Elite 8: 1. Ted Williams vs. 3. Lou Gherig

Fat Strat · Post by **Fat Strat** » March 14 07, 8:03 am

Ted Williams

The Red Sox' Ted Williams was one of baseball's greatest hitters. Combining keen vision with quick wrists and a scientific approach to hitting, he set numerous batting records despite missing nearly five full seasons due to military service and two major injuries. His accomplishments include a .406 season in 1941, two Triple Crowns, two MVPs, six American League batting championships, 521 home runs, a lifetime average of .344, 17 All-Star game selections, and universal reverence.

Ted Williams' statistics

Code: Select all

Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP 
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 1939 20 BOS AL 149  565  131  185  44 11  31  145   2  1 107  64  .327  .436  .609  160  344   3           2  10 MVP-4
 1940 21 BOS AL 144  561  134  193  43 14  23  113   4  4  96  54  .344  .442  .594  162  333   1           3  13 MVP-14,AS
 1941 22 BOS AL 143  456  135  185  33  3  37  120   2  4 147  27  .406  .553  .735  235  335   0           3  10 MVP-2,AS
 1942 23 BOS AL 150  522  141  186  34  5  36  137   3  2 145  51  .356  .499  .648  217  338   0           4  12 MVP-2,AS
 1946 27 BOS AL 150  514  142  176  37  8  38  123   0  0 156  44  .342  .497  .667  215  343   0           2  12 MVP-1,AS
 1947 28 BOS AL 156  528  125  181  40  9  32  114   0  1 162  47  .343  .499  .634  205  335   1           2  10 MVP-2,AS
 1948 29 BOS AL 137  509  124  188  44  3  25  127   4  0 126  41  .369  .497  .615  189  313   0           3  10 MVP-3,AS
 1949 30 BOS AL 155  566  150  194  39  3  43  159   1  1 162  48  .343  .490  .650  192  368   0           2  22 MVP-1,AS
 1950 31 BOS AL  89  334   82  106  24  1  28   97   3  0  82  21  .317  .452  .647  168  216   0           0  12 MVP-21,AS
 1951 32 BOS AL 148  531  109  169  28  4  30  126   1  1 144  45  .318  .464  .556  164  295   0           0  10 MVP-13,AS
 1952 33 BOS AL   6   10    2    4   0  1   1    3   0  0   2   2  .400  .500  .900  272    9   0           0   0
 1953 34 BOS AL  37   91   17   37   6  0  13   34   0  1  19  10  .407  .509  .901  267   82   0           0   1 MVP-26,AS
 1954 35 BOS AL 117  386   93  133  23  1  29   89   0  0 136  32  .345  .513  .635  201  245   0   3       1  10 MVP-7,AS
 1955 36 BOS AL  98  320   77  114  21  3  28   83   2  0  91  24  .356  .496  .703  209  225   0   4  17   2   8 MVP-4,AS
 1956 37 BOS AL 136  400   71  138  28  2  24   82   0  0 102  39  .345  .479  .605  172  242   0   0  11   1  13 MVP-6,AS
 1957 38 BOS AL 132  420   96  163  28  1  38   87   0  1 119  43  .388  .526  .731  233  307   0   2  33   5  11 MVP-2,AS
 1958 39 BOS AL 129  411   81  135  23  2  26   85   1  0  98  49  .328  .458  .584  178  240   0   4  12   4  19 MVP-7,AS
 1959 40 BOS AL 103  272   32   69  15  0  10   43   0  0  52  27  .254  .372  .419  113  114   0   5   6   2   7 MVP-26,AS
 1960 41 BOS AL 113  310   56   98  15  0  29   72   1  1  75  41  .316  .451  .645  189  200   0   2   7   3   7 MVP-13,AS
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 19 Seasons         7706      2654     71     1839     17     709  .344  .482  .634  190        5  20  86  39 197
               2292      1798      525    521       24   2021                            4884
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 162 Game Avg        545  127  188  37  5  37  130   2  1 143  50  .344  .482  .634  190  345   0   1   6   3  14
 Career High    156  566  150  194  44 14  43  159   4  4 162  64  .406  .553  .735  235  368   3   5  33   5  22

Most similar players:
Jimmie Foxx (864) *
Lou Gehrig (855) *
Mel Ott (807) *
Mickey Mantle (770) *
Frank Robinson (738) *
Babe Ruth (727) *
Ken Griffey (724)
Frank Thomas (710)
Gary Sheffield (688)
Jeff Bagwell (687)

VS.

