Since the Jeet man is chasing Gehrig’s sacred numbers I thought I would compare the two…something Jeter himself would never admit doing.
They both had the basic same legnth careers, G-man 16 years and Jeet-man 15. Gehrig had three seasons of 15 or fewer games, two in the beginning and one at the end. Jeter had one season where he played 15 games…his first. Jeter will play for at least two more years.
Lou Gehrig: 2,164 games/8,001 AB/ 1888 runs/2,721 hits/ 534 doubles/163 triples/493 HR/1,995 RBI/1,508 walks/790 strikeouts/.340 AVG./.447 OBP
Derek Jeter: 2,190 games/8,887 AB/1,608 runs/2,816 hits/450 doubles/59 triples/229 HR/1,099 RBI/899 walks/1,497 strikeouts/.317 AVG./.387 OBP
Jeter has more hits and RBI, whereas Gehrig has more runs, doubles, triples, and homers. Jeter has also basically half as many walks and twice as many strikeouts, a lower career average and a lower on base percentage.
So now Jeter will play a few more years and his avg and on base percentage will most likely decrease. He could catch Gehrig on runs and doubles, but not on anything else. Gehrig was a machine. With 886 fewer at bats, he hit 84 more doubles, 104 more triples, and 264 more home runs—with 707 fewer strikeouts and 609 more walks than Derek Jeter.
Let me get this straight, Jeter is amazing…possibly the best shortstop ever to play the game. A Hall of Fame first ballot lock. But Gehrig is a hero of a bit more insane kind. He was practically unstoppable, and when it is all boiled down…Gehrig was a better player.
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