Edgar Wesley: A Hidden Gem
The Power Hitter Pantheon: Baseball’s Greatest Home Run Heroes
This project aims to determine the greatest home run hitter of all time by comparing each slugger’s statistics to the average of their era using three formulas. The final adjusted stats will then be used to compare them head-to-head with other all-time greats.
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Edgar Wesley will be the next legendary Negro League slugger examined in this study. For more information on Wesley, click here.
According to Baseball Reference, Wesley’s official statistics reveal a total of 82 home runs over 1,875 at-bats resulting in an average of 22.87 at-bats per home run (AB/HR).
Edgar Wesley played in the Negro National League (NNL) from 1920 to 1923. In 1924, he competed in the Eastern Colored League (ECL), before returning to the NNL from 1925 to 1927. When aggregating the statistics from each of the seasons Wesley competed in, the league totals include 154,005 at-bats and 1,885 home runs, resulting in an average of 81.7 at-bats per home run (AB/HR).
With this data, we can evaluate how Wesley’s performance compared to the average Negro League hitter of his era.
Raw Difference: 58.83
Formula: League Average – Player Career AverageImprovement Factor: 3.57
Formula: League Average / Player Career AveragePercentage Difference: 72.01%
Formula: (League Average – Player Career Average) / League Average × 100%
Edgar Wesley’s 22.87 AB/HR places him in rare company, even among Negro League greats. His ability to hit home runs at such a clip suggests he was one of the premier power hitters of his era. An improvement factor of 3.57 and a 72.01% better-than-average mark are extraordinary. Wesley wasn’t just above average—he was among the very best in the league, a standout even among Hall of Fame-caliber players.
AB/HR:
Wesley needed just 22.87 at-bats to hit a home run, a remarkably low number compared to the league average. This shows us that he was an elite power hitter, capable of driving the ball out of the park with high frequency. The league average of 81.7 at-bats per home run indicates that home runs were relatively rare during this era.
Raw Difference:
Wesley’s AB/HR was 58.83 at-bats better than the league average. This raw gap highlights his exceptional ability to hit home runs more frequently than the typical player of his time.
Improvement Factor:
Wesley’s AB/HR was 3.57 times better than the league average. Put another way, he hit home runs at a rate more than three-and-a-half times higher than his contemporaries. This is a staggering multiplier, underscoring his dominance as a slugger.
Percentage Difference:
Wesley’s performance represents a 72.01% improvement over the league average. This metric reinforces that his power output was not just incrementally better but vastly superior—nearly three-quarters better than the norm.
In our initial analysis, we examined the careers of Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, and Joe DiMaggio using our formulas. Following that, we also evaluated the careers of Josh Gibson, Sadaharu Oh, Buck Leonard, Tetsuharu Kawakami, Mule Suttles, Noboru Aota, Oscar Charleston, Katsuya Nomura, Turkey Stearnes, Makoto Kozuru, Willie Wells, Hiromitsu Ochiai, Wilson Redus, Kazuhiro Yamauchi, Dewey Creacy, and Hiromitsu Kadota.
Now, let's compare Wesley’s career statistics against these baseball legends to gain a clearer perspective on how he stacks up.
Raw Difference:
Wesley’s 58.83 ranks near the top, surpassed only by Josh Gibson (64.38), Turkey Stearnes (59.58), and Mule Suttles (57.74). He’s ahead of household names like Mantle (26.10), Rodriguez (16.24), and DiMaggio (36.43), showing his raw power efficiency was exceptional even among the elite.
Improvement Factor:
At 3.57, Wesley’s improvement over his league average is impressive. He trails Gibson (5.93), Suttles (4.23), and Stearnes (3.93), but he’s neck-and-neck with Buck Leonard (3.44) and Sadaharu Oh (3.41), and ahead of DiMaggio (2.93) and Mantle (2.73).
Percentage Difference:
Wesley’s 72.01% improvement is stellar, outpacing most of the list. Only Gibson (83.14%), Suttles (76.35%), and Stearnes (74.53%) top him. He edges out Charleston (70.71%), Oh (70.65%), and Leonard (70.97%), and leaves Mantle (63.32%) and Rodriguez (51.69%) well behind.
Edgar Wesley’s 58.83 raw difference and 72.01% improvement place him in the upper echelon of this illustrious group. He’s not just keeping pace with icons like Mantle and DiMaggio—he’s outslugging them in key metrics, proving his power was world-class.
Wesley’s 3.57 improvement factor rivals the best of his Negro League peers—Leonard, Charleston, and Oh-level dominance—while falling just short of the superhuman Gibson and Suttles. His stats scream “legend” in an era where power was a rare gift.
While names like Gibson and Mantle dominate baseball lore, Wesley’s numbers suggest he deserves a louder spotlight. His 72.01% edge over his league average is a testament to his extraordinary talent, making him a hidden gem worth celebrating.
Edgar Wesley emerges as a towering figure in this comparison of baseball’s greatest sluggers. With a raw difference of 58.83, an improvement factor of 3.57, and a percentage difference of 72.01%, he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with legends like Oscar Charleston and Buck Leonard, while outpacing MLB icons like Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, and Joe DiMaggio in key power metrics.
