GoCrazy

I think the fact that he entered his prime in over the past 2-3 years has more to do with it, especially since his home/away splits over that time are very similar. Yeah, could be. But he only had one season of +.800 OPS before the Cubs, and since he's been there he's never been below .912 He was also younger than 25 for most of his pre cub career. With these arguements, like CoolHandLuke already said, Wright has a large advantage over Ramirez considering his age. If the OP was leaning towards the question of who would you take if you were building a team today, and wanted an elite offensive 3b who could help you win this year, next year, and so on, I would think Wright would have to get the nod over Ramirez. I would take Wright over Ramirez, but I don't think saying he has been significantly better than Aramis over the past 3+ seasons is accurate. True, a discussion like this without more direction is like having someone give you a weather forecast without telling you the location. Kinda. Weird relation, I know. You can say though, that given how Wright has started his career and how long it took Ramirez to get to the point he is now, that Wright won't have just a slight advantage in career totals, but will end up with a significantly better career than Ramirez.

I think the fact that he entered his prime in over the past 2-3 years has more to do with it, especially since his home/away splits over that time are very similar. Yeah, could be. But he only had one season of +.800 OPS before the Cubs, and since he's been there he's never been below .912 He was also younger than 25 for most of his pre cub career. With these arguements, like CoolHandLuke already said, Wright has a large advantage over Ramirez considering his age. If the OP was leaning towards the question of who would you take if you were building a team today, and wanted an elite offensive 3b who could help you win this year, next year, and so on, I would think Wright would have to get the nod over Ramirez.

I think the fact that he entered his prime in over the past 2-3 years has more to do with it, especially since his home/away splits over that time are very similar. Yeah, could be. But he only had one season of +.800 OPS before the Cubs, and since he's been there he's never been below .912

I think the biggest thing that turned Ramirez around was Wrigley field. He seems to have been built for that ballpark. He wasn't close to the hitter he is now before he went to the Cubs, and his home/away split difference seems to be rather large.

I agree that it really isn't much worse than just alternating, if the NL could actually win an All-Star game or two. But the fact that Selig would use the pinnacle moment of the game which is the World Series to try and fix what was just an exhibition game for the fans is beyond ridiculous. Why home field isn't determined by record or some other seasonal result is beyond me.

Braun isn't a 3B anymore. He never was. Well, skill aside :) He had a pretty good year for a rookie 3b last year, but his slump this year, even without the position change, would leave him below Ramirez. His SLG is still there but his OBP is far too low.

I was including those because someone mentioned his RBI total over the last 3 years. If we're talking strictly SLG and OPS (which of course are relevant) Aramis is right up there with Chipper, ARod, and Wright as the most consistent over the last 3-4 years. Atkins would be a teir lower in that category. Though if I was starting a team today, I'd be happy with either of the 4.

Close is relative I suppose. Since '06 Atkins has been a little low on slugging, but in '06 he bested Ramirez in pretty much every relevant offensive category. This year isn't looking much better for him, but he's shown the ability to put up those kind of numbers. In '07 he bettered him in RBI and Runs, about the only category he was low in was slugging.

Woops.

Here's a list of 3B who are pretty easily in the same league as Aramis: Chipper (getting older) ARod (obviously) Wright (IMO the best 3B out there, 34 steals in 07 adds to his already impressive offense and defense) And a couple young guys who have had seasons better than Aramis and could end up at least as effective if not more so on offense: Braun Atkins Not that Aramis is a slouch, but 3B is pretty decent on talent right now, especially in the NL.