Regarding Gehrig and how he compares with others. When it came to producing actual runs (Runs + RBI – HR) on the field as opposed to theoretical projections/calculations, nobody did it better than he did, not even the Babe.
He is the only player to produce 300 runs in a season. One could estimate the prime years of a player’s career as being their top 10 seasons, maybe 15. Here are the top run producers for each timeframe:
Total runs produced in Top 10 seasons:
- Gehrig 2614
- Ruth 2497
- Foxx 2257
- Williams 2213
- DiMaggio 2173
Wagner had 1972
Aaron had 1962
Mays had 1928
Total runs produced in Top 15 seasons:
- Gehrig 3380
- Ruth 3362
- Cobb 3052
- Foxx 3021
- ARod 2940
Williams had 2910 (6)
Wagner had 2820
Aaron had 2814
Mays had 2705
Granted, the rate of scoring varies for different eras, but the magnitude of the difference between Gehrig and the field beyond Ruth is huge. Had Ruth not had the pitching success he did, I would say Gehrig is #1.
To top it off, he was also productive in WS play where his Yankees won 6 of the 7 WS he played in. That’s more than Cobb, Williams, Wagner, Aaron, Mays, and ARod combined.