On this date in 1982, Pete Rose passed Hank Aaron to move into second place on the all-time hits list.
Baseball, like no other sport, is a game of statistic with literally hundreds of categories that we keep track of.
The following list will take a look at the 10 most impressive second bests in baseball history. Many of these players once held the most revered records in the sport, while some came just short of the top spot. So here are the 10 best.
Lou Gehrig played 14 complete seasons, during which the Yankees won seven pennants and six World Championships, not including world titles in 1923 and 1939, when Gehrig played briefly.
Lou is among a group of players who did better in the World Series than they did during the regular season.
He batted .361, hit 10 home runs, drove home a New York Yankee 35 times, had a gaudy .731 slugging average, and reached base 47.7 percent of the time.
Lou’s Incredible World Series Performance
In 1926, the Yankees lost the Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, which was the only time Gehrig played on a team that didn’t win the World Championship.
The following year, Gehrig played on the 1927 Yankees.
The Yankees swept an outstanding Pittsburgh Pirates team in 1927, as Gehrig slugged .769, thanks to a pair of doubles and a pair of triples.
In 1928, Gehrig dominated the World Series, as the Yankees swept St. Louis. They beat Jesse Haines and Grover Cleveland Alexander, the pitchers that had each defeated them twice in 1926.
Lou batted .545 with four home runs in the four game Series. He had a .706 on base percentage to go along with an incredible 1.727 slugging percentage.
Gehrig Hit “Only” .529
Connie Mack’s great Athletics won the pennants from 1929-1931, but the Yankees won in 1932 and swept the Chicago Cubs.
The Yankees now had swept the last three World Series in which they had appeared, winning 12 consecutive games.
Gehrig hit .529 with three home runs, a .600 on base percentage, and a 1.118 slugging percentage. Lou had cooled off a little since his 1928 World Series performance.
Still Good But Not As Great
The Washington Senators won the pennant in 1933, and then the Detroit Tigers won pennants in 1934 and 1935, but in 1936, the Yankees started a streak of four consecutive pennants and World Championships.
The rival New York Giants, behind the rapidly becoming underrated Carl Hubbell, won the first game, but the Yankees won four of the next five games.
Gehrig hit .292 with two home runs, a .393 on base average, and a .583 slugging average.
The following season the Yankees again beat the Giants, with Gehrig (.294, .455, .647) having another good Series. In 1938, Lou played in his final World Series (.286, .375, .286) as the Yankees swept the Cubs again, but it wasn’t the real Lou Gehrig. He was already suffering from the disease that would take his life.
Better Than Mickey, Joe, Jeter, and Alex
There have been many controversies surrounding the Yankees, but there can be no denying that Babe Ruth was the greatest Yankee ever, followed closely by Lou Gehrig.
Imagine what Lou would have accomplished and contributed to society if he had lived a full life. Would anyone agree with Charles Barkley when he said athletes aren’t role models?
Reference:
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I think we all know that Babe Ruth was probably the greatest offensive player in the history of baseball. Ted Williams was probably second, and Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Lou Gehrig round out my own personal top five. The numbers these guys put up during their careers were astounding, but are sometimes difficult to fully appreciate out of context.
What’s not difficult to appreciate is a truly great season. Last year, Albert Pujols led baseball with 47 homers. Joe Mauer led baseball with a .365 average, and Ryan Howard led baseball with 145 RBI. What if I told you a player had hit over .380, with 40 homers, and 170 RBI, and still missed this list? It happened. That was Chuck Klein in 1930. Of course, that was the year of the hitter. The league average BA was over .300, and he didn’t lead the league in any of the three categories. Someone else was better (and that someone made the list). But even so, Klein hit .386, with 40 and 170, and didn’t make this list. These seasons are really, really good.
The New York Yankees announced they had acquired Columbia University star baseball player Lou Gehrig on June 12, 1923, although the signing had occurred a little more than a month before.
Henry Louis Gehrig had the reputation of being the “Babe Ruth of the colleges” because he hit the ball farther than any other college player.
Gehrig made his Yankees’ debut on June 15, 1923 as a ninth inning defensive replacement for first baseman Wally Pipp. It would not be the only time that Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp.
Lou played for Hartford of the Eastern League in 1924 and 1925, hitting .304 and then .369. He joined the Yankees for his first full season in 1925, but not before there was a little intrigue.
The Yankees offered Gehrig to the Red Sox in return for first baseman Phil Todt. The Boston team rejected the offer.
