Rose’s longevity and ability to hit that well so far into his 40s was extraordinary. Ripken’s record makes me wonder if his pursuit of it occasionally hurt his team. Playing through slumps or while injured. He was not as consistent as Gehrig. Nobody is as consistent as Gehrig.

Yeah. I don’t mean to discount Ripken’s talent, but Gehrig was a lot more consistent when delivering when it was needed. He wasn’t just showing up to run up the numbers. His record ended because he felt he wasn’t playing at his best, anymore, so he said he was sitting out.