Tag Archives: best Tigers players

H2H 113: Hank Greenberg vs. Johnny Mize – Who was Better?

During World War II, many of MLB’s biggest stars lost years of their playing careers to military service, e.g. Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, etc., just to name a few.  Two of the most productive first basemen of the 1930s, Hank “Hammerin’ Hank” Greenberg and Johnny “The Big Cat” Mize, both served in the war effort for three plus seasons during their prime and consequently, their overall career numbers were impacted greatly by the prolonged absence.  Nevertheless, when they were in the lineup, the duo were among the best first basemen to ever play in the major leagues – in addition to thinking about what could have been, let us compare these two great sluggers and ask:

Who was better – Hank Greenberg or Johnny Mize?

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H2H 77: Al Kaline vs. Carl Yastrzemski – Who was Better?

The 1970s saw a record seven MLB players reach the magical 3,000-hit mark, starting with Hank Aaron in May 1970 and concluding with Carl Yastrzemski in September 1979 (the others being Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, Al Kaline, Pete Rose, and Lou Brock).  Among this sterling seven, only Kaline and Yastrzemski hailed from the AL, serving as the respective franchise faces for the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox over their lengthy careers.  There are deep similarities between the two players – each was an outfielder, each was both an excellent hitter and fielder, each played 20+ years, and each was a first-ballot Hall of Famer.  With their careers overlapping for more than a dozen years, it is natural to ask the question:

Who was better – Al Kaline or Carl Yastrzemski?

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