Sunday, May 29, 2011
Mays v. Aaron OPS on road against the other teams 1954-1968 v. OPS+
The 15 seasons 1954-1968 cover both players peaks. In 1969 Mays started to decline, probably because he was three years older, although Aaron inexplicably perked up at age 37 in 1971, three years later. Curious. Or suspicious.
See previous posts on this with Ted Williams v. Joe DiMaggio ten seasons (1939-1942, 1946-1951) and Ted Williams v.Mickey Mantle seven seasons (1954-1960).
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Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Mays over Aaron.
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This post will compare the home run (HR) rates (HR/AB) of Willie Mays and Hank Aaron for seasons 1954 through 1968 on the road against the other teams. That makes the comparison in the same ball parks against the same pitching staffs.
Click link to view data and graph.
Sample size in at bats (AB): Aaron 4,002; Mays 3,868. HR: Aaron 232, Mays 243.
Sample size in at bats (AB): Aaron 4,002; Mays 3,868. HR: Aaron 232, Mays 243.
Mays leads per season 8-7. However, the total puts Mays ahead by 8.5%.
The main difference in their careers are the almost two full seasons that Mays spent in the Army in 1952 (34 games, 4 HR) and 1953. It is reasonable to project that Mays would have passed Babe Ruth's career record of 714 HR before Aaron had Mays played full time those two seasons. Mays hit 660 HR, only 54 fewer than Ruth.
To me this confirms what I have always thought, that Willie Mays was a better home run hitter than Hank Aaron.
2 comments:
There is a error here. In 1969 both Aaron and Mays played on NL West teams. Baseball divisions were just screwed up. In '69 Atlanta, Cincinnati, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles,and Houston were all in NL West. Mays was more consistant Home run hitter than Aaron but as age and injuries caught up with Mays, Aaron eventually caught up and passed Mays.
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Good catch. I'll correct. The other and perhaps more important reason that I stopped in 1968 is that Mays started to decline, probably because he was three years older, although Aaron inexplicably perked up at age 37 in 1971, three years later. Curious. Or suspicious.
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