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When it comes to a discussion about the greatest first basemen in MLB history, the shortlist usually includes names like Albert Pujols, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig, Hank Greenberg, etc. In particular, with Babe Ruth helping to usher in a new age of baseball post the dead-ball era, offense exploded in the 1920s and 1930s. At the vanguard of this renaissance were Jimmie Foxx and Lou Gehrig, two first basemen who are closely linked to Ruth: Foxx was arguably the second-greatest power hitter of the era (after Ruth), while Gehrig protected Ruth as the cleanup hitter in the New York Yankees’ lineup for a decade. Between these two legendary sluggers, as fans continue to debate their careers and places in history, we ask the question:
Who was better – Jimmie Foxx or Lou Gehrig?
The Beginning
Though both Foxx and Gehrig made their major league debuts at very young ages (17 and 20, respectively), it would take a couple of years of seasoning before each would truly begin to make their marks as offensive powerhouses.
As a youngster in Maryland, Foxx played soccer, track, and baseball before dropping out of high school to join a minor league team managed by former Philadelphia Athletics slugger Frank “Home Run” Baker. He was soon able to parlay this into a contract with the Athletics and made his major league debut at age 17 in 1925, though barely played as a teenager (he appeared in fewer than 100 combined games between 1925 and 1927). Originally a catcher by trade, Foxx moved to first base and in his first full MLB season in 1928, hit .328 with 13 home runs, 79 runs batted in, 85 runs scored, a .416 on-base percentage, and a .548 slugging percentage (good for an OPS+ of 148; OPS+ measures on-base percentage plus slugging percentage against a league-wide average benchmarked to 100), resulting in an 11th place finish in the MVP voting.
Save for a couple of seasons playing minor league baseball, Gehrig spent nearly his entire life in New York City. In his youth, he played baseball for the New York School of Commerce (high school), then went on to Columbia University on a football scholarship. However, after playing summer professional baseball under an assumed name, he was suspended from college athletics his freshman year, though returned and played both fullback for the football team and first base/pitcher for the baseball team. After two years at Columbia, he signed with the New York Yankees in 1923 and spent most of the 1923 and 1924 seasons with the minor league Hartford Senators (23 total major league games). On June 1, 1925, Gehrig entered a Yankees game as a pinch hitter for shortstop Paul “Pee Wee” Wanninger; then, on June 2, he started at first base in place of Wally Pip, marking the start of 2,130 consecutive games played, which would break the previous record of 1,307 games. This record for the “Iron Horse” would stand for 56 years until broken by Cal Ripken Jr. in 1995, who would eventually play in 2,632 consecutive games. Overall, during that 1925 season, Gehrig hit .295 with 20 home runs, 68 runs batted in, 73 runs scored, a .365 on-base percentage, and a .531 slugging percentage (127 OPS+) to finish 24th for MVP.
Career Comparison
As they entered their respective career primes, Foxx and Gehrig consistently put up numbers year in and year out that were not only elite for their era, but were all-time historic performances that would cement their places in the upper pantheons of baseball greatness.
In 1929, Foxx broke out as a star, hitting .354 with 33 home runs, 118 runs batted in, 123 runs scored, a league-best .463 on-base percentage, and a .625 slugging percentage (173 OPS+); this would mark the first of 12 consecutive seasons in which he would hit 30+ home runs, drive in 100+ runs, and score 90+ runs. After two more strong seasons in 1930 and 1931, he entered his prime with back-to-back MVP seasons:
- 1932: .364 batting average, 58 home runs, 169 runs batted in, 151 runs scored, a .469 on-base percentage, and a .749 slugging percentage (207 OPS+); Foxx led the league in home runs, runs batted in, runs scored, slugging percentage, OPS+, and total bases, and narrowly missed out on the Triple Crown. Moreover, he actually hit 60 home runs during the season to tie Babe Ruth’s then-record, but two of the dingers came in games that were rained out and thus, did not count
- 1933: .356 batting average, 48 home runs, 163 runs batted in, 125 runs scored, a .449 on-base percentage, and a .703 slugging percentage (201 OPS+); this time, Foxx did win the Triple Crown and was also selected to the inaugural All-Star Game between the AL and NL, the first of nine straight appearances
Following his two MVP seasons, Foxx continued to be a fearsome and consistent presence in the middle of the Philadelphia lineup. However, due to the Great Depression, Athletics owner Connie Mack was forced to sell off a few of his star players due to financial woes – this included Foxx, who was sold to the Boston Red Sox for $150K after a 1936 contract dispute.
