What Hank Greenberg's 1938 Season Would Look Like in 1987
This page projects Hank Greenberg's production from the 1938 run environment into the 1987 one, so the two can be compared directly. His actual line was .315/.438/.683, 1.122 OPS. Translated to 1987 conditions, that becomes .303/.424/.723, 1.148 OPS. The translation rescales counting stats by the ratio of league run scoring between the two eras; it does not attempt to model park, travel or integration effects.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- OBP (On-Base Percentage):
- How often a batter reaches base: (H + BB + HBP) divided by (AB + BB + HBP + SF).
- SLG (Slugging Percentage):
- Total bases divided by at bats — a measure of power rather than frequency.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
What would Hank Greenberg's 1938 season look like if he hit in 1987 instead? Below, his real 1938 line sits beside a cross-era translation into 1987's run environment — and a live slider lets you drop that season into any year in MLB history.
Hank Greenberg — 1938 (real)
Translated to 1987
Why the translated line looks better: 1987 was a higher-offense run environment than 1938 (league OPS .734 → .747), so every hitter's raw line scales up. It does not mean Hank Greenberg would hit better against modern pitching — it is the same hitter re-based to a livelier league.
What this translation does not account for
This is a model, not a prediction. It re-expresses only Hank Greenberg's rate stats against 1987's league run environment — and nothing else. It does not account for the depth of competition (integration, international talent, a vastly larger athlete pool), pitch velocity, modern pitch arsenals (sliders, splitters, sweepers), strength and conditioning, or in-game adjustments and advanced scouting.
So a higher translated line means 1987 was simply a higher-offense era — not a claim that Hank Greenberg would actually perform better against today's pitching.
Rate Stats: Real vs. Translated
These rate stats are re-expressed by holding Hank Greenberg's performance relative to his league constant and re-basing it on 1987's averages (the same idea behind OPS+/ERA+).
| Stat | 1938 (real) | 1987 (modeled) |
|---|---|---|
| AVG | .315 | .303 |
| OBP | .438 | .424 |
| SLG | .683 | .723 |
| OPS | 1.122 | 1.148 |
Counting Stats (1938, as played)
| Games | 155 |
| At-Bats | 556 |
| Hits | 175 |
| Home Runs | 58 |
| RBI | 146 |
| Runs | 144 |
| Walks | 119 |
| Stolen Bases | 7 |
Why counting totals aren't translated: scaling a counting stat by the league environment ratio massively over-inflates era outliers — e.g. a 1920s slugger's home runs would balloon to absurd modern totals. So home runs, RBI, wins, strikeouts and the like are shown exactly as Hank Greenberg produced them.
Verdict
This is a model, not a prediction. In 1987, a sudden league-wide home-run spike — a run environment friendlier to hitters than 1938's (league OPS .734 → .747) — one reasoned way to express Hank Greenberg's 1938 season is roughly .303/.424/.723 with a 1.148 OPS. That figure holds his performance relative to his league constant and re-bases it on 1987's averages; it is not a claim that Hank Greenberg would actually post that line. His counting totals (58 HR, 146 RBI) are shown exactly as he played them, because scaling counting stats across eras wildly inflates outliers.
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Hank Greenberg in Other Eras
View Hank Greenberg's full profile → · Browse all era translations →
What Hank Greenberg's 1938 Season Would Look Like in 1987: Frequently Asked Questions
- What would Hank Greenberg hit in the 1987?
- Translated into the 1987 run environment, Hank Greenberg's line becomes .303/.424/.723, 1.148 OPS.
- What did Hank Greenberg actually do?
- His real line was .315/.438/.683, 1.122 OPS in 1938, compiled in the 1938 season.
- How does the era translator work?
- It rescales a player's counting statistics by the ratio of league-wide run scoring between the two eras, holding his playing time constant. It does not model park effects, travel, equipment or the integration of the leagues.