Connecticut Post Online (Bridgeport, Connecticut)
September 10, 2009
September 10, 2009
Dear Editor,
Let's get away from all the political news for now, and let's talk about baseball.
Derek Jeter, one of the greatest shortstops in baseball, will break Lou Gehrig's record of hits by a Yankee. But remember that Lou Gehrig played in the years when they played 154 games per year. That would be eight games per year less than the 162 games per year played now. That could add up to about 500 more times at bat today for any batter.
So, if Lou Gehrig got the 500 more times at bat when he played, guess what -- no one would ever break his record today.
Carmen A. Franco
Bridgeport
Bridgeport
Posts
3 comments:
Jeter averages 610 AB a year. All he would need to do is play one more year to match your extra 500 AB that Gehrig would have received if the number of games playes were equal.
Lou Gehrig's career batting average was .339. Using that, out of 500 AB, he would have added about 169 hits. Jeter averages 193 hits a season.
You do the math...
Extra 500 at-bats? Batting 4th? He'll average 3 at-bats (cause this idiot probably also thinks an at-bat includes a walk) over 8 extra games over 17 seasons would put you at 408 at bats, a good 100 off 500.
Jeter is 35, and probably has at least 3 more years left in him where he can put up quality numbers (i.e. around 200 hits a season).
Gehrig's extra games would have prolonged the inevitable until maybe next year.
Now the real argument is what would have happened if Gehrig didn't start to contract ALS at age 35. His numbers dropped over the 1938 season, and then by 1939 he was done. I bet that Gehrig would have come pretty close to 3000 hits had he finished his career healthy.
Let's say those 500 ABs were the best of Gehrig's career and he went .500 in them (250 hits). Jeter would still pass that before the end of 2011.
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