Foxx did not miss a beat in Boston – in his first season with the Red Sox in 1936, he hit .338 with 41 home runs, 143 runs batted in, 130 runs scored, a .440 on-base percentage, and a .631 slugging percentage, good for a 155 OPS+, and finished 11th in the MVP voting. A couple of seasons later, Foxx would win his third MVP and come close to another Triple Crown in 1938: a league-high .349 batting average, 50 home runs (his second 50-home run season), a career-high and league-best 175 runs batted in, 139 runs scored, a .462 on-base percentage, and a .704 slugging percentage (182 OPS+, sweeping the ratio categories). He nearly repeated again as MVP in 1939, finishing second with a career-high .360 batting average, league-high 35 home runs, 105 runs batted in, 130 runs scored, a .464 on-base percentage, and a .694 slugging percentage (188 OPS+).
After another strong season in 1940, Foxx dipped below 30 home runs in 1941 (he hit 19) for the first time since 1928 and also made the All-Star Game for the final time. 1942 was spent between Boston and the Chicago Cubs mostly in a reserve role and Foxx would then sit out 1943 before playing sparingly in 1944 with the Cubs and 1945 with the Philadelphia Phillies before retiring at age 37; at the time of his retirement, he was only the second player in MLB history (after Babe Ruth) with 500 career home runs and remained the youngest to achieve the feat until Alex Rodriguez in 2007.
Similarly, Gehrig quickly became a star – in 1926, he hit .300 for the first of 12 straight seasons and started a streak of 13 consecutive seasons driving in 100+ runs; interestingly, he also led the league in triples that year with a career-high 20. The next season, 1927, would be a historic year: hitting fourth as part of the famed “Murderer’s Row” behind Babe Ruth (they would play together for a decade), Gehrig batted .373 with 47 home runs, a league-high 173 runs batted in, 149 runs scored, a .474 on-base percentage, and a .765 slugging percentage (220 OPS+) to take home his first MVP award; his 117 extra-base hits (52 doubles, 18 triples, 47 home runs) are second all-time to Ruth’s 119 in 1921 and his 447 total bases are third all-time behind Ruth’s 457 in 1921 and Rogers Hornsby’s 450 in 1920. Gehrig followed that up with a career-high .374 batting average in 1928 to go with 27 home runs, a league-leading 147 runs batted in, 139 runs scored, a league-best .467 on-base percentage, and a .648 slugging percentage, good for a 193 OPS+.
