mozartpc27 wrote:FTN wrote:If Ted Williams hadn't essentially lost almost 5 seasons because of the two wars, would he have been the greatest player in history?
He missed his age 24, 25 and 26 seasons, then almost all of his age 33 season, and 3/4 of his age 34 season.
If you just assume he lost on average 30 HR in his 24-26 seasons, and then maybe 35 combined in '52-53, that's another 125, which would give him right around 650. And thats probably a low end estimate, as he hit 37 and 36 the two years before the war, and then 38 in his first year back at age 27.
He could have realistically hit close to 700 HR. He had 2654 hits, but would have easily gone past 3,000. Give him 180 hits per from '43-45, then another 160 in 52 and say another 120 in '53. That would be close to 3,500 hits.
Amazing stuff really.
Yeah, Bill James has said it before and it's true: Ted Williams, not Babe Ruth, is the greatest hitter who ever lived.
I don't know if I'd go that far, but they're probably tied. Ruth still had 714 HR and the only 200 OPS+ in history despite getting very few AB in his first five years because he was a starting pitcher.
