Marcus Semien and Ronald Acuna Jr. paced their leagues in scoring
Lou Gehrig was known for many things.
Durability, of course. He played 2,130 consecutive games between 1925 and 1939, a mark that was unchallenged until Cal Ripken Jr. surpassed it in 1995.
Power, too. He topped the American League in home runs three times, finishing his career with a total of 493 homers.
And, of course, winning. The New York Yankees triumphed in seven World Series during his tenure as their first baseman.
But Gehrig is never given credit for another of his sterling qualities, his skill at scoring.
My calculations show that he generated 302 runs in 1931, making him the only batter in big-league history to surpass 300 — or even, for that matter, 290.
Baseball, unlike the other major sports, seems to be indifferent to scoring. You can easily find lists of touchdown leaders in football, players with the most points per game in basketball, and scoring champions in hockey.
But in baseball? Nothing.
So I borrowed hockey’s basic framework, with one minor twist. Hockey adds goals and assists to determine its scoring leaders. I added runs and runs batted in, though I then subtracted home runs, since a single HR counts in both the R and RBI columns.
Gehrig scored 163 runs and drove home another 185 in 1931. If we subtract his 46 homers, we’re left with a total of 302, a record that should be immortal, but actually is unknown.
This year’s scoring champs — the winners of this newsletter’s Lou Gehrig Award — were Marcus Semien of the Texas Rangers in the American League and Ronald Acuna Jr. of the Atlanta Braves in the National League.
Semien scored 122 runs and drove home precisely 100. Subtract his 29 homers, and we’ve got his scoring total (abbreviated as SC) of 193.
Acuna’s respective numbers were 149 runs scored, 106 runs batted in, and 41 home runs. The result was an SC of 214.
The top 15 players in each league’s 2023 scoring race are shown below.
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American League SC leaders
1. Marcus Semien, Rangers, 193
2. Kyle Tucker, Astros, 180
3. Alex Bregman, Astros, 176
3. Adolis Garcia, Rangers, 176
5. Julio Rodriguez, Mariners, 173
6. Bobby Witt, Royals, 163
7. Justin Turner, Red Sox, 159
8. Rafael Devers, Red Sox, 157
9. Randy Arozarena, Rays, 155
10. Gunnar Henderson, Orioles, 154
10. Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers, 154
12. Shohei Ohtani, Angels, 153
13. Yandy Diaz, Rays, 151
13. Corey Seager, Rangers, 151
13. Spencer Torkelson, Tigers, 151
National League SC leaders
1. Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves, 214
2. Matt Olson, Braves, 212
3. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, 204
4. Mookie Betts, Dodgers, 194
5. Austin Riley, Braves, 177
6. Francisco Lindor, Mets, 175
7. Ozzie Albies, Braves, 172
8. Juan Soto, Padres, 171
9. Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks, 167
10. Cody Bellinger, Cubs, 166
11. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies, 165
12. Pete Alonso, Mets, 164
12. Max Muncy, Dodgers, 164
14. Christian Yelich, Brewers, 163
15. Lane Thomas, Nationals, 159