Griffey, Trout, or DiMaggio? | MLB Now

Brian Kenny and Mad Dog go at it on MLB Now Showdown to discuss where Mike Trout stacks up against some of the greatest CF of all-time.

[@ahronr25]

Mad Dog can’t go one day without mentioning DiMaggio

[@brando7266]

Because they r both Italian,

[@louiet2679]

Because hes the goat lol

[@brando7266]

@@louiet2679 babe Ruth is the 🐐,

[@tedfio1tedfio1]

DiMaggio is as great as any Centerfielder!

[@DeDona1]

Russo didn't love Di Maggio. Trout strikes out 150 plus times a year and never won a world series 😊

[@Phoneybeetlemaniacxs]

My cf goes Mantle/mays they are my joint 1 st Griffey Trout Di Maggio

[@kurtwagner350]

Excellent listing

[@mattr27]

Anyone who says Trout or Griffey is better than DiMaggio is delusional

[@ryanolson2308]

Lol right cause you saw DiMaggio play? Give me a break

[@mattr27]

@@ryanolson2308 that doesn't matter. You can't just ignore the past and act like it didn't happen. It's not DiMaggio's fault he was born back then

[@jakehendricks3844]

@mattr27 Ever heard of anyone fishing for DiMaggios? 😂😂 they literally named a species of fish after the guy

[@alberthaust4542]

I must be delusional.

[@ryanolson2308]

@@mattr27 Trouts stats are just as good if not better so what are you even talking about then?

[@patricknashh]

Griffey > Trout > DiMaggio is the only correct answer

[@paraisoinformativo]

The fact that Joe DiMaggio got in the Hall of Fame on his third ballot is beyond comprehension. How it takes you three years to realize that he was a hall of famer

[@jeffjacobson59]

He only played like 13 years

[@ChrisP-in8qr]

@@jeffjacobson59 only?? dude you act like he's Gale Sayers or something lol

[@fortynights1513]

⁠@@ChrisP-in8qrGiven that voters way back then had mostly career totals to go off of, I could see why some thought DiMaggio’s totals were too low given that he played 13 years. Today he’d be a consensus first ballot Hall of Famer.

[@Michael-ep9nt]

​@ChrisP-in8qr this is a video about baseball not football id1ot

[@ericpantalone5229]

This is great but Mantle is a better comp to Trout so I'm not sure the point from a WAR standpoint. And its clear that the peak says Trout is better tban than both Dimaggio and Griffey and I'm a Yankee fan

[@coburnboeder2320]

Russo is the Skip Bayless of baseball

[@kevinmadden1645]

Is that a compliment or an insult?

[@gkdunch]

@@kevinmadden1645 yes

[@antonioprovenzano5130]

​@@kevinmadden1645 whaddya care youre his mamma

[@adammiller8597]

Skips worse

[@kennethhanes5702]

That’d be a compliment. Don’t get me wrong, skip isn’t great, but Russo is just objectively wrong about almost everything

[@raybarsamian5221]

Trout is good but he isn't in the same league as Joe Dimaggio and Ted Williams

[@louiet2679]

Joe d then griffey then trout. But trouts awful lol

[@patrickpitamber]

Griffey way better trout isn't that great

[@bubbspelch1134]

Lol smelling to much salts.

[@jamieeaton7839]

​@@bubbspelch1134 Look up the stats again Trout fan boy! 6 hundred and 30 home runs 10 gold gloves for Griffey Trout no gold gloves 270 home runs back and a broken wrist 😢😢

[@MistaGrim]

Mad Dog stuck in the 40's

[@DeDona1]

Nah

[@ChrisP-in8qr]

thats not a bad thing

[@joshuahodge8804]

Give me Ken Griffey any day of the week, and twice on Tuesday.

[@TOCC50]

Yup

[@Markdfadf]

Your opinion is based on nothing though. If Trout retired today, he was already better than Griffey. It is a fact. Trout's peak was waaaaay higher (like not even close) and he also has a higher career WAR already. Griffey had NO All Star worthy seasons his last 10 years in the league. His highest WAR season after age 30 was 2.9. Trout is in a whole different universe from Griffey.

