Hank Aaron 1934-2021: most RBI and Total Bases career.
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Positions: Rightfielder and First Baseman
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-0, 180lb (183cm, 81kg)
Born: February 5, 1934 in Mobile, AL us
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The passing of Hank Aaron prompted me to consider again the question of who is the greatest living player. I never thought it was the recently departed Hank Aaron but I mention Aaron to explicitly indicate this.
Position: Centerfielder
Bats: Right • Throws: Right
6-2, 193lb (188cm, 87kg)
Born: November 25, 1914 in Martinez, CA us
Died: March 8, 1999
The title Greatest Living Player was applied to DiMaggio in 1969. This caused consternation for some, particularly if they hated the New York Yankees and/or Joe DiMaggio. This is shortly after DiMaggio is referenced in the 1968 Grammy winning Simon and Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson":
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you, wo wo wo
What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson
‘Joltin Joe’ has left and gone away, hey hey hey
Hey hey hey
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Four consecutive World Series championships: Yankees 1936,1937,1938,1939. Sunday, January 10, 2021
Before 1936 no team had won more than two consecutive World Series championships or more than three consecutive pennants: ...
In 1936 Joe DiMaggio joined the Yankees and they immediately won the pennant and World Series four consecutive times.
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Joe DiMaggio SABR bio by Lawrence Baldassaro
“Baseball isn’t statistics; it’s Joe DiMaggio rounding second.”
— attributed to Jimmy Breslin by Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle, June 3, 1975...
Joe DiMaggio was one of the most recognizable and popular men in mid-twentieth century America. He was celebrated in song and literature as an iconic hero, and he was married, briefly, to the nation’s number one glamour girl (Marilyn Monroe). On March 16, 1999, the House of Representatives passed a resolution honoring him “for his storied baseball career; for his many contributions to the nation throughout his lifetime; and for transcending baseball and becoming a symbol for the ages of talent, commitment and achievement.” ...
Columnist Jim Murray wrote: “... DiMaggio, you had to see. It wasn’t only numbers on a page — although they were there too — it was a question of command, style, grace.”
In the eyes of his contemporaries, Joe DiMaggio was universally considered the best player they had ever seen...
...he was introduced as “baseball’s greatest living player,” a title bestowed upon him in a 1969 poll
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OK, Joe DiMaggio was still hot stuff in 1969. When DiMaggio died 30 years later, it was natural to consider his successor. Mickey Mantle had died in 1995, so he was out. Barry Bonds had just started using steroids. The immediate and natural answer was Willie Mays, who played almost all of his career for the Giants: in New York 1951, 1952, 1954-1957; San Francisco 1958-1972. Hank Aaron never came to mind. Never.
Since 1999 has any player superseded Willie Mays, whose 90th birthday will be May 6, 2021? Only two players seem worthy of consideration: the aforementioned Bonds and active player Mike Trout. All three have a single syllable last name.
PA: plate appearances
WAR: wins above replacement (player), a total
OPS+: On Base average plus Slugging average adjusted for ballparks and era; obviously an average, not a total
PA/WAR: the number of PA to produce one WAR, which includes more than hitting but PA gives an estimate of how much he played and produces an average of sorts. Fewer is better.
I'm comfortable sticking with Mays. Bonds is problematic because of his use of performance enhancing drugs (PED), including steroids. Trout may be well on his way but he's played way too little so far.
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| Willie Mays 1961 Public domain via Wikimedia Commons |
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