Quote:
Originally Posted by chalupacollects
He's now still the leader but does it deserve the dreaded asterisk?
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You could argue that several records have asterisks. The reason is today's players play more games each season, which, in turn, means they have more opportunities to accumulate career statistics.
The AL went from playing 154 games to 162 in 1961, and the NL made the change in 1962. From the 1890s through the early 1960s, each league played 154 games a year.
Accordingly, pre-1961 (AL) and pre-1962 (NL) players had 8 games less each season to accumulate career statistics than more modern day players.
Ty Cobb played 24 years. This equates to 192 lost games (24 years x 8 games a season). Cobb averaged over 174 hits a year. Adding just his seasonal average to his hit total would easily give him more hits than Pete Rose.
So, 8 additional games each season doesn't sound like a lot, but it adds up over a 20+ year career.