Lou Gehrig vs Willie Mays

5of 9 lines

4of 9 lines

Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays compared on their MLB careers: Lou Gehrig played 17 seasons, 1923 to 1939, Willie Mays 22 seasons, 1951 to 1973. Lou Gehrig has .340 batting average to Willie Mays's .302. Lou Gehrig won 8 titles, Willie Mays won 1 title.

Who has the better career numbers?

Lou Gehrig leads in 5 of the 9 lines, Willie Mays in 4. Bold marks the better figure; playing time — games, minutes, at-bats, innings — is not scored.

Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays career totals

2,164	GP	2,992
8,001	AB	10,881
1,888	R	2,062, better
2,721	H	3,283, better
493	HR	660, better
1,995, better	RBI	1,903
102	SB	338, better
0.3, better	AVG	0.3
0.4, better	OBP	0.4
0.6, better	SLG	0.6
1.1, better	OPS	0.9

How do they compare in the postseason?

Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays postseason

34	GP	25
119	AB	89
30, better	R	12
43, better	H	22
10, better	HR	1
35, better	RBI	10
0	SB	3, better
0.4, better	AVG	0.2
0.5, better	OBP	0.3
0.7, better	SLG	0.3
1.2, better	OPS	0.7

Where each stands all time

Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays all-time places

29th (493)	Home runs	6th (660), better
63rd (2,721)	Hits	12th (3,283), better
5th (1,995), better	RBI	10th (1,903)
—	Stolen bases	122nd (338), better

Among the MLB players with a career line on file, regular season, counting stats only — the same lists the records pages run on.

Titles and awards

Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays titles and awards

8, better	Championships	1
1, better	AL MVP	—
—	NL Rookie of the Year	1, better
—	NL MVP	2, better
—	AL Gold Glove	1, better
—	NL Gold Glove	12, better

Awards come from the league’s published winner lists; a championship counts a season played for the club that won it.

Season by season

Lined up by career year, not by calendar: each row is the players’ nth season.

Lou Gehrig and Willie Mays season by season

1st	1923	.423, better	1	9	1951	.274	20, better	68, better
2nd	1924	.500, better	0	5	1952	.236	4, better	23, better
3rd	1925	.295	20	68	1954	.345, better	41, better	110, better
4th	1926	.313	16	112	1955	.319, better	51, better	127, better
5th	1927	.373, better	47, better	175, better	1956	.296	36	84
6th	1928	.374, better	27	142, better	1957	.333	35, better	97
7th	1929	.300	35, better	126, better	1958	.347, better	29	96
8th	1930	.379, better	41, better	174, better	1959	.313	34	104
9th	1931	.341, better	46, better	184, better	1960	.319	29	103
10th	1932	.349, better	34	151, better	1961	.308	40, better	123
11th	1933	.334, better	32	139	1962	.304	49, better	141, better
12th	1934	.363, better	49, better	165, better	1963	.314	38	103
13th	1935	.329, better	30	119, better	1964	.296	47, better	111
14th	1936	.354, better	49	152, better	1965	.317	52, better	112
15th	1937	.351, better	37	159, better	1966	.288	37	103
16th	1938	.295, better	29, better	114, better	1967	.263	22	70
17th	1939	.143	0	1	1968	.289, better	23, better	79, better
18th	—	—	—	—	1969	.283	13	58
19th	—	—	—	—	1970	.291	28	83
20th	—	—	—	—	1971	.271	18	61
21st	—	—	—	—	1972	.250	8	22
22nd	—	—	—	—	1973	.211	6	25

What the columns mean: AVG · HR · RBI