By The Numbers: Comparing The Great Ernie Banks To His Contemporaries

By Father Gabe Costa
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A little less than two weeks ago, Ernie Banks -- affectionately known as "Mr. Cub" -- was called home by the big umpire in the sky.

Much has been written about this wonderful individual who seemed to exude every good thing about baseball.

For the first half of his career, Banks was the most powerful shortstop of all time. And, for the latter half of his playing days, he wasn't too bad of a first baseman, either.

I decided to compare Banks with nine contemporaries (seven of whom are also in the Hall of Fame with Banks). I looked at their two best consecutive seasons, limiting my search to the 1950s.

For the record, Banks was the only shortstop on the list, and he recorded the most RBIs over the 20 seasons that were considered. He was also one of only three superstars to win two MVPs during the two-year spans, and the only MVP to do it while playing for a second-division team.

Here are the numbers:

The numbers speak for themselves, don't they?

Rest in peace, Ernie.