Starting in 1930, Gehrig accumulated 509 runs batted in over a three-year period, the most ever (173, 185, and 151 in 1930, 1931, and 1932, respectively); despite a career-best .379 batting average in 1930, he actually did not win the batting title. Another second-place MVP finish followed in 1931 as Gehrig drove in 185 runs that season, an AL record and the second-highest single-season total in MLB history behind Hack Wilson’s 191 in 1930. This would mark the beginning of seven straight top-five MVP finishes, with the most notable seasons being 1934 and 1936:
- 1934: won the Triple Crown with a .363 batting average, 49 home runs (the closest he ever came to 50 dingers in a season), 166 runs batted in, 128 runs scored, a .465 on-base percentage, and a .706 slugging percentage (206 OPS+); despite also leading the league in on-base percentage, slugging, and total bases (he went over 400 total bases in a season a record 5x), Gehrig only finished fifth for MVP behind Detroit Tigers Mickey Cochrane (winner), Charlie Gehringer (#2), and Schoolboy Rowe (#4), and his own Yankees teammate Lefty Gomez (#3)
- 1936: won a second MVP with a .354 batting average, 49 home runs (tying his career-high from 1934), 152 runs batted in, a league-best 167 runs scored, a .478 on-base percentage, and a .696 slugging percentage (190 OPS+)
In 1933, Gehrig was selected to the inaugural All-Star Game (like Foxx) and would become a fixture there for the rest of his career (7x); notably, in the 1934 All-Star Game, NL pitcher Carl Hubbell struck out Hall of Famers Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin in succession, which remains one of the legendary moments of the Midseason Classic. In addition to his run-producing prowess, Gehrig was also highly prolific at drawing walks, which led to him leading the AL in on-base percentage for four consecutive seasons from 1934 to 1937. However, around 1938, he began to experience physical issues that affected his performance, which was diagnosed on his 36th birthday as the debilitating and fatal amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. This grim news led to his retirement at age 36 and his famous “Luckiest Man” speech, and ultimately resulted in his death a couple of years later at just 37.
Overall, Foxx played 3 more seasons and roughly 150 more games than Gehrig, but their career offensive numbers are relatively similar. While Foxx hit more career home runs (534 vs. 493), Gehrig was actually the first player in the 20th century to hit four home runs in a game and is second all-time in career grand slams (23). Moreover, Gehrig has slight leads in career hits (2,721 vs. 2,646), runs batted in (1,995 vs. 1,922), walks (1,508 vs. 1,452), and all of the average/percentage categories (i.e. batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS+). Foxx has 12 seasons of 30+ home runs and 13 seasons of driving in 100+ runs vs. 10 and 13 for Gehrig, respectively; however, Gehrig led the league in runs batted in 5x (vs. 3x for Foxx), and owns three of the top six RBI seasons ever. Both players won multiple MVPs (3 for Foxx vs. 2 for Gehrig), a Triple Crown, and at least one batting title (2 for Foxx vs. 1 for Gehrig), as well as numerous All-Star selections once the tradition began (9x vs. 7x). From an advanced statistics view, Gehrig also holds the advantage in career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) (112.4 vs. 96.6). No surprise, Foxx was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951; meanwhile, the traditional waiting period was waived for Gehrig and he was immediately inducted in 1939 after retiring at age 36, making him the youngest inductee until Sandy Koufax in 1972.
Regular Season Statistics
| Jimmie Foxx | Player | Lou Gehrig |
| 20 (1925-1942, 1944-1945) | Seasons | 17 (1923-1939) |
| 2,317 | Games Played | 2,164 |
| 8,134 | At-Bats | 8,001 |
| 2,646 | Hits | 2,721 |
| 1,751 | Runs | 1,888 |
| 534 | Home Runs | 493 |
| 1,922 | Runs Batted In | 1,995 |
| 1,452 | Walks | 1,508 |
| 87 | Stolen Bases | 102 |
| .325 | Batting Average | .340 |
| .428 | On-Base Percentage | .447 |
| .609 | Slugging Percentage | .632 |
| 163 | OPS+ | 179 |
| 96.6 | Wins Above Replacement | 112.4 |
| 9x | All-Star Games | 7x |
| 3x | MVP | 2x |
| 2x | World Series Titles | 6x |
| 1x Triple Crown, 2x Batting Title | Other Awards | 1x Triple Crown, 1x Batting Title |
| 1951 | Hall of Fame Induction | 1939 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Since Foxx and Gehrig played in an era when the AL and NL pennant winners met directly in the World Series, in any given season, only one of these AL sluggers could appear in the postseason. Together, the two first basemen combined for eight World Series titles and were both consistent .300 hitters in the playoffs.
