(Circling a bit at this point)
Don't give him extra points then, just looks at his per year averages. 71% of the time he was top 10 in the MVP. 64% of his season's he was top 5! That is elite for his entire career!
www.baseball-reference.com
If nothing else, you voted for 3 of the best nicknames.
I think Lou Gehrig is definitely in the running for this spot but I still think Hornsby edges him out. However, I'd go Johnson and Young before Hornsby. Johnson's WAR7, before adjustment, is the best in all of MLB (91.1). However, if you use the adjusted WAR7 (66.2), only Hornsby (73.9) and Gehrig (67.6) are higher. I think scaling down WAR7 for early 20th century and 19th century pitchers have some merit but I don't know how that is determined so I don't know if it is beneficial or harmful to the process of determining the best.
And one name that isn't in this discussion yet, but should be, is Tris Speaker. I'd probably rank him higher than Honus Wagner and right up there with Stan Musial.
Tris Speaker Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Tris Speaker. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
Absolutely it is elite. But is it #7 all time elite? Over Wagner or Hornsby (or Johnson, or Clemens for that matter)?
The speech and ALS have NOTHING to do with on field play, though. The “story” of Mays is about how he was playing a different game from everyone else because he played every aspect of the game. And he excelled at every aspect. His legend is based on his play. I am arguing against Gehrig’s story because the story is entirely extrabaseball
Great name that has been completely overlooked. Not sure I agree that he belongs in the same zone as Wagner or Hornsby, but he certainly should be on the brainstorm board, at least.I think Lou Gehrig is definitely in the running for this spot but I still think Hornsby edges him out. However, I'd go Johnson and Young before Hornsby. Johnson's WAR7, before adjustment, is the best in all of MLB (91.1). However, if you use the adjusted WAR7 (66.2), only Hornsby (73.9) and Gehrig (67.6) are higher. I think scaling down WAR7 for early 20th century and 19th century pitchers have some merit but I don't know how that is determined so I don't know if it is beneficial or harmful to the process of determining the best.
And one name that isn't in this discussion yet, but should be, is Tris Speaker. I'd probably rank him higher than Honus Wagner and right up there with Stan Musial.
Tris Speaker Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More | Baseball-Reference.com
Check out the latest Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More of Tris Speaker. Get info about his position, age, height, weight, draft status, bats, throws, school and more on Baseball-reference.com
It is based on on-field play.
See I think he should get a little bump for the Iron Man thing. It's a pretty great feat that he no doubt played through some minor injuries and still ended up with the 3rd highest OPS of all time, 5th highest OPS+ of all time, a .340 batting average, .1080 slugging pct. Those aren't counting stats, that's just continued excellence over a long period of time.
I view WWII (or Covid) completely differently than I view ALS (or a plane crash). WWII affected EVERYONE and no individual had any control over its influence. ALS is just an extension of health and is exclusive to him. No one looks at Eric Davis and extrapolates what he could have done had he not punctured his lung. He is what he is. Why should Gehrig be treated differently?
Consider WAR, WAR 7, and OPS+ for the three of them:
