Rod Carew or Kirby Puckett: Who Had the Better Career?

Great Topic and nicely laid out.  The way in which you framed it really shows the strengths vs the weaknesses (if you can call them weaknesses) of each player.  Yes, Carew had better offensive stats and a longer runway--leading to more WAR.  But I'm going to say Kirby had the better "career."  The weight of those two World Series Championships and the key contributions of Kirby in them are what puts Kirby ahead of Rod for me.  Because what's the point of playing ?  It's to win the World Series right ?  And Puckett did that TWICE.  (As a kid who grew up living and dying with every at bat for Oliva and Carew this is quite difficult for me to choose Puckett over Carew, but, this is just how I feel today as I prepare to go out and shovel some Minnesota SNOW)!!    

I loved Carew and would hate to choose between them, but the thing that sets them apart was Kirby's determination to win.  His attitude was infectious, he did carry the team.  I was at all the Atlanta Brave games in the WS and Puckett was the center of attention in games six and seven.  So I take clutch Kirby, but not taking Carew hurts!  

My 2 favorite Twins players. The heroics of Puckett in the 91 World Series does it for me. Trying to compare the 2 is tough. No doubt Carew was magical with the bat. No one in his era was better than him at getting on base. I was also amazed at how many times Rod stole home. The thing that impressed me most about Puckett was the fact he could hit almost any pitch to any part of the field even if it wasn't a good pitch to hit. Had Kirby waited for a better pitch to hit he undoubtably would have walked more and his OBP would have been much higher. If you break down each of their careers only looking at their bats Carew had more seasons but both had 12 really good seasons. Carews numbers in the other 7 seasons were good but they weren't like the other 12 and Pucketts were all really good. 

I have to pick Carew on the basis of those 178 triples in 1977.  

Good article!

Nice article, 2 different but great players in their own right. Carew was a better hitter, base runner and baseball ambassador but Puckett had more power, better defense and more intensity. I pick Carew because of his longevity, breaking the home stealing record and his loyalty to Oliva.

1 hour ago, mikelink45 said:

I loved Carew and would hate to choose between them, but the thing that sets them apart was Kirby's determination to win.  His attitude was infectious, he did carry the team.  I was at all the Atlanta Brave games in the WS and Puckett was the center of attention in games six and seven.  So I take clutch Kirby, but not taking Carew hurts!  

You’re right on Game 6 in 1991.  However, as much as I appreciate all things Kirby Puckett for the Twins, he was NOT the center of attention in Game 7.  That designation goes to Jack Morris.  
Rodney had the greater overall career due to longevity - Kirby’s years with the Twins we’re better than Rodney’s. 

Both spent 12 years with the Twins, so let's use those splits:

Carew   - .334/.393/.448 12x AS, ROY, MVP, 63.8 bWAR 

Puckett - .318/.360/.477  10x AS, 6x GG, 51.2 bWAR, 2x WS Champ, 1x WS MVP

Then let's take their age 26-32 season (arguably the best 7 years of each of their careers):

Carew   - .350/.414/.468   7x AS, MVP, 49.2 bWAR

Puckett - .329/.368/.498  7x AS, 6x GG, 36.8 bWAR, 2x WS Champ, 1x WS MVP

Carew never won a GG but fielding metrics didn't hate him at either 1B or 2B.

Puckett won 10 GG but fielding metrics don't like him very much, though we remember the big plays (kind of like Jeter)

If I had the #1 overall draft pick and these were my two choices (knowing these would be their stats), I would pick Carew. But I might also just flip a coin because you couldn't go wrong choosing either...

1 hour ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I have to pick Carew on the basis of those 178 triples in 1977.  

He had a great career that season. Those 178 triples in 1977 put him in 18th place for most triples in a career. 

I don't even need to read the article. This one isn't remotely close. Rod Carew.

5 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Carew was better and I don’t think it’s a close contest. Puckett was barely above average as a hitter outside the Metrodome. Put Rod on that turf and he hits .400. Hell, he damned near hit .400 *without* turf. 

Give Carew the shifts that are used now and he would also hit 400.  You have an interesting take, but all players reflect their stadiums.  Mel Ott does not get all his HRs if he has a different home field.  Coors field provides benefits, but again, it is their stadium and if they take advantage of that they should not be thought of as less of a player.  Does the Green Monster diminish Red Sox players?  SI stadiums ranked. 

I thought the article would stop after the Carew defense and say something along the lines of, "Well, there's really not much point in continuing this exercise, is there?"

