At the 2016 All-Star Game, MLB renamed the AL and NL batting title trophies after Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn, respectively, an apt tribute given each player’s hitting prowess – after all, only six players in baseball history have won seven or more batting titles: Ty Cobb (12x), Honus Wagner (8x), Gwynn (8x), Carew (7x), Stan Musial (7x), and Rogers Hornsby (7x). As baseball has evolved more and more into a game of the “three true outcomes” (home run, walk, or strikeout), Carew and Gwynn were unique in that neither was a power hitter, but instead, consistent .300+ contact hitters who each amassed 3,000+ career hits over nearly two decades. Given their similar games and the fact that they will be forever immortalized together as batting champion namesakes, it is only natural to ask:
Who was better – Rod Carew or Tony Gwynn?
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