Could Gehrig have handled the pressure?

[vintagesportscollector]

RE Gehrig, I would also add that without Ruth the Yankees of that era may not have been the "Yankees" that won so many titles and garnered the attention. It still would have been New York, but quite possibly less attention, less pressure and a lower pedestal. Maybe they don't go on to have all that success and Gehrig goes on to play his career with less pressure as attention shifts/spreads to other teams. What if the Yanks didn't win any titles in the 20s and 30s? Would the pressures be a fraction of what was created from their success?

[billyb]

VintagenSports,

Not so sure there would have been less pressure on Gehrig if the Yanks were not winning as often. The fans, as I mentioned, were probably more on the frenzied side, and probably more impatient. The "bums" terminology may have been used more. The players hear that, and press to have the fans ease up on them.
I do believe the fans of the before TV era, created a bit more pressure on the players, back then, they do now. We will never know, even with all those Yankee wins, regarding the teams who finished just behind them, what kind of pressure they may have gotten from their fans, just to finish ahead of the Yanks. The Yanks probably created pressure on those teams as well as the fans of those teams.
Interesting thoughts guys.

[Runscott]

I'm not seeing anywhere in the Gehrig-era Yankees line-up where pitching around anyone was an option.