The evidence is evident
As evidence, Posnasnki points out that he became a baseball fan when he was eight years old and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Boston Red Sox in the epic 1975 World Series. You may remember that one because of Carlton Fisk’s “wave the ball fair” game-winning home run off the Fenway Park foul pole in Game 6.
No MLB player will ever loom as large for me as “Pops” did that year. He accomplished the trifecta. He was co-MVP of the National League during the regular season, MVP of the NLCS against the Cincinnati Reds, and MVP of the World Series against the Baltimore Orioles. My eight-year-old self-thought he was the greatest player who ever lived.
The same eight-year lag time will be applied to the ensuing generations. FanGraphs Wins Above Replacement (fWAR) during the period outlined will be a starting point for determining which players make the starting nine, but not the sole determining factor. Let’s start with the Greatest Generation.