Mike Piazza at the plate, but he's at least the equal, of (in order) Yogi Berra, Johnny Bench, Bill Dickey and Roy Campanella. And that's about the best company you can keep if you're a catcher. If he can keep it up, he'll be keeping that company in Cooperstown.
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