i9s

This is an important one. Pop Lloyd should add a name to the greatest SS of all time question, and any MLE that leaves him as anything less than a no-doubt HOFer should be interrogated aggressively.

Form his debut in 1906 as a 22 year old until the tail end of his career, he was excellent offensively, hitting for a high average with some power, and a roughly average eye for the strike zone. He was shockingly consistent, hitting over .300 for 15 consecutive seasons in these projections. He should be among the league leaders in hits a half dozen times and in steals a few years as well, a testament both to his speed and his baserunning acumen.

While there are some great years, especially in the stretch from 1909 to 1916, Pops’ value is in the body of work formed by his career. We have him ending with 3400 hits and nearly 500 2Bs over roughly a quarter-century of years. Truly spectacular.

Lloyd debuts at 2B and then shifts to SS the following year, playing there until the mid 1920s, when he shifts back to 2B and, eventually, to 1B as his mobility declines, you know, in his 40s. Lloyd was an excellent, perhaps even gold-glove level, SS in his prime, especially from, say, 1913 to 1918 or so. His later move to 2B was fairly disastrous, but he was shockingly good 1B at the end of his career, well into his 40s.

There is a challenge on what to do with the very long tail of Lloyd’s career. There are a few thing sin play here: he carried a not-quite-full-time player load well into his 40s historically; he managed those teams, so he was able to write his own name down a lot; and obviously, the historical record is just not full of many players hitting fantastically at age 48. We’ve decided to fade him out fairly slowly, becoming a part time player in his early 40s and a very occasional player until 1931 (age 47). We could be convinced his playing career end after 1923 and we could be convinced he deserved another 100 PAs from 1921 on, but for now, we’re happy with this shape.

It also allows for his eye popping 1928 season, albeit in under 100 PAs, which is a fun curiosity.

One of the all time greats.

Name	John Henry Lloyd (Pop)
ID / Status	henry 048joh / Draft
Pos	SS
DOB / i9s Career	04/25/1884 / 1906 - 1931
Birthplace	Palatka, FL (USA)
Height / Weight	5'11" / 180
B / T	L / R

 

Batting Projections

Year	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1906	374	89	11	5	0	31	35	14	6	0.238	0.296	0.294	0.590
1907	421	110	18	6	1	29	25	14	6	0.261	0.309	0.340	0.649
1908	497	166	18	7	2	27	39	27	8	0.334	0.368	0.410	0.779
1909	447	166	19	7	2	31	43	22	9	0.371	0.412	0.459	0.871
1910	589	208	33	12	4	49	46	37	10	0.353	0.403	0.470	0.873
1911	585	223	32	14	5	54	49	79	13	0.381	0.433	0.509	0.943
1912	583	186	33	12	5	53	46	79	21	0.319	0.376	0.443	0.818
1913	642	226	33	11	1	56	53	42	13	0.352	0.404	0.442	0.846
1914	575	178	26	14	3	48	41	31	7	0.310	0.363	0.419	0.782
1915	644	229	32	12	2	65	47	105	32	0.356	0.415	0.452	0.867
1916	623	207	27	13	1	42	38	32	8	0.332	0.374	0.422	0.797
1917	568	199	35	12	3	46	33	48	8	0.350	0.399	0.470	0.869
1918	624	192	29	9	2	44	33	49	8	0.308	0.353	0.393	0.746
1919	495	157	26	7	0	29	29	27	5	0.317	0.355	0.398	0.753
1920	426	142	20	9	3	39	21	40	19	0.333	0.382	0.462	0.847
1921	333	111	19	8	3	26	16	25	11	0.333	0.382	0.465	0.847
1922	467	166	21	10	6	37	17	35	13	0.355	0.403	0.482	0.885
1923	368	108	19	6	3	23	14	9	4	0.293	0.335	0.402	0.737
1924	200	77	9	2	2	17	5	16	5	0.385	0.433	0.480	0.913
1925	267	84	10	3	3	21	6	17	5	0.315	0.365	0.408	0.773
1926	223	59	8	3	2	11	6	5	1	0.265	0.299	0.354	0.653
1927	184	45	6	1	0	8	8	3	1	0.245	0.276	0.288	0.564
1928	74	30	3	1	3	5	3	2	1	0.405	0.443	0.595	1.038
1929	65	20	1	0	0	3	3	2	1	0.308	0.338	0.323	0.661
1930	83	21	1	0	1	1	4	1	1	0.253	0.262	0.301	0.563
1931	34	7	1	1	0	2	4	0	0	0.206	0.250	0.294	0.544

 

Pitching Projections