Lou Gehrig vs. Ty Cobb

[Cowtipper]

Two all-time greats, but which one was better? If Ty Cobb > Honus Wagner and Honus Wagner > Lou Gehrig, then surely Ty Cobb > Lou Gehrig. But is that necessarily the case?

[chicagowhitesox1173]

I chose Ty Cobb and I suspect he should win pretty easily.

[PVNICK]

Great as Gehrig was, and an argument could be made straight face that was the third greatest hitter of all time, he is no match for Cobb. Cobb is one tick above Gehrig, traveling in the circle of Ruth, Mays, Wagner and perhaps Bonds, Williams and/or Mantle for the greatest or top 5 MLB position player. Gehrig is in the next group that shoudl include Aaron, Musial and Speaker. Not bad company either way.

[Gee Walker]

If the only thing you look at is OPS+, then Gehrig beats Cobb, 179 to 168. This, of course, conveniently ignores the facts that:

Cobb played CF, for the most part pretty well, while Gehrig played 1B and struggled with his defense.
Cobb stole bases, and keeping in mind that there were a lot of CS in Cobb's time, he still seemed to be very good at it. Gehrig had decent speed when he was young, but his SB:CS ratio was 102:100.
Cobb played over 900 games more than Gehrig, and lost some of his OPS+ edge by having a seven-year decline phase from ages 35 to 42. Gehrig had a short, tragic decline phase, basically occurring in 1938.

I agree with the last poster - for me, Cobb is ranked second all time as a player, behind a certain teammate of Gehrig's. Lou seems to fit in somewhere around #7, around guys like Wagner, Williams, and Aaron.

[The Wright Way]

I'm gonna go with Cobb. Gehrig's only real argument is his power and higher OPS+. That being said first base is a more eminent position for power and hitting.

[3and2Fastball]

I voted Cobb, but Gehrig was better than Cobb at total bases plus walks plus stolen bases, and that is a fairly significant point that goes in Gehrig's favor.

If I was building an all-time team, Cobb would be somewhat irreplaceable. Sure you could put Speaker of Oscar Charleston in Cobb's place and get almost as much value out of CF, but it wouldn't be quite the same level of intensity or batting average.... Gehrig could be much more easily replaced with Buck Leonard or Albert Pujols without skipping a beat

[pheasant]

Gehrig was a better hitter, but that's about it. Cobb's all-around game and more important position makes him more valuable. I voted for Cobb. But I want some people to give Gehrig some votes here.

[GiambiJuice]

Ty Cobb is without a doubt in the top 3. Lou Gehrig is arguably in the top 8.

[3and2Fastball]

I voted Cobb, but Gehrig was better than Cobb at total bases plus walks plus stolen bases (per season), and that is a fairly significant point that goes in Gehrig's favor.

If I was building an all-time team, Cobb would be somewhat irreplaceable. Sure you could put Speaker or Oscar Charleston in Cobb's place and get almost as much value out of CF, but it wouldn't be quite the same level of intensity or batting average.... Gehrig could be much more easily replaced with Buck Leonard or Albert Pujols without skipping a beat

[GiambiJuice]

I voted Cobb, but Gehrig was better than Cobb at total bases plus walks plus stolen bases (per season), and that is a fairly significant point that goes in Gehrig's favor.

If I was building an all-time team, Cobb would be somewhat irreplaceable. Sure you could put Speaker or Oscar Charleston in Cobb's place and get almost as much value out of CF, but it wouldn't be quite the same level of intensity or batting average.... Gehrig could be much more easily replaced with Buck Leonard or Albert Pujols without skipping a beat

I think Willie Mays could replace Cobb quite nicely.

[leecemark]

--You can make a reasonable argument for Cobb as the best player ever. You can not make such an argument for Gehrig.

[White Knight]

Ty Cobb is without a doubt in the top 3. Lou Gehrig is arguably in the top 8.

I say top 5. If we were about 70 years older and the internet was around then, well let's just say times my Jeter fanboyism by about 100.

[White Knight]

--You can make a reasonable argument for Cobb as the best player ever. You can not make such an argument for Gehrig.

Can you with his projected disease-free stats? .330 BA, 650 home runs, 3,800 hits, 2,800 RBI, 3,000 consecutive game streak. I think so.

[3and2Fastball]

I think Willie Mays could replace Cobb quite nicely.

Good point! Although it would depend on the makeup of the rest of your team. A player at any position who can hit .367 and steal 90-100 bases is pretty much impossible to find. Cobb is an ideal lead-off hitter. A power hitter who can hit 50 HR's is much easier to find (recognizing that there is much more to Mays than power hitting, but even so Mays/Charleston are pretty much interchangeable)

[leecemark]

Can you with his projected disease-free stats? .330 BA, 650 home runs, 3,800 hits, 2,800 RBI, 3,000 consecutive game streak. I think so.

Not really. Pretty much all his value is as a hitter and at least Ruth and Williams were better. I guess if all you care about is hitting then you could have a Gehrig without the early death as high as third.