Mickey Mantle of the Yankees at His Best was the Best Player of His Era

Hank Aaron hit .305 to the great Willie Mays' .302. Aaron had an on base percentage of .474 compared to Mays' .484. Aaron's slugging average was .555. Mays' slugging average was .557. Think it's close?

Mickey Mantle batted .298/.421/.557.

In the view of many fans and some in the media, Aaron holds the record for the most career home runs with 755. Mays hit 660 home runs.

Mantle has 536 home runs.

Hank Aaron had 12,364 at-bats and 13,940 plate appearances, which calculates to one home run for every 16.4 at-bats and one home run for every 18.5 plate appearances.

Willie Mays had 10,881 at-bats and 12,493 plate appearances. Mays hit one home run for every 16.5 at-bats and one home run for every 18.9 plate appearances.

Mickey Mantle hit a home run every 15.1 at-bats and every 18.5 plate appearances.

The following table summarizes the above:

Player HR/AB HR/PA

Aaron 16.4 18.5
Mays 16.5 18.9
Mantle 15.1 18.5

Aaron drove home major league record 2,297 runs. Mays had 1,903 RBIs.

Mickey Mantle finished with 1,509 RBIs.

Hank Aaron averaged one RBI for every 5.4 at-bats and for every 6.1 plate appearances. Mays averaged one RBI for every 5.7 at-bats and for every 6.6 plate appearances.

Mickey Mantle batted in a run for every 5.4 at-bats and for every 6.6 plate appearances.

The following summarizes the above:

Player RBI/AB RBI/PA
Aaron 5.4 6.1
Mays 5.7 6.6
Mantle 5.4 6.6

A significant factor is that Mantle had 1,733 walks and 1,710 strikeouts. There was a total of 3,443 plate appearances in which Mantle didn't hit the ball.

Aaron walked 1,402 times with 1,383 strikeouts. Mays walked 1.464 times with 1,526 strikeouts.

WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is a recent measurement that purports to determine how much better a player is compared to a replacement player.

Hank Aaron has a career WAR of 141.6 with a season high of 10.0 in 1963.

Willie Mays has a career WAR of 154.7 with a season high of 11.0 in 1965.

Mickey Mantle has a career WAR of 120.2 with a season high of 12.9.

Aaron's best three WARs were 10.0, 9.2 and 8.8. Mays' top three were 11.0, 10.6 and 10.4.

Mantle had a WAR of 12.9 in his Triple Crown season of 1956, a 12.5 WAR in 1957 and an 11.9 WAR in 1961.

There is no question that Mickey Mantle's best seasons were better than those of either Aaron or Mays.

Modern statistics merely confirm what was already known using traditional measurements.

It's been repeated thousands of times, but it's worth repeating again. What if Mantle didn't play most of his career with injured legs?

It's been repeated thousands of time and it's not worth repeating. Injuries are part of the game.