All-Time Rankings: First Base

[jjgman21]

If Gehrig had not been cut down by ALS, the top spot would not be debatable IMO

 

I read a Gehrig biography "Luckiest Man" by Jonathan Eig. In the book there is something regarding where Gehrig could have ended up in the all time record books.

 

If Gehrig had played on until the age of forty-two, he quite possibly could have rewritten the game's record books, according to Bill James, the baseball statistician and writer. James calculates that Gehrig would have finished his career with 689 home runs (more than anyone but Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, and Barry Bonds); 3928 hits (third after Pete Rose and Ty Cobb); 2879 runs batted in (almost 600 more than today's record, held by Aaron); 2475 walks (a number no one has ever reached, though Barry Bonds is fast approaching) and a lifetime batting average of .330.

 

I realize that these statistics are rough estimates but they show the heights Gehrig could have reached had he not been struck down with ALS. This goes for Ted Williams as well since he missed 3 full years in his prime due to WWII and missed almost 2 full years due to the Korean War.

 

To add to the other stats, Gehrig has a career line of .340/.442/.632/1.074 which is good enough for 12th/4th/3rd/3rd all time. Unbelievable player. I'll give my list in a bit.

 

"Today, I consider myself, the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

 

Oh, and it's a very good book for anyone interested.

 

like I said earlier in the thread, he missed two years because he was going to Columbia. add in those years too, and he has RBI and walk numbers that would probably never be touched and maybe beyond Aaron in HRs.