Mantle vs Mays....Runs Produced Index

[Archive]

Posted By: Ted Zanidakis

Howard38

I thought it would be better to "disconnect" from the Bonds Thread to continue
your ongoing discussion with Gil. Gil is a great guy and he is also a diehard
NY Giants fan. It sounds as you (like me) are a diehard Yankees fan. In my
opinion Willie, Mickey & the Duke were all great players; and, we were very
fortunate to see them play in our formative years.

But Gil will not give Mantle any respect. He constantly says that Mickey was
"not a clutch hitter when it counted". Well, Mantle's World Series record,
alone, refutes Gil's argument. But, let's compare Mantle vs Mays career #s in
a category that is most meaningful to a team....."Runs Produced Index" (RPI).

All the years I was managing my softball team at work, the constant gripe I
got from my team's players was...."why aren't you playing me ?". I always
tried to field the best team and I would keep accurate Stats. So, I would
tell a "griper" that the other guys had better RPI's.

So, when you do the math....Mantle = 3.01 and Mays = 3.37....This indicates
to us that Mantle produced a Run for his team every 3 At Bats. Mays' is just
a little worst. The best standard for this Index, I believe is Ruth with 2.3