[@joshuahodge8804]

@@Markdfadf L take 😂

[@Markdfadf]

​@@joshuahodge8804 They aren't close. It isn't even an opinion as much as it is a fact because the evidence for Trout is so overwhelming. Trout WAR - 85.1 Griffey WAR - 83.8 Trout WAR7 - 65.1 Griffey WAR7-54 Trout Wins Above Average- 63.5 Griffey Wins Above Average - 46.8 Trout OPS+ 173 Griffey OPS 136

[@realmenstandup8944]

Look trout is a hall a famer but Joe D is a legend not to just the Yankees but in baseball history

[@patrickpitamber]

No comparison DiMaggio 9 rings

[@jameshudson169]

joe dimaggio hit 350hr while striking less than 350 times. i don't think anybody has done that. i don't see anybody else close.

[@zackinwald9581]

Joe DiMaggio is an American icon and a top 10 player of all time trout is lucky if he ends up being the best angle of all time Brian is a moron for thinking otherwise

[@jamieeaton7839]

I couldn't have said it better myself! They use war to sell the new baseball players to the young fans that don't no better.

[@CarsonWalker-s6y]

Trout and Griffey are both miles ahead of DiMaggio... I take Griffey over Trout, but DiMaggio barely belongs in the conversation. Trout has a higher average WAR, a higher OPS+ (176 vs 155), Trout broke his HR record, and he has more stolen bases and a higher success rate in over 6-7x the attempts of DiMaggio. Not to mention that the talent pool today is miles ahead of the talent pool in the 1930s and 1940s, the average replacement player is better than the average replacement-level player of his time, and while Trout definitely has more strikeouts, the league average on strikeouts has increased 456.37% (298 to 1360) and the total number of strikeouts rose from 7,444 to 40,812 (over 548.25%) because pitchers are getting better and hitters are hitting for more power. Trout has played against better competition than DiMaggio and has already surpassed him in SEVERAL career-number categories.

[@zackinwald9581]

@@CarsonWalker-s6y all that and he’s still ringless 😂

[@SW-qk9jx]

DiMaggio's legend is hugely helped by how much everyone celebrated his achievements and joined in with the love and excitement. If Russo was there, he would have been saying that Joe had nothing on Tris Speaker and Ty Cobb. Russo has a platform and uses it to diminish the legacy of the modern day ballplayer. He has absolutely no perspective around the role he could be playing in baseball history, when people look back on these times.

[@gabrielv.2647]

I have to go with a healthy Griffey, the years he lost to the D.L his numbers would be even more amazing then they already are, on top of just pure god given talent.

[@-C.S.R]

100%

[@jamieeaton7839]

Griffey all the way!

[@Rebel-eq7ul]

Mays, Mantle, Griffey Jr, DiMaggio, Trout top 5 CF’s in that order. Trout needs to win playoff games in my eyes. Kelly diminishes the past and Dog diminishes the present. Kelly is wrong when he cherry picks certain stats and ignores other stats. Dog is annoying when he ignores stats. Both are entertaining and perfect for each other. Good tv. But off screen I bet they’d be more realistic

[@andrewmcgill9544]

Griffey easily

[@tapster714]

Joe would not be able to hit a 14 year old from the Dominican

[@TheWavyWorldOfJuice]

Thats dumb ..

[@kevinmadden1645]

Maybe but he could certainly hit watered- down expansion pitching.

[@ericpantalone5229]

Dumb argument...All modern players of all sports are better...The equipment, fitness, nutrition, technology etc is all better. It sounded good, but it was dumb. Its the accomplishments relative to peers you look at.

[@gregoryphillips3969]

DiMaggio was great no doubt but he played in an era where not everyone was allowed to play and in 1941 with WW2 going on when DiMaggio has his 56 game hitting streak the talent base was depleted even more because so many able bodied young men had been drafted. DiMaggio was playing against a very watered down talent pool. How would have done having to face some of the great black and latin players of the day?

[@MrDeterioration]

The talent pool isn't "watered down" now??? The game is full of .220 hitters and pitchers with ERAs over 5.

[@gregoryphillips3969]

@@MrDeterioration For most of Dimaggio's career blacks and Latinos were not allowed to play. In 1941 one of Dimaggio's greatest years you had the military draft taking many of the most able bodied white athletes away. Anyone with any knowledge of history recognizes this. It's not an argument. Lastly most serious people who reference the hall of fame are looking to the time that encompasses people like Mays, Aaron, Clemente, Rose, Palmer, Schmidt, Bench, Gibson, Koufax, Robinson, Seaver, Marichal, Jackson, Griffy etc. In other words people who played at a time where everyone was allowed to participate and baseball was being played at a level that captured everyone's imagination. I agree with you about baseball of today., The era l am speaking of can't be tainted by what is going on today.