#3 Lou Gehrig, 1b

Lou Gehrig's Hall of Fame Biography

Lou Gehrig teamed with Babe Ruth to form baseball's most devastating hitting tandem ever. "The Iron Horse" had 13 consecutive seasons with both 100 runs scored and 100 RBI, averaging 139 runs and 148 RBI; set an American League mark with 184 RBI in 1931; hit a record 23 grand slams; and won the 1934 Triple Crown. His .361 batting average in seven World Series led the Yankees to six titles. A true gentleman and a tragic figure, Gehrig's consecutive games played streak ended at 2,130 when he was felled by a disease that later carried his own name.

Gehrig's Statistics

Code: Select all

 Year Ag Tm  Lg  G   AB    R    H   2B 3B  HR  RBI  SB CS  BB  SO   BA   OBP   SLG *OPS+  TB   SH  SF IBB HBP GDP 
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 1923 20 NYY AL  13   26    6   11   4  1   1    9   0  0   2   5  .423  .464  .769  218   20   1           0    
 1924 21 NYY AL  10   12    2    6   1  0   0    5   0  0   1   3  .500  .538  .583  189    7   0           0    
 1925 22 NYY AL 126  437   73  129  23 10  20   68   6  3  46  49  .295  .365  .531  127  232  12           2     MVP-24
 1926 23 NYY AL 155  572  135  179  47 20  16  112   6  5 105  73  .313  .420  .549  153  314  18           1     MVP-10
 1927 24 NYY AL 155  584  149  218  52 18  47  175  10  8 109  84  .373  .474  .765  221  447  21           3     MVP-1
 1928 25 NYY AL 154  562  139  210  47 13  27  142   4 11  95  69  .374  .467  .648  194  364  16           4    
 1929 26 NYY AL 154  553  127  166  32 10  35  126   4  4 122  68  .300  .431  .584  167  323  12           5    
 1930 27 NYY AL 154  581  143  220  42 17  41  174  12 14 101  63  .379  .473  .721  203  419  18           3    
 1931 28 NYY AL 155  619  163  211  31 15  46  184  17 12 117  56  .341  .446  .662  195  410   2           0     MVP-2
 1932 29 NYY AL 156  596  138  208  42  9  34  151   4 11 108  38  .349  .451  .621  181  370   1           3     MVP-2
 1933 30 NYY AL 152  593  138  198  41 12  32  139   9 13  92  42  .334  .424  .605  177  359   1           1     MVP-4,AS
 1934 31 NYY AL 154  579  128  210  40  6  49  165   9  5 109  31  .363  .465  .706  208  409   0           2     MVP-5,AS
 1935 32 NYY AL 149  535  125  176  26 10  30  119   8  7 132  38  .329  .466  .583  177  312   0           5     MVP-5,AS
 1936 33 NYY AL 155  579  167  205  37  7  49  152   3  4 130  46  .354  .478  .696  190  403   3           7     MVP-1,AS
 1937 34 NYY AL 157  569  138  200  37  9  37  159   4  3 127  49  .351  .473  .643  177  366   0           4     MVP-4,AS
 1938 35 NYY AL 157  576  115  170  32  6  29  114   6  1 107  75  .295  .410  .523  132  301   1           5     MVP-19,AS
 1939 36 NYY AL   8   28    2    4   0  0   0    1   0  0   5   1  .143  .273  .143   10    4   0           0   2 AS
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 17 Seasons         8001      2721    163     1995    101     790  .340  .447  .632  179      106   0   0  45   2
               2164      1888      534    493      102   1508                            5060
+--------------+---+----+----+----+---+--+---+----+---+--+---+---+-----+-----+-----+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+
 162 Game Avg        599  141  204  40 12  37  149   8  8 113  59  .340  .447  .632  179  379   8   0   0   3   0
 Career High    157  619  167  220  52 20  49  184  17 14 132  84  .379  .478  .765  221  447  21   0   0   7   2

Most Similar Hitters
1. Jimmie Foxx (871) *
2. Ted Williams (855) *
3. Mel Ott (750) *
4. Frank Thomas (728)
5. Stan Musial (721) *
6. Jeff Bagwell (718)
7. Babe Ruth (705) *
8. Frank Robinson (698) *
9. Al Simmons (693) *
10. Mickey Mantle (685) *

jim · Post by **jim** » March 14 07, 8:47 am

Williams. Better numbers, and he missed some peak years to serve his country.

JL21 · Post by **JL21** » March 14 07, 10:55 am

There might be more testosterone in this matchup than any other. On the one hand, you've got a guy who fought the crap out of ALS.

On the other hand, you've got the ultimate man's man.

But the Splinter was the better player.

Laodocus8 · Post by **Laodocus8** » March 16 07, 7:22 am

The Iron Horse is probably my favorite non-Cardinal player and I really don't want to vote against him. But Williams is one of the few I have to take over him.