Ryan McMahon isn't the next Nolan Arenado... he's the next Carlos Gonzalez

The comparison game can be poison.

Almost all of us do it, though.

We compare our own personal and professional successes with others as a way of trying to understand our own place in the world. We do this knowing full well that each of us is an individual who must forge their own unique path.

Of course, we do this in sports all the time. We have even given them a fun abbreviation; comps.

With all of the amateur and professional athletes we’ve seen over the years, it’s difficult not to see the similarities and differences between them and pontificate about what commonalities separate the very good from the truly great.

And Colorado Rockies infielder Ryan McMahon is no stranger to being compared to great ballplayers that have come before him.

His supreme natural athleticism out of Mater Dei High School in California shown through as a quarterback on the gridiron and translated into some immediate success in minor league baseball.

This origin story also naturally draws comparisons to former quarterbacks in Rockies history like Todd Helton, Matt Holiday, and Seth Smith.

Early on, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but McMahon ultimately powered through an impressive pre-MLB career before debuting and stalling out a bit.

Partially due to some harsh adjustments that he needed to make, and partially due to the organization’s frustratingly slow methodology of working him into the lineup, he played sporadically in parts of two seasons before finally earning starting duties in 2019.

It was a solid campaign that saw him hit 24 home runs but also go through extended slumps with high strike out rates. He did all this while still learning his third defensive position.

You see, the presence of Nolan Arenado at third base kept McMahon away from his natural position and a series of bad contracts kept him off of first base where he had started to show a ton of talent years before in Double-A.

Now, he had to move again over to second base and did so with a few hiccups but finally emerged as a major plus.

Right when he was beginning to master the position and draw comparisons to DJ LeMahieu (tall, lanky, yet fluid second-baseman) McMahon was asked/forced to step into the shadow of another all-time great Rockie.

After the more-than-controversial trade of Arenado, it became clear that for the first time in years McMahon would be moving back to the hot corner for the much more of his playing time.

So, yet again, we play the comparison game.

It’s hard not to look at McMahon’s hot start in 2021, in many ways finally looking like the star player many of us believed he would turn into, and not put his numbers right next to the man whose job he took over.

They’ve both been a bit up and down at the plate so far this year. Arenado is hitting .266/.313/.505 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI. McMahon is at .257/.311/.505 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI.

Far more surprisingly though, despite his predecessor’s glove being made of gold and platinum, McMahon is having the much better season with the leather.

In fact, according to Baseball Reference, RyMac is leading all of MLB in Defensive WAR with 1.3 already. This is why, despite the roughly even offensive numbers McMahon still comfortably leads in bWAR with a 2.3 to Arenado’s 1.5.

And he’s doing it at two positions. He has four Defensive Runs Saved at third base and six at second base. Arenado currently has one Defensive Run Saved at third.

Small sample sizes aside, you might be tempted at this point to ask the question: “Have the Rockies found the next Nolan Arenado?”

But as much fun as this comparison is, a deeper look at the player and the person reveals that the question we ought to be asking is whether or not the Rockies have found the next Carlos Gonzalez.

Beginning with the most superficial of observations, you’ve got similar nicknames in CarGo and RyMac that accompany similar million-dollar smiles.

Both players have been known for bringing charisma and infectious joy to the ballpark every day. They are media savvy, friendly, smart and have magnetic personalities.

As great as they’ve been on the field, guys like Arenado, LeMahieu, or even Todd Helton have never been the most outgoing. Rockies star players can tend to be a bit more straight laced.

Make no mistake, when it’s game time, McMahon is all business and he takes his day-to-day preparations and competitiveness very seriously. But he also knows how to have, and instill, fun in ways perhaps only matched by Carlos Gonzalez.

CarGo was the go-to guy for us media types after games, especially tough losses, and was always able to give thoughtful, earnest, and reasonable answers. Mac inherited this role, even when Joshua Fuentes’ cousin was still on the team.

He has fulfilled that duty extraordinarily as well. Nearly as well as No. 5 did.

Another aesthetic similarity between the two comes in a gorgeous left-handed swing that brings insane natural power to all fields when it is on… and a whole lot of strikeouts when it isn’t.

Where Arenado has always been a high contact, low-K guy who admits to having to “try” to hit homers, and who doesn’t typically hit big long ones or oppo shots, CarGo and RyMac are masters of exit velocity who are no stranger to blasts of over 450 feet to all parts of the park.