Gehrig and Todt both started out as minor leaguers in 1921, although Gehrig didn’t play in 1922 because he attended Columbia University. Lou had a .344 minor league average, while Todt batted .309.
According to Bill Nowlin of the The Baseball Biography Project, as well as the official Lou Gehrig site (www.lougehrig.com ), in early 1925, the Yankees wanted to send Gehrig to Boston in return for the services of first baseman Phil Todt.
Todt’s obituary in The Sporting News also claims that the Yankees had offered Gehrig straight up to Boston. The reason seems unbelievable today.
The Yankees wanted to repay the Red Sox for allowing them to acquire Babe Ruth, a fact that makes one wonder how much of a rivalry existed between the teams 85 years ago.
Of course the trade was never made, through no fault of the Yankees. It must be remembered that the Red Sox have always been the Red Sox.
They are the organization that sent Sparky Lyle to the Yankees in exchange for Danny Cater.
They sent Bob Ojeda to New York’s most beloved team for Calvin Schiraldi, a trade that resulted in the Red Sox debacle known as the 1986 World Series.
They sent future Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell to the Houston Astros for over-the-hill pitcher Larry Anderson.
And they sent Hall of Fame right-hander Ferguson Jenkins to the Texas Rangers for John Poloni.
In 1925, Red Sox owner Bob Quinn decided that the Red Sox would be better off with Phil Todt at first base instead of Lou Gehrig. Everyone knows how that turned out.
Todt played for Boston from 1924 until 1930. On Feb. 3, 1931, he was sent to the Philadelphia A’s for cash.
In his eight seasons, Phil batted .258, averaging 10 home runs and 77 RBIs over a 162 game season. He was never voted into the Hall of Fame.
References:
The Sporting News, December 1, 1973.
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The Yankees have had some of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history. This list ranks the top 10 of those legends who wore the pinstripes very proudly during their stay in the Bronx.
To rank the players I used their individual stats while with the Yankees and their success in the postseason. I also took into consideration military service and career-threatening injuries.
Sometimes players from different eras can be compared accurately because their eras were similar.
Lou Gehrig and Alex Rodriguez played when offense was dominant.
Gehrig played 14 full seasons, 1925-1938, while Alex, whose first full season was 1996, is in his 15th full season.
Rodriguez has already hit more home runs than Gehrig and may break Henry Aaron’s career record for home runs, but those facts should never be used to conclude that Alex Rodriguez was better than Lou Gehrig.
Best Home Run Season
Gehrig hit 493 career home runs, with a single-season high of 49, while Alex has hit 589 home runs, with a single-season high of 57.
When Gehrig hit his 49 home runs in 1934, Jimmie Foxx was the only other major league player to hit over 40 home runs.
Alex Rodriguez hit 57 home runs in 2002, but Jim Thome hit 52, Rafael Palmeiro hit 43, and Jason Giambi hit 41.
The almost-forgotten Sammy Sosa led the Senior Circuit with 49, followed by Barry Bonds’ 46 and Lance Berkman’s and Shawn Green’s 42.
Home runs were not as common during Lou Gehrig’s era. Lou’s home run ratio was one home run every 16.20 at-bats. Alex’s is one home run every 14.37 at-bats.
The Ballparks
The left-handed-hitting Gehrig played his entire career with the Yankees, which meant that his home park, where the distance was only 344 to the low fence in right field and a mere 295 feet down the line, gave him a friendly target, but the distance to deep right center field was 429 feet.
A-Rod, who hits from the right side, has played in Seattle’s Kingdome, Safeco Field, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Yankee Stadium, and the Yankees’ new park.
Safeco Field is a not a launching pad for home runs, but the Kingdome and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington were hitter-friendly.
Yankee Stadium, after its renovation was completed in 1976, made it easier for right-handed-hitters to hit home runs.
The Yankees’ new home is sometimes referred to as a “launching pad.”
A-Rod gets the nod over Gehrig with respect to home runs, but as Alex knows, there is more to winning than home runs.
Vital Offensive Comparisons
* Gehrig hit .340 with a .447 on-base average. Alex has hit .305 with a .389 on-base average.
* Gehrig’s American League batted .286 and had a .356 on-base average. Alex’s American League hit .272 and had a .341 on-base average. Gehrig has a big edge.
* Gehrig had a .632 slugging average compared to the league’s .413. Rodriguez has slugged .574 compared to the league’s .433. Gehrig has a big edge.
