Josh Gibson: The homerun GOAT?
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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Josh Gibson will be the first Negro League slugger analyzed in this study. For detailed biographical information about Josh Gibson, please click here.
According to Baseball Reference, Gibson’s official statistics include 166 home runs in 2,168 at-bats. This results in an AB/HR rate of 13.06.
Gibson played in the Negro National League in 1930; that season the NNL had a total of 19,152 at-bats and 221 home runs. He then played in the Negro National League II (NN2) from 1933 to 1940 and again from 1942 to 1946.
During these years, the NN2 recorded 121,332 at-bats and 1,593 home runs. Combining both leagues, there were 140,484 at-bats and 1,814 home runs, resulting in a league-wide AB/HR rate of 77.44.
With this data, we can assess how Gibson compares to the average Negro League hitter during his era.
Raw Difference: 64.38
Formula: League Average – Player Career AverageImprovement Factor: 5.93
Formula: League Average / Player Career AveragePercentage Difference: 83.14%
Formula: (League Average – Player Career Average) / League Average × 100%
When comparing Gibson to the average Negro League hitter, his dominance is clear. His statistics are so superior that they almost seem exaggerated. Gibson outperformed the average player in each category based on our three-pronged analysis.
In a previous post, we analyzed the careers of Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, and Joe DiMaggio. Let's now compare Gibson’s league dominance to theirs…
Gibson’s legendary power is fully justified, with his performance relative to his era standing out as extraordinary, especially when compared to the careers of Mickey Mantle, Alex Rodriguez, and Joe DiMaggio.