When on, there is not a pitch type, location, or part of the ballpark that is safe from the fury of their mighty swings.

But they’re also both streaky.

Gonzalez famously would go through stretches where he seemed like an automatic strikeout, followed by stretches where it seemed like every swing produced an extra-base hit. In 2015, CarGo hit four home runs through his first 49 games. He hit 36 over his next 104 games and ended the year with 40.

Not only have we already witnessed a similar dynamic this year with McMahon, hitting eight homers in his first 23 games before cooling off then heating up again, it had often been the case throughout his minor league career.

In 2016, at Double-A, McMahon hit .242/.325/.399 with 12 home runs and was promptly removed from almost every Top 100 prospect list in the country.

In 2017, between Double and Triple-A, he hit .355/.403/.503 with 20 home runs (in 14 fewer games) and made his MLB debut.

One thing that doesn’t slump for either player, though, is their extreme athleticism.

Again no slight is meant to make the objective and self-admitted point that Arenado is not the most gifted natural athlete. We’ve all seen him run the bases.

The smooth fluidity and effortless ability to be graceful on the diamond, in addition to being a major defensive asset, is something that made Gonzalez, and makes McMahon, extremely valuable even during those downtimes with the stick.

Perhaps the most intriguing piece of the this comparison puzzle is the one that feels both the most random and somehow the most meaningful for Rockies fans.

Those old enough to remember may recall that Gonzalez arrived in Colorado incredibly raw as well. While he did make his debut for the Oakland Athletics he was still most potential and question marks when he first donned purple pinstripes. And, like McMahon, early struggles meant a trip back to Triple-A to iron some things out.

As it so happened, Little Pony did make those necessary adjustments and was able to rejoin the club for a postseason run in 2009.

It seemed like a very bright future was in store for him and the franchise hot off an eye-popping performance against the Phillies in the NLDS and the club setting a mark that still stands for most regular season wins in their history.

Fast forward seven years and the Rockies are pushing to make the postseason for the first time since that ’09 campaign and there’s CarGo as the only player who suited up for both clubs.

He became a stalwart, a symbol, something that means more than just his measurable stats and even immeasurable on-field contributions. In that time, through some rough seasons, brutally timed injuries, and a seemingly endless barrage of personal and professional challenges, Gonzalez was there to hand off one generation of Rockies baseball to the next.

And one of the players who took up that mantle was Ryan McMahon.

Like Gonzalez, he was a rookie for a postseason run and also happened to be around for the second best regular season in franchise history, doing his part by hitting some key home runs against the Dodgers.

Sadly, also like Gonzalez, it appears that a rough ride is ahead for McMahon in the aftermath of that postseason appearance, even if he is bound to keep getting better and better.

So the question then becomes, “Will McMahon bridge the gap the way CarGo did and be a part of that next Rockies postseason team, whenever that may be?”

I’m inclined to say yes. He’s the type of guy it’s easy to build around and keep around. He’s the type of guy who can make bad situations better rather than making them worse. He’s the type of player who can proudly represent a franchise that some people have a very hard time finding pride in.

He’s the kind of guy who can go about doing his job with a great big smile and constant appreciation for how lucky he is to play baseball for a living while never relenting in his pursuit of excellence.

Just like Carlos Gonzalez.

The comparison game can be poison.

Of course the truth is, Ryan has to be his own McMahon. Sorry.

It could be tempting to parse this all out and conclude that I’m suggesting McMahon and Gonzalez are in some ways “better” for the Rockies community for being more affable and ultimately (potentially) being seen as lifelong Rox.

You could also go the other way with it and suggest that this is ultimately a putdown. After all, Arenado is almost certainly going to Cooperstown and Gonzalez is not.

Ask any of these guys who they’d most like to be compared to and surefire Hall-of-Famers tend to top the list.

But there’s plenty of time left in his career for McMahon to show us where he will land on that spectrum.

He is making his first bid for the All-Star game right now and the players we are tempted to compare him to were perennial fixtures at the Midsummer Classic. In every way, he needs time.

If he keeps doing what he’s doing right now, though, it won’t be too long before all the comparisons fade away and we all start wondering if and when we will ever see the next Ryan McMahon.