4) Hank Aaron
When we talk about consistency, we talk about Hank Aaron. From 1955-1973 he never hit less than 24 home runs in a season, and he hit 30 home runs a record fifteen times. What that all added up to was Aaron’s retirement as baseball’s all-time home run leader with 755. But when you play for 22 years and compile the second-most at-bats of anyone ever, you’ll do a lot more than just hit home runs.
A career .305 hitter with a .374 on-base percentage and .555 slugging percentage, Aaron won an MVP award playing for the 1957 World Series Champion Milwaukee Braves. Also, Aaron won three Gold Gloves to go along with his record twenty-five All-Star Game appearances. (If you’re asking yourself how can a player make twenty-five All-Star Games in twenty-two years, the answer is because from 1959-1962 there were two All-Star Games a year.)
Career-wise, Aaron ranks first with 2,297 RBI; 1,477 extra base hits; and 6,856 total bases. He also holds the record for most consecutive seasons with 150+ hits with seventeen. Aaron ranks third all-time in hits, games played, and plate appearances, is fourth in runs scored, twelfth in singles, and tenth in doubles. Add to all that 240 career stolen bases.
Aaron had eight 40-homer seasons, led the NL in hitting twice and in home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage four times each. 1963 marks the last time someone led their league in runs scored, HRs, and RBIs and did not win the MVP award. Aaron finished third in voting.
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| #4 Hank Aaron |
3) Stan Musial
Even though other players on this list might have higher career totals, Stan “The Man” Musial takes the third spot because of what he did relative to his peers. Musial was always among his league’s leaders in practically every offensive category, leading the NL in games played five times, runs scored five times, hits six times, doubles eight times, triples five times, runs batted in twice, hitting seven times, slugging six times, on-base percentage six times, OPS seven times, and total bases six times. Also, in 1948 Musial was just one home run short of winning the Triple Crown.
The career Cardinal was a three-time MVP (1943, 1946, 1948), four-time MVP runner-up, and three-time World Series Champion (1942, 1944, 1946) who tied Willie Mays’ record for most All-Star Game selections with 24. Plus, he missed the entire 1945 season serving in the Navy.
Musial posted a career .331 batting average, a .417 on-base percentage, and a .559 slugging percentage. Along with 475 career home runs, Musial has the 4th-most hits all-time with 3,630—1,815 came on the road and 1,815 at home—the 3rd-most doubles with 725, the 2nd-most total bases with 6,134, the 9th-most runs scored with 1,949, and the 6th-most runs batted in with 1,951.
Musial is one of the most chronically underrated players in baseball history. Part of that is playing in the heartland, in St. Louis, away from big media markets. Another part is just the guy Musial was: a quiet, go-about-your-business-type who would simply go out and rip line drives all day. In essence, he’s the man.
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| #3 Stan Musial |
--from @jeuneski
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