Like trying to compare players from different eras, it's tough to say one was better than the other. Each had greatness in certain aspects of the game. I'll say it's a tie though I might pick Carew over Kirby if I was starting a team since there are more center fielders better than Kirby than there are second basemen better than Rod. But I'd like to have them both.

The obvious (and likely correct) answer: Yes.

Puckett! Kirby has 2 rings. Carew has 0.

13 minutes ago, Highlander1 said:

Puckett! Kirby has 2 rings. Carew has 0.

As do Hrbek, Gagne, Gladden, Bush, Newman, & Larkin.... 

Griffey Jr. and Trout also have 0 rings.

I don't like using rings for individual player comparisons.

Great analysis, Matthew.  This question is kind of like asking me which is a better car, a BMW or a Mercedes.  Both of these players are hall of fame guys who were elite players.  That being said, I think I give an ever so slight edge to Puckett as he was a more inspirational personality than Carew and I think did a little bit better job raising the level of play and energy of those around him.  Remember when he told his teammates before game six in 1991, "get on my back tomorrow, boys, I'm going to take us home."  He did take them home.  He was a remarkable leader. 

A great article Matt, and well thought out and debated. But I think we have to define what is meant by "career" in this debate.

Even if we ignore the greater longevity of Carew...and mnfireman did an interesting 12yr breakdown between the two...his numbers are just better than Puckett's. And then you factor in similar accolades PLUS the longevity and I'd have to say Carew was better.

But if we talk about "career" as reaching the mountain top in the sport and individual accomplishment...despite it still being a team game...then Puckett had the better career as he reached and won the WS twice. So in that sense he had the better "career" by reaching that pinnacle.

They are both outstanding ballplayers to say the least.

Good points by mnfireman. Kirby had highlights at the wall, but I never saw him lay out or dive for a ball.  

Can't blame him since the ground was concrete, but he never did it on grass field either.  

6 hours ago, bean5302 said:

I don't even need to read the article. This one isn't remotely close. Rod Carew.

You can take Carew. I will stay with Puckett and two World Series championships in my back pocket. 

5 hours ago, RJA said:

 This question is kind of like asking me which is a better car, a BMW or a Mercedes.  

The answer is no.

7 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Give Carew the shifts that are used now and he would also hit 400.

Defenses wouldn't have shifted for long. He'd have hit a bunt double every time there were three infielders on the right side.

Carew is my fav twin. Puckett had the better career because he won the big games. The grind is admirable but doesn’t beat the heroics. 

2 hours ago, Nine of twelve said:

Defenses wouldn't have shifted for long. He'd have hit a bunt double every time there were three infielders on the right side.

To take it a notch further, they wouldn’t have shifted on Carew in the first place. 

4 hours ago, theBOMisthebomb said:

You can take Carew. I will stay with Puckett and two World Series championships in my back pocket. 

Puckett didn't win any championships. The teams Puckett played on won those championships.

I'd call it a tie.

Yes, Kirby got the rings, but Rod got the batting titles. They were both best at their position for a long time.

But Kirby never had to play for Calvin Griffith.

Kirby was the first guy to break the 3 million a year barrier. He was valued by management, and had a better team to play with than Rod.

Rod got traded because Griffith wouldn't pay him, and the guy would be an All-Star the next 6 seasons in Anaheim.

Pohlads were cheap, but not Calvin Griffith penny-pinching cheap. They went out an got a Blyleven, or a Morris, and put their teams over the hump. Calvin would shed stars once they became too pricey, replace them with our favorite user name, Hosken Bombo Disco, although Disco was really Willie Norwood. Hell, he even dumped Killebrew.

Impossible to compare really.

It is hard to compare 2 guys from 2 different eras and one that played a much shorter career and played very different positions.  If you look at just offense Carew was better overall.  However, Puckett played CF.  The metrics may not like him all that much, gold gloves back then went so often to high offense guys that would make a high light play now and again without any major errors.

However, he still played it at least to a point that people felt was above average defender.  Carew played two of the lower defense positions.  1b was the place you stuck a guy because you wanted his offense but defense was lacking so just asking him to mostly catch it.  That to me is where Puckett starts to catch back up.  

Where I decide Puckett would get the edge just barely is what he did in the playoffs.  Even taking away his Game 6 stuff, he was awlays willing to take the big moment and do what he could to carry the team.  He did not buckle under the pressure of post season.  Not saying Carew did, but his numbers were much worse.  

You could not go wrong with either on a team in their prime, if I had to pick one though, Puckett would get the nod just barely for me.