Not that hitting 3000 would have made any difference for Gehrig's legend, he also *only* hit 493 home runs instead of the 'magic' 500+, which would automatically put him in the HOF, as would getting 3000+ hits ... but ooops, Gehrig *is* in the HOF for some strange reason ... probably something to do with a .340 lifetime batting average and unrelenting work ethic as well as being a class all around good guy.
Sometimes the overall ballplayer means more than just a few stat benchmarks he may have come up short on
Gehrig also had 1,995 RBI’s (4th on the all-time list), 23 Grand Slams (an all-time major league record), 8 straight seasons with over 120 RBI’s (a record), career slugging pct. of .632 (#3 on the all-time list behind Ruth and Williams), and a .447 career on-base percentage. He’s by far the greatest first baseman who ever played the game.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Gehrig