* Gehrig averaged 149 RBI a season with a high of 184, which is still the league record. He had over 100 RBI for 13 consecutive seasons.
* Rodriguez has averaged 127 RBI a season with a high of 156. He has at least 100 RBI in 12 seasons. Edge to Gehrig.
* Gehrig averaged 113 walks and 59 strikeouts. Rodriguez has averaged 79 walks and 130 strikeouts. Anybody have a runner on third and one out? Huge edge to Gehrig.
* Gehrig hit 534 doubles and 163 triples. Rodriguez has hit 455 doubles and only 29 triples. Huge edge to Gehrig.
* Gehrig stole a total of 102 bases and was thrown out 101 times. Rodriguez has 299 steals with only 71 caught stealing. Huge edge to Alex.
Finally, an amazing statistic.
Gehrig had 9,660 plate appearances and made 5,489 outs.
Rodriguez has 9,803 plate appearances and has made 6,266 outs.
Alex has more outs than Gehrig in only 143 more plate appearances.
Yes, I know. That is comparing their batting and on-base averages. Huge edge Gehrig.
So what is the verdict? Don’t be silly.
References
Lou Gehrig at Baseball Reference
Alex Rodriguez at Baseball Reference
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Let me start by saying that I am one of the biggest Derek Jeter fans ever. I grew up watching my favorite player become a legend for the most storied franchise in American sports. Seeing Derek Jeter play is something that I will tell my children.
However, this season has not been going as well as we have come to expect from “El Capitan”.
At the one-quarter mark of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, the New York Yankees are 25-14. That is good for second place in the American League East, 3.0 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.
It is hard to criticize a team with a .641 winning percentage, but there are a few players that have not exactly “sparkled” for the Bronx Bombers. For the first time in many years, Derek Jeter falls into that category.
There are many things that are given or granted, before someone can even begin to criticize the Captain of the New York Yankees this season.
Last season, Derek Jeter won the Silver Slugger and Hank Aaron awards. He also passed Lou Gehrig as the all-time hits leader in New York Yankees history. In the field, he collected his fourth Gold Glove award at short stop. All of this was capped off by the Yankees capturing the 2009 World Series in six games over the Phillies.
Off the field, Jeter was awarded the Roberto Clemente Award along with being named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year. DJ’s 2009 season was one of the best all around seasons that any professional athlete could ever hope for.
The statistics and awards from his career are already enough to ensure that Derek Jeter will be enshrined into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame after he retires. However, none of that matters right now. The main question for the early part of 2010 is, where is that Derek Jeter?
While other players, like Brett Gardner and Francisco Cervelli continue to produce for the New York Yankees, there are some players that have not been on their game. Everyone knows the story of Mark Teixeira’s slow starts and Alex Rodriguez’s numbers, but what is going on with Jeter?
In 168 at bats this season; Jeter has collected 45 hits, while scoring 26 runs and driving in another 23. He has been walked nine times, already struck out 23 times, and only stolen four bases out of five attempts. As of today, Derek has a batting average of .268 and an on-base percentage of .315.
For anyone else, these would be very good numbers at the 1/4 mark of the season. For Captain Clutch, the 2010 season has not gone according to plan yet. Mired in a horrible slump, Jeter fans have put an APB or BOLO out for him.
There have been numerous times when “Derek Jeter” would have gotten a clutch base hit, driven in the runners with two outs, or at least kept the inning going. Those times, seem to be few and far between in 2010.
The main point, as Mariano Rivera has also looked uncharacteristically human these past few games, is that Derek Jeter is at the end of his contract.
At the beginning of the season, everyone continued to ask questions about when the Yankees would re-sign the superstar short stop. Jeter said that he was okay with waiting until November to think about it, but should he have pushed for a new contract this past off season?
After having such a stellar 2009 season, DJ was guaranteed to get another blockbuster, multi-year deal. He was ready to be signed to be the Yankees captain for another five plus years. He was going to make another $100 million dollars and nobody was going to have a problem with that.
Will the Yankees give him a huge contract based on his legacy? Can they really afford to pay that much money to a guy hitting just above .250? Are they going to lock-up a player who has seemed to have lost a step on some plays in the field?
What happens if he continues to have a, by his standards, lackluster season? Derek Jeter has always been about winning first, but this may be a time for him to be a little bit selfish.
Will average numbers in the 2010 season make the Yankees twice before they re-sign their beloved captain and short stop?
No way…! Right?
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