Lou Gehrig played 14 complete seasons, during which the Yankees won seven pennants and six World Championships, not including world titles in 1923 and 1939, when Gehrig played briefly.
Lou is among a group of players who did better in the World Series than they did during the regular season.
He batted .361, hit 10 home runs, drove home a New York Yankee 35 times, had a gaudy .731 slugging average, and reached base 47.7 percent of the time.
Lou’s Incredible World Series Performance
In 1926, the Yankees lost the Series to the St. Louis Cardinals, which was the only time Gehrig played on a team that didn’t win the World Championship.
The following year, Gehrig played on the 1927 Yankees.
The Yankees swept an outstanding Pittsburgh Pirates team in 1927, as Gehrig slugged .769, thanks to a pair of doubles and a pair of triples.
In 1928, Gehrig dominated the World Series, as the Yankees swept St. Louis. They beat Jesse Haines and Grover Cleveland Alexander, the pitchers that had each defeated them twice in 1926.
Lou batted .545 with four home runs in the four game Series. He had a .706 on base percentage to go along with an incredible 1.727 slugging percentage.
Gehrig Hit “Only” .529
Connie Mack’s great Athletics won the pennants from 1929-1931, but the Yankees won in 1932 and swept the Chicago Cubs.
The Yankees now had swept the last three World Series in which they had appeared, winning 12 consecutive games.
Gehrig hit .529 with three home runs, a .600 on base percentage, and a 1.118 slugging percentage. Lou had cooled off a little since his 1928 World Series performance.
Still Good But Not As Great
The Washington Senators won the pennant in 1933, and then the Detroit Tigers won pennants in 1934 and 1935, but in 1936, the Yankees started a streak of four consecutive pennants and World Championships.
The rival New York Giants, behind the rapidly becoming underrated Carl Hubbell, won the first game, but the Yankees won four of the next five games.
Gehrig hit .292 with two home runs, a .393 on base average, and a .583 slugging average.
The following season the Yankees again beat the Giants, with Gehrig (.294, .455, .647) having another good Series. In 1938, Lou played in his final World Series (.286, .375, .286) as the Yankees swept the Cubs again, but it wasn’t the real Lou Gehrig. He was already suffering from the disease that would take his life.
Better Than Mickey, Joe, Jeter, and Alex
There have been many controversies surrounding the Yankees, but there can be no denying that Babe Ruth was the greatest Yankee ever, followed closely by Lou Gehrig.
Imagine what Lou would have accomplished and contributed to society if he had lived a full life. Would anyone agree with Charles Barkley when he said athletes aren’t role models?
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