On this date in 1963, all time MLB great Rogers Hornsby was buried in Texas after dying January 5th of a heart attack. Hornsby was most recently a hitting coach for the 1962 Mets. Known as one of the best hitters of all time, Hornsby was known for his classic confrontations with other players as few contemporaries liked him. To me, that does not matter as I feel the attitudes of Rogers and Ty Cobb are part of what made them as great of players as they were. When Hornsby retired, he was 2nd all time in homeruns and held records for most HR in the NL and most HR for a RH hitter for a period of time.
I have written before about Hornsby and how much he was hated as well as how it impacted him as a manager. Check it out here.
What fascinates me the most about Hornsby if the fact that he had amongst the best ten consecutive seasons of all time. I don't deny the fact that others could compete with this, as Cobb, Babe Ruth and some others may have a say in this argument. From 1921-1925, he hit .402. Not just for one season, but for the duration of five seasons. His performance in the decade of the 20s was 2nd only to Ruth.
Outside of 1926, his last season with the Cardinals, where he hit only .317, Hornsby hit .361 or higher every other season during the 1920s and hit .380 or above for 7 of those seasons. For the decade, he was 2085-5451, good enough for a .382 average. During the 1920s, he won 7 NL batting titles, led the league in OBP 8 times, slugging 8 times, OPS 9 times, OPS+ 9 times, 6 times in total bases, 4 RBI titles, 4 times in 2Bs, 4 times in hits, 3 times in walks and 5 times in runs scored. More impressively, during the same decade, he has 40 plus doubles 7 times, 120 plus RS 6 times and 125 plus RBI 5 times.
Part of the sign of how Hornsby's attitude affected perception, he played for four teams in four seasons in this same decade: the Cardinals in 1926, the Giants in 1927, the Braves in 1928 and the Cubs in 1929. He hit .361 for the Giants, .387 for the Braves and .380 for the Cubs to close out the decade.
I have said before that when it comes to the best player of all time, it comes down to just three players, and that is Ruth, Cobb and Ted Williams. But, three players that have to be part of the discussion are Hornsby, Stan Musial and Josh Gibson. In my opinion, greats such as Hank Aaron, Tris Speaker, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds need to be mentioned as well. Obviously, the debate will go on, but one thing cannot be denied: Hornsby's performance during the 1920s, as great as it was, does not get the credit it deserves because of the run of the great Ruth.
Outside of 1926, his last season with the Cardinals, where he hit only .317, Hornsby hit .361 or higher every other season during the 1920s and hit .380 or above for 7 of those seasons. For the decade, he was 2085-5451, good enough for a .382 average. During the 1920s, he won 7 NL batting titles, led the league in OBP 8 times, slugging 8 times, OPS 9 times, OPS+ 9 times, 6 times in total bases, 4 RBI titles, 4 times in 2Bs, 4 times in hits, 3 times in walks and 5 times in runs scored. More impressively, during the same decade, he has 40 plus doubles 7 times, 120 plus RS 6 times and 125 plus RBI 5 times.
Part of the sign of how Hornsby's attitude affected perception, he played for four teams in four seasons in this same decade: the Cardinals in 1926, the Giants in 1927, the Braves in 1928 and the Cubs in 1929. He hit .361 for the Giants, .387 for the Braves and .380 for the Cubs to close out the decade.
I have said before that when it comes to the best player of all time, it comes down to just three players, and that is Ruth, Cobb and Ted Williams. But, three players that have to be part of the discussion are Hornsby, Stan Musial and Josh Gibson. In my opinion, greats such as Hank Aaron, Tris Speaker, Willie Mays and Barry Bonds need to be mentioned as well. Obviously, the debate will go on, but one thing cannot be denied: Hornsby's performance during the 1920s, as great as it was, does not get the credit it deserves because of the run of the great Ruth.
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