Posted on 06/02/2021 3:05:15 PM PDT by DFG
Lou Gehrig’s worst full season was his best.
Despite leading the league in games played (as always), he hit fewer than 30 homers for the first time in a decade, and his batting average dropped nearly 60 points and tied for his career low. His conditioning was questioned, his games-played streak was scrutinized, his All-Star selection was widely lamented. And even when the season ended with his Yankees once again victorious in the World Series, Gehrig’s four singles in 14 at-bats had barely been a factor.
Back in 1938, it would have been preposterous to propose that Gehrig was having his best season, because the prevailing thought at the time was that the “Iron Horse” was running out of steam. But knowing what we know now about both the science and the stats, his ’38 season takes on a much different dimension.
Yes, Gehrig “only” hit .295 with 29 home runs, both of which were disappointing drops from his career norms. But more modern metrics tell us he had a .932 OPS and a 132 OPS+ (32% better than league average) and was worth 4.7 Wins Above Replacement.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlb.com ...
His greatest moment was when Wally Pipp got hit in the head.
WAR is a fake stat. Total horsedung.
What a freakin’ steaming pile of B/S. Gehrig had THIRTEEN seasons of an ops greater than .932 (Some by a quite a bit). He also had FOURTEEN seasons with a higher ops+ than .132 (Some by quite a bit). A WAR of 4.7? Lou had TWELVE seasons with a greater WAR! Don’t even get me started on his earlier career incredible RBI amounts and batting averages, up to 1938, far surpassing the numbers he put for that last full season of 1938.
And even if it wasn’t a fake stat, it’s a meaningless one in the context of a single season. You could have a high WAR rating just because most of the other players at your position happen to suck badly that season.
dWAR is absurd. Don Mattingly saved SO MANY errors and infield hits as a first baseman who would nail splits that would make a Russian dancer jealous. All-time record high fielding percentage. Lightning reflexes. Literally by far the greatest fielding first baseman of my lifetime. And a negative dWAR.
Greg Nettles has been called “at least the equal” of Frank Robinson at third base, admittedly by Yankee-fan announcers. I never saw Frank, but Greg was the best I ever saw. Also a negative dWAR in 1980, 82, 83.
Better than Brookes Robinson? Not even close. Not even good enough to be in the top 10.
“Big Stein can’t be flopping and twitching.”
The mythical “replacement” player.
LOL! Ooops. Can’t explain why I was thinking Frank. Good thing I didn’t say Jackie. Or Smokie.
The dWAR figures are adjusted for position. First basemen as a rule have low dWAR ratings because a great defensive player at that position isn’t nearly as valuable as a great defensive player at any other position. Look at a list of the top players of all time as measured by dWAR, and you’ll find that most of those at the top of the list are shortstops, third basemen and catchers.
Or Mrs. Robinson. I understand she had a thing for Joe Dimaggio. Oh well, Jilly loves her, at least.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.