Who is the best all-time first baseman? If Pujols doesn't surpass Gehrig, then no one will, right?
I literally haven't compared their stats until posting them here.
Gehrig
114 career WAR (accumulation stat)
179 OPS+
no bonus for fielding or baserunning (zero or near-zero in both)
Pujols
101 career WAR
146 OPS+
plus baserunner (but near zero) and elite defender
I don't think the argument can be made that Pujols was BETTER than Gehrig, but due to his additional volume and playing now rather than back then, you could say he had a better CAREER:
3200+ hits (2700+)
662+ HR (493)
2099 RBI (1993)
669 doubles (534)
148 career fielding runs (~10 total runs per win, if you believe that sort of thing, and if you don't, his total is massive, especially for a first baseman)
2 fielding runs for Gehrig.
No, we don't know how long Gehrig would have played for if he'd stayed healthy, but Pujols has been playing on zero feet for about 5-6 years now.
The disparity in OPS+ is wiiiiiiide, and Pujols has fallen off a cliff. He's done what Frank Thomas almost did and played himself out of a .300 career batting average.
Pujols is an all-time great, obviously, he's better than Foxx or McCovey or McGwire or whoever else you want to slot in behind Gehrig, but I don't see how anyone could surpass #4.