[@mikeimpressionsreviews9831]

And how many blacks play today? Latin players is a good amt but blacks don’t care about baseball. It’s rock music to them

[@highlonesome-coloradobluegrass]

DiMaggio was not known for his baserunning Trout is.

[@STATUSBABYYY]

Griffey >

[@rdj252]

Griffey. Not even close. DiMaggio and Trout are vastly overrated. Griffey was the full package. Sure he got hurt, but unlike Trout he still played and wasn’t made of glass. He got hurt playing hard defense not running to first base. Griffey was definitely better all around that DiMaggio too. Trout strikes out way too much and is the king of solo homers just ask Angel fans. They have their own forums on that. Look at Griffey’s numbers all time too. Buried them. Trout is a distant third.

[@peterpellechia5985]

This guy dont know what he is talking about.bell kenny!!!!

[@CertifiedDiming]

Dimaggio hitting against plumbers and iron workers

[@MM33003]

DiMaggio played in the 30s and 40s, not the 10s and 20s. By that time, players were full time.

[@ericgoldfarb4870]

From the moment joe d played his first game may 1936 till he retired he was the best player in mlb.

[@t206kid]

the hitting streak is a bit overrated. I mean you can go 1 for 5 every game, bat .200, and beat the streak

[@topspot4834]

Why can't you black first and home but not second?

[@razkable]

Did brian really compare 11 years to 7 lol...

[@um52]

As amazing as he was in his prime it shocks me how trout never won a gold glove.

[@-C.S.R]

I'll take Griffey over Trout.

[@TOCC50]

Yeah

[@razkable]

Yankee hater brian shows up again

[@JVIEW32]

two ringless wonders

[@kenrobinson7563]

Found the Yankees fan

[@pizzathehut1674]

Griffey is the best ever

[@bella100107]

Griffey ALL day

[@ericjencson9489]

Probably Griffey

[@imheel9727]

Mike trout will be better than DiMaggio if he already isn’t

[@TOCC50]

Not better than Griffey

[@imheel9727]

@@TOCC50 he is right now sorry

[@jamieeaton7839]

Your lost! DiMaggio lost his prime years he had to go to war he had a 56 game hitting streak!!!! Never strikes out Trout strikes out every other at bat. War is something MLB has made to help sell the new baseball players that can't hit how come they didn't come with this stat before? Players now can barely hit 300 hundred batting average 😂😂😂

[@jamieeaton7839]

@@imheel9727I love Mike trout! I love him man! Lol fan boy hahaha 263 batting average give me a break! Never gets 200 Hits in a season can't reach 100 plus RBI he did it like two times never won a gold glove never hi 50 home runs get the hell out of here fan boy!

[@hw5091]

not even close. He's closer to jr, but not there either. I'd take a lot of cf's before him all time as well.

[@w1ntertide]

DiMaggio better

[@peterpellechia5985]

Bill kenny

[@wimbledon5353]

Chris Russo represents an insufferable segment of Baseball fans who refuse to give modern players their due. Griffey and Trout are better than DiMaggio in every possible metric besides WS rings. The Yankees usually had the most stacked teams, and being in the Yankees means you will win several rings...

[@topspot4834]

Brushing off the military service, those are prime years. I'd take a healthy Griffey over both though.

[@slashdrax]

The runner is supposed to get half the bag. If they don't like getting their fingers hurt, go cleats first. The fielder will learn their lesson. It's a self correcting problem. Don't throw new rules at everything. They already ruined double plays because Flores decided to commit the sin of spinning and got punished for it.

[@tedfio1tedfio1]

Dimaggio played at Yankee Stadium where Center Field was 490 feet known as Death Valley, if he played in today's ballparks he would have a lot more records.

[@jadenkelly5969]

And with that willie Mays was still better

[@tedfio1tedfio1]

@@jadenkelly5969 DiMaggio was before my time but from what I have seen he was as smooth as silk. He missed 3 Prime years in WWII where Mays missed one. I don't know how or why you picked Mays but I say he was right there with "The Say Hey Kid."

[@jadenkelly5969]

@@tedfio1tedfio1 He didn’t do anything but hit better than Mays and even that is debatable.

[@tedfio1tedfio1]

@@jadenkelly5969 "He didn't do anything but hit better than Mays," LMAO... That says a lot! He was a CAPTAIN/LEADER winning 9 WS = CLUTCH. He hit much better for Average, and RBIs where he had 100+ his first 7 seasons, and at least 95 his first 10 years with Military Service in between. He only played 13 years due to Military Service, Old Man Willie played 23 years. Compare their first 10 years and Dimaggio tears Mays apart! He was every bit as good Defensively as Mays, he didn't show off. You are the one who brought up the comparison, I am just giving you the facts!

