For the first time since 1934 and 1935, the Detroit Tigers are entering consecutive year post-season play. Like today those Tigers were lead by slugging a infielder -- Hank Greenberg. Miguel Cabrera’s great season brought him to my mind.
I went to baseball-reference.com, the mother lode of baseball stats, to see how they compared. One of the interesting analyses done there is to list players of other eras with the most similar stats. Number one for Miguel Cabrera is Hank Greenberg.
As Cabrera is entering his prime and still rising it is not yet fair to compare the two, but how does his triple crown season stats compare Greenberg’s 1940 MVP season? [Cabrera – Greenberg – Greenberg’s best year]
Home Runs: 44 – 41 - 58
RBI’s: 139 – 150 - 183
Average: .330 - .340 - .340
Slugging average: .607 - .670 - .670
Salary [today’s dollars] - $20 million - $900,000 - $1.1 million
But Greenberg’s story is far more compelling.
- He would give up of 4 of his prime years serving his country in World War II. When in 1941 he failed the draft for his flat feet, he insisted on being examined again and was drafted. Later released, along with all others over 28, he volunteered immediately after Pearl Harbor and served in the China-Burma-India Theater until mid season 1945 when he returned to the Tigers to lead them to the World Series championship.
- His 45 months of service was the longest of any major league player.
- He was one the few players to publicly welcome Jackie Robinson to the Major Leagues.
- As a general manager he led the Cleveland Indians 1954 and Chicago White Sox 1960 to the World Series.
- He would endure anti-Semitic abuse. One time in the 1935 World Series it was so vitriolic that the head umpire ordered the Chicago Cubs bench cleared.
- He would famously abstain from playing on Yom Kippur in the midst of a pennant race, applauded by his congregation at Shaary Zedek, and the Tigers still won the pennant.
No wonder he was my mother’s all-time favorite Tiger.
Hank Greenberg’s Detroit Synagogue Shaary Zedek on W. Chicago, now the Clinton Street Greater Bethlehem Temple.
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