Lou Gehrig

On this date in 1982, Pete Rose passed Hank Aaron to move into second place on the all-time hits list.

Baseball, like no other sport, is a game of statistic with literally hundreds of categories that we keep track of.

The following list will take a look at the 10 most impressive second bests in baseball history. Many of these players once held the most revered records in the sport, while some came just short of the top spot. So here are the 10 best.

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I think we all know that Babe Ruth was probably the greatest offensive player in the history of baseball. Ted Williams was probably second, and Ty Cobb, Barry Bonds, and Lou Gehrig round out my own personal top five. The numbers these guys put up during their careers were astounding, but are sometimes difficult to fully appreciate out of context.

What's not difficult to appreciate is a truly great season. Last year, Albert Pujols led baseball with 47 homers. Joe Mauer led baseball with a .365 average, and Ryan Howard led baseball with 145 RBI.

The New York Yankees announced they had acquired Columbia University star baseball player Lou Gehrig on June 12, 1923, although the signing had occurred a little more than a month before.

Henry Louis Gehrig had the reputation of being the "Babe Ruth of the colleges" because he hit the ball farther than any other college player.

Gehrig made his Yankees' debut on June 15, 1923 as a ninth inning defensive replacement for first baseman Wally Pipp. It would not be the only time that Lou Gehrig replaced Wally Pipp.

The Yankees have had some of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history. This list ranks the top 10 of those legends who wore the pinstripes very proudly during their stay in the Bronx.

To rank the players I used their individual stats while with the Yankees and their success in the postseason. I also took into consideration military service and career-threatening injuries.

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Sometimes players from different eras can be compared accurately because their eras were similar.

Lou Gehrig and Alex Rodriguez played when offense was dominant.

Gehrig played 14 full seasons, 1925-1938, while Alex, whose first full season was 1996, is in his 15th full season.

Rodriguez has already hit more home runs than Gehrig and may break Henry Aaron's career record for home runs, but those facts should never be used to conclude that Alex Rodriguez was better than Lou Gehrig.

Let me start by saying that I am one of the biggest Derek Jeter fans ever. I grew up watching my favorite player become a legend for the most storied franchise in American sports. Seeing Derek Jeter play is something that I will tell my children.

However, this season has not been going as well as we have come to expect from "El Capitan".

At the one-quarter mark of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, the New York Yankees are 25-14. That is good for second place in the American League East, 3.0 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays.

I am an "Old School" guy, and proud of it most of the time. In fact, I go so far back, I can recall when rainbows were still in black and white, and televisions were run by gas.

When it comes to selecting All-Anything teams, I always catch it from some (usually young) brainiac who tells me that I can't compare Pete Rose to Ty Cobb or Chase Utley to Nap LaJoie.

Then I am presented with comparisons beginning with lower case letters followed by all caps:  wRC, wOBA, tRA, etc., ad nauseam.

In 1927 the New York Yankees won the World Series.

Their lineup was called Murderers' Row, and featured the likes of Tony Lazzeri, Earle Combs, and Bob Meusel.

Of course, in 1927 Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs, setting a record that would last for 34 years.

Babe also hit 29 doubles, eight triples (believe it or not), and drove in 164 runs that year.

But this story is not about the '27 Yankees.

This story is not about Babe Ruth either.

This story is about Lou Gehrig.

As most of you know by now, the Yankees moved into a brand new stadium last season. The old Yankee Stadium is being torn down to make way for a large park that is expected to include baseball fields, a track, tennis courts, and more. Only one gate remains from the original 1923 Yankee Stadium.

That gate is Gate 2.

Yankee Stadium is currently being torn down and Gate 2 is expected to go with it.

See what you can do to save it!

It's late November, which means the NFL is in full swing, the college football season is coming down the home stretch, and all I can think about is baseball.

Don't get me wrong; I love football, but the Winter Meetings up ahead are getting me very excited.  However, after the meetings are over, it's back to Bowls, NFL Playoffs, and March Madness until baseball season begins again.  That isn't so bad.