Shawn Green vs Adrian Beltre

[Sockeye]

Who is the better player?

[KCGHOST]

The awkward part of this is that Green has played five more seasons than Beltre.

Since Green will be 34 and Beltre just 28 in 2007, it is reasonable to expect that Beltre will be better than Green from here on out. But iwll that be enough to offset the advantage that Green has built up todate. My guess is no.

[Dodgerfan1]

The awkward part of this is that Green has played five more seasons than Beltre.

Since Green will be 34 and Beltre just 28 in 2007, it is reasonable to expect that Beltre will be better than Green from here on out. But iwll that be enough to offset the advantage that Green has built up todate. My guess is no.

Agreed. Beltre has always been an underacheiver, save for the amazing season he had for LA, which is apparently an anomaly. It was his contract year too, so some might doubt his heart. Green is a solid player who doesn't put up huge numbers but usually has good ones. I take Green. I don't see Beltre having another great season until his contract expires again. Maybe he should be signed to a series of one-year contracts. Maybe he could put together two or even three excellent years then!

[Rapmaster]

Green accomplished more in his prime than Beltre could hope to. Green had some monster homerun totals playing in the Ravine and is a pretty good all around hitter. He won a couple gold gloves as well. He may not have deserved them, but he certainly was no slouch back in the day.

Adrian Beltre had a fluke season. Many say he's underachieving at the moment, but the way things are working out, it looks as if he massively overachieved in 2004. Despite his monster 2004 totals, I've never seen him as an elite hitter.

[Dodgerfan1]

Green accomplished more in his prime than Beltre could hope to. Green had some monster homerun totals playing in the Ravine and is a pretty good all around hitter. He won a couple gold gloves as well. He may not have deserved them, but he certainly was no slouch back in the day.

Adrian Beltre had a fluke season. Many say he's underachieving at the moment, but the way things are working out, it looks as if he massively overachieved in 2004. Despite his monster 2004 totals, I've never seen him as an elite hitter.

You raise a good point, Rapmaster, but the reason I feel Beltre is underachieving is that he came up to the Dodgers as a four tool player and a stud-in-waiting. He was given every chance in LA to live up to his enormous potential and, although showing flashes of promise, he fell flat, for the most part, aside from one magical year. In retrospect, it does appear that he simply overachieved for one season and that he has never been more than an average player, but the fact that he was projected by many 'experts' to become an elite major league player causes me to consider him a vast underachiever. In many ways, he is mirroring the career of another Dodger who came up to the big club amidst much ballyhoo and projected greatness, only to achieve glorious mediocrity, Raul Mondesi.

[EvanAparra]

This is tough, because these are two of my favorite players in this era. But I went with Green.