Top 106 Baseball Players: #2 - Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig was a great all-around player who rarely missed a game before he was forced into an early retirement by the disease that was named for him and took his life soon afterward.

Gehrig first joined the Yankees in 1923, as a 19-year-old, and was used sparingly as a pinch hitter in his first two years, and wasn't included on the postseason roster when they won the 1923 World Series. Midway through the 1925 season, first baseman Wally Pipp sat out with a headache, allowing Gehrig to start the game, and he didn't sit out another game until 1939.

He had his breakout season in 1927, the year in which the Yankees' lineup was known as Murderer's Row. He batted directly behind Babe Ruth in the lineup for most of his career, but still managed to lead the league in RBI's 5 times, including that season. He broke Ruth's record by knocking in 175 RBI's that season, fell two short of Ruth's record for extra-base hits, and 10 short of his record for total bases. Though Ruth set the record with 60 home runs that year, Gehrig was awarded the league's MVP.

Gehrig had won his first World Series in 1927, but he had his best World Series in 1928, when he hit .545 with 4 home runs and 9 RBI in a 4-game sweep of the Cardinals. He would finish his career with 6 total championships, spread out from 1927 to 1938, his final full season.

From 1930 to 1932, Gehrig had a total of 509 RBI, which is a higher total than any other player had in their 3 best career seasons. That included 185 in 1931, which is the highest in AL history and the second-highest of all time. He also tied with Babe Ruth for the home run title for the first time in his career, and he was the MVP runner-up in both 1931 and 1932.

In 1932, he became the first player ever to hit 4 home runs in a game, and nearly had a fifth that was pulled back from over the fence by an outfielder. He and Ruth were able to lead the Yankees back to the World Series that year after a 3-year absence, and Gehrig was again the driving force behind a sweep, this time against the Cubs. He hit .529 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI in the series as he took home his third ring.

That was Ruth's last great season, and Gehrig took over as the team's biggest star for the next several years. In 1934 he won the Triple Crown with 49 home runs, 166 RBI, and an average of .363, and led the league in total bases. In each of the next 3 seasons, he led the league in walks, and won a second MVP in 1936 when he also led the league in home runs and runs scored.

Between 1926 and 1938, Gehrig did not miss a single game, and also surpassed both 100 runs scored and 100 RBI in each season. He started to feel tired midway through the 1938 season, and when he was unable to hit with any power or cover first base through the first few games of 1939, he voluntarily removed himself from the lineup after playing 2130 straight games, and he would never play again.

He was diagnosed with ALS in June, and a ceremony was held to honor him between games of a doubleheader on July 4th, during which he gave his famous farewell speech and was honored by being the first player ever to have his number retired by any team. After the season ended, a special election was held to induct him into the Hall of Fame before his death, and he was the youngest elected until Sandy Koufax.

In addition to the impressive RBI records listed above, he also holds the record for most times reaching 400 total bases in a season, and is one of only 2 players to hit 40 doubles and 40 homers in the same season 3 times, along with Albert Pujols. He holds the record by scoring the game-winning run in 8 different World Series games, and is definitely one of the all-time great men in baseball history, as well as one of the greatest players ever.