[@jadenkelly5969]

@@tedfio1tedfio1 The Yankees were already a winning team before joe got there. Sure he contributed a lot to the team but switch out both of their career for a minute. Put Joe on the giants and Mays on the Yankees. You don’t think Mays would at least have five rings? Just like Jeter, if DiMaggio played for any other team he wouldn’t be as glorified as he is. I think most people would actually agree with me on this. It’s just old timers like you who won’t let go of the past and desperately hanging on to it by a thread. Mays is better. Plain and simple.

[@bubbspelch1134]

Trout can get to 6 np. He has at least 8 9 yrs left avg 30 a yr

[@DillonDeluxeEdition]

Mmmm I’d take Steven Drew over all of them

[@jasonfulton1615]

My 2 favorite baseball personalities.

[@manfrombc5162]

I don't count anyone who played pre segregation as an all time great. I get DiMaggio continued to play after, but for the sake of this comparison it is prior.

[@bobby8164]

Then you’re really blocking out a lot of baseball talent

[@manfrombc5162]

@@bobby8164 I agree. It's not really their fault, but I don't know what else to do when comparing all time status and the competition pool is watered down. I know there are then other places that a line can be drawn later, but Jackie Robinson's debut is just a clean cut off point IMO

[@TempeLane11552]

Pre-1947 the talent was so diminished that those players can't be compared to those who competed against the full player pool. Would DiMaggio have hit in 56 straight if he had to face black, Latin, and Asian pitching? Not to mention the better defense if all players were in MLB.

[@SW-qk9jx]

@@bobby8164 That is literally the entire point. Baseball was blocking out a lot of baseball talent, so pre-segregation, the players in the majors were not facing the best of the best.

[@MM33003]

@@manfrombc5162 To be fair, most pitchers in today’s game are white.

[@dennisquigney3809]

Kenny Lofton was at least on par with Griffey defensively if not better. They were both unbelievable defenders. Kenny was faster, griffey was smoother and had a better arm. But Kenny could Jump out of the gym! He was a basketball player in college at Arizona.

[@joel8692]

Hell no

[@romeocasido5723]

It's Trout

[@erichedgepeth5638]

Griffey is the greatest center fielder

[@fortynights1513]

Of those three, yes. All time, I might take Aaron or Mays over him as a Mariner fan.

[@danielgray8053]

DiMaggio was hitting 75 mph fastballs lol. or were they 85? Come on you gotta figure pitching is way better nowadays . all the videos from back then , lol it looks like they are lobbing it in there. Is it because of the frame rate or is that how they were really throwing. iono back then I feel like they were throwing grapefruits compared to what they were throwing today. Of course I can't be sure.......

[@patrickgoodman4576]

Guys threw plenty fast back in joe d’s day and before. The main difference is nowadays more guys throw hard now more often

[@MrDeterioration]

Bob Feller threw in the upper 90s.

[@ChrisP-in8qr]

@@MrDeterioration exactly and Walter Johnson in the 90s as well. who's this guy kidding? he hit .342 and 11 Home runs off Feller a guy who same say touched 100 MPH.

[@jamaalcarter909]

What about Willie Mays

[@TOCC50]

DMTBKA

[@jayflores182]

Um Trout’s career isn’t over so he’s going blow by Joe D’s numbers

[@jamieeaton7839]

Hahaha way to go! Down goes Trout with a broken wrist😢

[@brandondillman5841]

I don't care what anybody says. Russo is a hardcore Yankee fan.

[@brando7266]

Isn't he a giant fan,?

[@brandondillman5841]

@@brando7266 That's what everybody says. But every time anything Yankee related comes up he just gushes over them. Doesn't matter what it is.

[@brando7266]

@@brandondillman5841 he respects them, but roots against them,

[@Cmass9]

Trout >>

[@ambadale]

Answer us this - what has Trout ever won, as a teammate?

[@Grande79]

I’m a Yankee fan and I would say JR is the best player of the 3

[@Crush_Tiggrr]

Frank Thomas minus the fielding. Thomas should be in these conversations way more often.

[@jcaaata7338]

Trout is easily the best outfielder outta these 3

[@kenrobinson7563]

Trippin Griffey was way better