comment by thenewgreen

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thenewgreen · 4340 days ago · link · · parent · post: None of the 37 Candidates on the Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Are Inducted

Question for you both raised by a comment from this article that I posted, but should probably have just left here.

Does it matter that Ozzie played, at home, on turf while Trammell didn't? Would Ozzie see less grounders with eyes and bizarre hops? If so, does this impact the perceived disparity between fielding ability?

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user-inactivated · 4339 days ago · link ·

He might get less bad hops, impossible to say quantifiably, but this would have been balanced by the fact that grounders on turf move faster than grounders on grass. If anything I would call this a huge disadvantage for Smith.

+discuss+discuss

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thenewgreen · 4339 days ago · link ·

Speed is more difficult than unpredictability? I suppose that could be true given the lateral range a short stop is required to cover.

+discuss+discuss

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user-inactivated · 4339 days ago · link ·

More that every ball off turf is fast and only the rare ball off grass is unpredictable.