Posted By:
AnonymousChris,
A guy who hits .400+ and walks 30 times will make MORE outs than a guy who hits .400+ and walks 120 times. Making outs is not a good idea. Sisler was a free-swinger with no power.
Here are the players that baseballreference.com compare his career to:
Heinie Manush (884) *
Zack Wheat (845) *
Kiki Cuyler (837) *
Dan Brouthers (821) *
Joe Judge (820)
Jesse Burkett (818) *
Jimmy Ryan (816)
Tony Gwynn (813)
Roger Connor (811) *
Edd Roush (808) *
In 1920 when Sisler hit .407, he made 384 outs. In 1922, he made 340 outs.
In 1923 Ruth hit .393 and made 317 outs.
In 1941, Williams hit .406 and made 271 outs.
Over the course of his career, Sisler made a massive amount of outs for a .340 hitter. Furthermore, he played in an era of inflated stats. We should not judge hitters on batting average alone. It says 1B = 2B = 3B = HR and BB = 0. A George Sisler .407 is not in the same league as a Ted Williams .406 or even a Williams, Ruth, Wagner, Cobb, Mays, .370. Sisler was a free-swinging singles hitter.