I'm admittedly a little biased in favor of Kiner, but in addition to the seven consecutive homerun titles--including twice over 50 (51 in 1947, and 54 in 1949), which is truly impressive in the presteroid era (only Ruth, Foxx, Mantle and Mays had done that, to my recollection)--Kiner drew a veritable ton of walks. If anyone has read Bill James' material, you know that tends to create a lot of runs. Check out his runs scored totals--they are more than good for a player who certainly wasn't blessed with speed! Because of that, my recollection without checking is that his career on-base-percentage was right around .400--extraordinary for a .279 career hitter, and almost certainly better than either Meusel!
Plus, it took me about a decade to find an example of his true rookie, the 1947 Tip-Top Bread issue! Good thread, guys!
|