Quote:
Originally Posted by molenick
I think Delahanty is right up there. I got curious and I was wondering what he would have had to do to top Cobb's lifetime average if he had not died.
He ended his career with a .346 average at age 35 with 2597 hits in 7510 ABs. If he hit .400 for the next six years going 240 for 600 (more hits and at bats than he ever had in a season) he would have 4037 hits and 11110 ABs for an average of .363 and would still be below Cobb. Even playing to age 42 and averaging .400 for seven seasons only gets him to .365. (For the purposes of this, I am pretending he did not die in 1903 but merely was disabled for the remainder of the season...but a full season of .333 in 1903 would not have helped him, which was his average that year.)
Considering that his averages his last four seasons were .323, .354. .376, and .333 I have to respectfully disagree that he would have surpassed Cobb's lifetime average if he had not died.
Don't blame me! Blame Excel for doing the calculations!
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Nice research! Those are fair points--there is virtually no chance he could have equaled Cobb's career BA record. Delahanty was a great player, probably the best right handed hitter of his era. But it may be a stretch to call him the best right handed hitter ever.