MLB Player Value SNAP SHOT: Don Mattingly and John Olerud

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​John Olerud:
WAR: 58.0
BA: .295
HR: 255
RBI: 1230
OBP: .398
SLG: .465
OPS: .863
OPS+: 129

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Don Mattingly:
WAR: 42.0
BA: .307 
HR: 222 
RBI: 1099  
OBP: .358 
SLG: .471 
OPS: .830 
OPS+: 127 

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• Don Mattingly was a Yankee. Olerud was a Blue Jay (and a Mariner, a Met, and briefly with the Red Sox).
• Olerud wore a weird thing on his head. So did Mattingly. 
• Mattingly had four top 7 finishes in MVP voting, including one MVP award
• Olerud had an absurd 15% walk rate during his prime years, while only striking out 11% of the time
• Mattingly led the league in total bases over two consecutive seasons, from 1985 to 1986
• Olerud produced a beautiful .398 on base percentage to go along with his respectable power and stellar defense
• Mattingly established a strong reputation with six solid seasons for a popular team, before essentially becoming a 2 WAR/year player for his final five seasons.
• Olerud finished in the top five in MVP voting once, but also produced five seasons of 5 WAR or more, and nine seasons of 3 WAR or more.
• Despite Mattingly's superior reputation among writers and fans, he simply does not measure up to Olerud. Olerud knew how to take a base and field his position better than most first basemen of his era, while also hitting loads of extra base hits.