Lou Gehrig's/Jimmie Foxx's/Hank Greenberg's numbers if they played today

[flash143817]

I don't think he would have played as long. I also have to consider that his parks helped him out, but I'm thinking he breaks in at age 21 and then had a peak from between ages 22-31 which is 10 years. After age 31 he basically had one good and one solid year. I think he averages 40 a year from ages 22-31, maybe 30 as a 21 year old rookie and maybe 30 at age 32 and 15 at age 33. That's 475 in 13 years. Then again I'd probably have to raise his average 5-7 points with the short career, so maybe .312 at 475 in 13 years.

IIRC, Foxx came up to the big leagues as a 17 year old. I wonder how much that affected his future drinking problems. If he had come up as a 20-21 year old in today's game, would he have been more mature and taken better care of himself. I think that, combined with better medicine and nutrition, would lead to Foxx being a productive player for longer than his age 32 season. Factor in the DH and I could see him hitting 25 homers a year until he's 40. Maybe the decline of a righthanded Jim Thome.

[pheasant]

Foxx could have been deadly had he taken care of himself. However, I take him at face value, but with modern equipment. But Foxx was helped by his home park. I think Pujols has already passed Foxx. We will need to see how Pujols declines. I don't consider 2010 a down year for Pujols at all. 2010 was a typical Pujols year with league leading 173 OPS+, which matches his OPS+ for his first 9 seasons. Granted, it was 26 pts off his career high. But Ruth's 1927 season was 30 OPS+ pts lower than his best season. I doubt people thought that Ruth had an off year in 1927. In 2011, Pujols fractured his wrist. Breaking a bone can have an impact on one's yearly stats. So I see why he had a down year. Even Babe Ruth in 1922 and 1925 had off seasons when he was injured(or suspended). I'm a bit concerned about Pujols' 2012 season. Perhaps he's truly in a decline now. I guess I'm in denial. However, any player can have an off-year. To me, the verdict will be out on Pujols' decline after the 2013 season. Pujols takes such good care of himself, that I don't see how he can decline at such an early age. If he is, then he'll have a tough time catching Gehrig. But I have a feeling that he's due for some more monster seasons, which'll allow him to pass Gehrig. That's my gut right now. Gehrig would be MUCH tougher to take down had he not had that unforunate disease. And FWIW, I give Pujols a huge clutch factor. Pujols' .330/.439/.607 in postseason play is monstrous over 321 PA. Of course, Gehrig was extremely clutch as well.

[GiambiJuice]

Foxx could have been deadly had he taken care of himself. However, I take him at face value, but with modern equipment. But Foxx was helped by his home park. I think Pujols has already passed Foxx. We will need to see how Pujols declines. I don't consider 2010 a down year for Pujols at all. 2010 was a typical Pujols year with league leading 173 OPS+, which matches his OPS+ for his first 9 seasons. Granted, it was 26 pts off his career high. But Ruth's 1927 season was 30 OPS+ pts lower than his best season. I doubt people thought that Ruth had an off year in 1927. In 2011, Pujols fractured his wrist. Breaking a bone can have an impact on one's yearly stats. So I see why he had a down year. Even Babe Ruth in 1922 and 1925 had off seasons when he was injured(or suspended). I'm a bit concerned about Pujols' 2012 season. Perhaps he's truly in a decline now. I guess I'm in denial. However, any player can have an off-year. To me, the verdict will be out on Pujols' decline after the 2013 season. Pujols takes such good care of himself, that I don't see how he can decline at such an early age. If he is, then he'll have a tough time catching Gehrig. But I have a feeling that he's due for some more monster seasons, which'll allow him to pass Gehrig. That's my gut right now. Gehrig would be MUCH tougher to take down had he not had that unforunate disease. And FWIW, I give Pujols a huge clutch factor. Pujols' .330/.439/.607 in postseason play is monstrous over 321 PA. Of course, Gehrig was extremely clutch as well.

Maybe he's really older than he claims. He wouldn't be the first dominican-born player to lie about his age and he won't be the last. I know there's no proof of him being older than 32, but it's highly suspicious to me.

[pheasant]

I wonder how big Gehrig and Foxx would have done today with serious weight training. I can't imagine how big they would have gotten. They were already pretty muscular guys, particularly when considering that they played 80 years ago when weight training was a joke.

[Dude Paskert]

I wonder how big Gehrig and Foxx would have done today with serious weight training. I can't imagine how big they would have gotten. They were already pretty muscular guys, particularly when considering that they played 80 years ago when weight training was a joke.

Foxx was a hard working farm boy...he talked about competing with farmhands in various feats of strength. I see a couple of references online to one "event" being lifting a 200 pound keg of nails without letting it touch it touch your body...I could have sworn that I read something similar about lifting a 50 pound keg without using the hands (I assume pressing hard with the wrists or forearms), but maybe that's my poor memory. Like millions of others, Foxx did intense physical labor to stay alive and support his family...certainly not unknown in the US now, but there are so many more motors these days to help out.

