Pittsburgh Pirates Countdown: Top Five First Basemen

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3. Gus Suhr (1930-1939)

Gus Suhr was, for a time, the National League answer to Lou Gehrig. While he never hit like Gehrig did, Suhr did set the National League record for consecutive games played during his time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, playing in 822 consecutive games from 1931 until the middle of the 1937 season.

While he may not have been a tremendous power hitter, Suhr was a solid player who hit a good amount of doubles and triples for the Pirates. Overall, Suhr produced a solid .278/.366/.427 batting line, hitting 79 home runs, 276 doubles and 112 triples. His 1936 season, when he produced a career best .312/.410/.467 batting line with eleven home runs, 33 doubles and 118 RBI, earned him his only All-Star berth.

Even though Gus Suhr was never remarkable for anything beyond his durability, he was consistently in the top ten in a number of batting categories, particularly triples and walks. Suhr was also a solid defensive player, ranking among the leaders in range factor and fielding percentage.

This solid career was enough for Suhr to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot three times, in 1956, 1958 and 1960. Although he never received more than one vote in any of those years, he still put together a nice career and, for a time, was the answer to the question of “Who had the most consecutive games played in the National League?”

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