Foxx made the World Series in three consecutive seasons with the Athletics from 1929 to 1931, coming away with two titles:
- 1929: beat the Cubs in five games; Foxx hit .350 with 2 home runs and 5 runs batted in
- 1930: beat the St. Louis Cardinals in six games; Foxx hit .333 with 1 home run and 3 runs batted in
- 1931: lost to the Cardinals in seven games; Foxx hit .348 with 1 home run and 3 runs batted in
As for Gehrig, he played in the World Series 7x with six wins (1927, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1937, and 1938). Individually, his best statistical performances came in 1928 (batted .545 with 4 home runs and 9 runs batted in during a sweep of the Cardinals) and 1932 (hit .529 with 3 home runs and 8 runs batted in in a sweep of the Cubs). With the World Series individual career leaderboards filled with New York Yankees greats like Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, and Yogi Berra, Gehrig’s 10 home runs and 35 runs batted in rank fifth and third all-time, respectively.
Playoff Statistics
| Jimmie Foxx | Player | Lou Gehrig |
| 18 | Games Played | 34 |
| 64 | At-Bats | 119 |
| 22 | Hits | 43 |
| 11 | Runs | 30 |
| 4 | Home Runs | 10 |
| 11 | Runs Batted In | 35 |
| 9 | Walks | 26 |
| – | Stolen Bases | – |
| .344 | Batting Average | .361 |
| .425 | On-Base Percentage | .483 |
| .609 | Slugging Percentage | .731 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Every athlete goes through a natural career lifecycle, from starting off as a rookie to reaching peak years of performance and finally, declining into the inevitable retirement due to a combination of age and/or injury; after his dominant 20s, Foxx declined steeply in his early to mid-30s, while Gehrig’s career (and life) were ultimately shortened by ALS. For Hall of Fame caliber players across sports, I like to look at a concept I call a “decade of dominance.” The thinking behind this is that for most Hall of Fame type careers, there are roughly 10 great seasons that define an athlete (this idea is embodied in a sense by the NFL’s All-Decade teams), though due to injury or other factors, they might not be 10 consecutive years.
Decade of Dominance
| Jimmie Foxx | Player | Lou Gehrig |
| 1929-1930, 1932-1936, 1938-1940 | Decade of Dominance | 1927-1928, 1930-1937 |
| 1,474 | Games Played | 1,541 |
| 5,443 | At-Bats | 5,797 |
| 1,869 | Hits | 2,056 |
| 1,269 | Runs | 1,428 |
| 418 | Home Runs | 392 |
| 1,393 | Runs Batted In | 1,565 |
| 1,047 | Walks | 1,120 |
| 64 | Stolen Bases | 80 |
| .343 | Batting Average | .355 |
| .450 | On-Base Percentage | .462 |
| .662 | Slugging Percentage | .666 |
| 77.2 | Wins Above Replacement | 90.3 |
Source: Baseball-Reference.com
Similar to the overall career numbers, when you look at their decades of dominance, Foxx had more home run power, but Gehrig had the advantage in nearly every other offensive category. This is by no means a knock on Foxx, however, as his statistics are still all-time great in their own right.
My Thoughts
Jimmie Foxx’s career numbers and accomplishments would outshine almost any other first baseman in MLB history (other than perhaps Albert Pujols); however, Lou Gehrig essentially stands out in a class of his own – though none of us saw them play in person, it is incredible to think that for a decade, Ruth and Gehrig batted third and fourth in the Yankees’ lineup as the greatest home run hitter ever and the great run producer ever. Perhaps what enhances Gehrig’s legacy even more is his tragic fate and the way he handled it with such grace – how many more seasons could he have played and what would his career numbers look like otherwise? In any case, based on his existing body of work, Gehrig stakes a very strong claim to being the greatest first baseman in baseball history.
Thus, after weighing their careers against each other in terms of statistics, achievements, and impact, the winner of this faceoff is:
Lou Gehrig
As always, vote for your choice and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Further Reading
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