[wrgptfan]

Foxx could have been deadly had he taken care of himself. However, I take him at face value, but with modern equipment. But Foxx was helped by his home park. I think Pujols has already passed Foxx. We will need to see how Pujols declines. I don't consider 2010 a down year for Pujols at all. 2010 was a typical Pujols year with league leading 173 OPS+, which matches his OPS+ for his first 9 seasons. Granted, it was 26 pts off his career high. But Ruth's 1927 season was 30 OPS+ pts lower than his best season. I doubt people thought that Ruth had an off year in 1927. In 2011, Pujols fractured his wrist. Breaking a bone can have an impact on one's yearly stats. So I see why he had a down year. Even Babe Ruth in 1922 and 1925 had off seasons when he was injured(or suspended). I'm a bit concerned about Pujols' 2012 season. Perhaps he's truly in a decline now. I guess I'm in denial. However, any player can have an off-year. To me, the verdict will be out on Pujols' decline after the 2013 season. Pujols takes such good care of himself, that I don't see how he can decline at such an early age. If he is, then he'll have a tough time catching Gehrig. But I have a feeling that he's due for some more monster seasons, which'll allow him to pass Gehrig. That's my gut right now. Gehrig would be MUCH tougher to take down had he not had that unforunate disease. And FWIW, I give Pujols a huge clutch factor. Pujols' .330/.439/.607 in postseason play is monstrous over 321 PA. Of course, Gehrig was extremely clutch as well.

Since May 12 (played all 60 of the LAA games I believe), Pujols's line is 0.324/0.405/0.604/1.010. His career line is .326/.417/.610/1.026. His last 62 games pro-rated to 162 games would be 108 R, 197 H, 41 2B, 43 HR, 124 RBIs, 86 BB with 16 SB and 0 CS in 713 PA. His career line per 162 games is 121 R, 196 H, 42 2B, 43 HR, 125 RBIs, 91 BB, with 8 SB and 3 CS in 706 PA. He will clearly be unable to maintain this consistency over the course of his contract, but I think the first 1 1/2 months of 2012 was more a cause of his trying too hard to produce with the gi-normous contract (also a move to a new league), rather than an actual (major) decline in ability.

[pheasant]

Foxx was a hard working farm boy...he talked about competing with farmhands in various feats of strength. I see a couple of references online to one "event" being lifting a 200 pound keg of nails without letting it touch it touch your body...I could have sworn that I read something similar about lifting a 50 pound keg without using the hands (I assume pressing hard with the wrists or forearms), but maybe that's my poor memory. Like millions of others, Foxx did intense physical labor to stay alive and support his family...certainly not unknown in the US now, but there are so many more motors these days to help out.

Bill Jenkinson believes that Foxx was the closest thing to Ruth in outright distance hitting. The boy could clobber the ball. He did have 3 years in which he put up legit triple crown stats. In 1932, he was 2 hits away. He won the triple crown in 1933. In 1938, he led the league with 175 RBI and a .349 avg, but his 50 HRs were topped ony by Greenberg's 58 HRs. The boy had his moments.

[pheasant]

Since May 12 (played all 60 of the LAA games I believe), Pujols's line is 0.324/0.405/0.604/1.010. His career line is .326/.417/.610/1.026. His last 62 games pro-rated to 162 games would be 108 R, 197 H, 41 2B, 43 HR, 124 RBIs, 86 BB with 16 SB and 0 CS in 713 PA. His career line per 162 games is 121 R, 196 H, 42 2B, 43 HR, 125 RBIs, 91 BB, with 8 SB and 3 CS in 706 PA. He will clearly be unable to maintain this consistency over the course of his contract, but I think the first 1 1/2 months of 2012 was more a cause of his trying too hard to produce with the gi-normous contract (also a move to a new league), rather than an actual (major) decline in ability.

Thanks for posting those stats. I didn't realize that he was hitting so well after his adjustment period. That's why I think next year will really tell the story about whether or not he's in a decline. Hopefully, Albert carries his .600+ slugging pct for 3-4 more seasons. It'll be somewhat sad to see Gehrig get dethroned since he's my favorite ever. But at least it'll be by a classy guy. I do respect Pujols. And FWIW, despite what the sabremetricians say, I believe in clutch hitting, despite the small sample points. In the playoffs with the game on the line, I'll take Pujols today over A-rod during his prime any day of the week. Pujols is very clutch. I'd easily take Ortiz over A-rod during those situations. But Pujols is the most clutch I've seen in my lifetime. Pujols squeaks by George Brett and David Ortiz as the most clutch I've personally seen.

[White Knight]

Thanks for posting those stats. I didn't realize that he was hitting so well after his adjustment period. That's why I think next year will really tell the story about whether or not he's in a decline. Hopefully, Albert carries his .600+ slugging pct for 3-4 more seasons. It'll be somewhat sad to see Gehrig get dethroned since he's my favorite ever. But at least it'll be by a classy guy. I do respect Pujols. And FWIW, despite what the sabremetricians say, I believe in clutch hitting, despite the small sample points. In the playoffs with the game on the line, I'll take Pujols today over A-rod during his prime any day of the week. Pujols is very clutch. I'd easily take Ortiz over A-rod during those situations. But Pujols is the most clutch I've seen in my lifetime. Pujols squeaks by George Brett and David Ortiz as the most clutch I've personally seen.

Let's not forget Manny in his prime. Unbelievably clutch.

[pheasant]

Let's not forget Manny in his prime. Unbelievably clutch.

Good point. Manny was very clutch. He was in Ortiz's league, but for a longer period of time.