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Player Stats

The following is a typical player entry in The Triple Crown Contenders.

Hank Aaron

TCC points: 311.83

Top TCC: 5

Titles: 10 ( 2, 4, 4 )

			Avg.		HR		RBI
year	team	league	place	pts.	place	pts.		place	pts.		Totals

1955	Mil	NL	5	6	10T3	0.33		9	2		8.33
1956	Mil	NL	1	10	---	---		9	2		12
1957	Mil	NL	4	7	1	10		1	10		27*
1958	Mil	NL	4	7	5	6		6	5		18
1959	Mil	NL	1	10	3	8		3	8		26*
1960	Mil	NL	---	---	2	9		1	10		19
1961	Mil	NL	5	6	6	5		4	7		18
1962	Mil	NL	5	6	2	9		4	7		22
1963	Mil	NL	3T2	7.5	1T2	9.5		1	10		27*
1964	Mil	NL	3	8	9T3	1		10T2	0.5		9.5
1965	Mil	NL	2	9	6T4	3.5		---	---		12.5
1966	Atl	NL	---	---	1	10		1	10		20
1967	Atl	NL	8	3	1	10		3	8		21*
1968	Atl	NL	---	---	5	6		7	4		10
1969	Atl	NL	---	---	2	9		7	4		13
1970	Atl	NL	---	---	5T2	5.5		5	6		11.5
1971	Atl	NL	5	6	2	9		3	8		23*
1972	Atl	NL	---	---	4	7		---	---		7
1973	Atl	NL	---	---	4	7		---	---		7
			Totals	85.5		124.83			101.5		311.83
			(Pct.)	(27.4)		(40.0)			(32.5)

Henry Louis Aaron—Hammerin’ Hank— was the National League’s greatest slugger. He had three “almost” Triple Crown years, although only one was really close. In 1957 he batted .322, while Stan Musial led the league with .351. In 1959 Aaron needed 7 more homers to tie teammate Mathews, 20 more RBI to tie Banks. 1963 was a near miss—he hit .319, while Tommie Davis led the league with .326.

Of course, depending on how “greatest slugger” is defined, it could be argued that Aaron was the greatest slugger, period. What defines a slugger? If your answer is Total Bases, then Aaron wins, with over 1000 more career total bases than The Babe. But if your answer is Slugging Pct., then Ruth beats Aaron easily. But The Babe is third in career Walk Pct., while Aaron isn’t even in the Top 100. Aaron was a contact hitter with lots of power—he was up at the plate slugging away. Ruth waited for his pitches to slug. Aaron struck out a few more times than Ruth, but in far more Plate Appearances. So take your pick—George or Henry.

As a Triple Crown Contender, of course, Ruth beats Aaron by a comfortable margin. The Babe won 19 Titles to Aaron’s ten. Ruth was The Game’s first real slugger, and had very little competition as far as sluggers go. But many players hit for a higher average than Ruth—and that’s true of Aaron, too. Did Aaron have more and better competition for the Triple Crown than The Babe? Should second or third or eighth place be worth more in the 1990s than it was in the 1930s? There will be more on that subject throughout the book.

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Page was last edited on 11/11/10 04:38:34 PM