Introduction and Context

The disquieting year of 1981 featured the worst upheaval in baseball history — to that point in time — due to a players strike that erased roughly one-third of the regular-season schedule.  Play was halted on June 12, and after weeks of acrimonious negotiations between players, club owners, and their respective representatives, a settlement was reached that allowed for a resumption of the championship season on August 10. The key factor in the dispute was compensation demanded by teams that lost players, especially those of the highest quality, to free agency. Newly implemented was a rule that created a pool of players from which those clubs could draft a compensatory replacement to fill the void left by the departed free agent. This rule was opposed by the Major League Baseball Players Association due to concerns about the negative impact it could have on the bargaining rights of players chosen as compensation.   

Teams that had been at the top of their division at the time of the strike were declared “first-half” winners, and when play resumed after a delayed All-Star Game on August 9, those clubs that won their division in the “second-half” of the regular season would face the “first-half” victors in a special divisional playoff series that prefaced the normal League Championship Series. When the smoke cleared in late October, the Yankees engaged the Dodgers in the World Series, won by Los Angeles in six games on the heroics of Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, and Steve Yeager, all of whom were named co-MVPs of the series. The Dodgers’ victory was the capstone to a season in which Los Angeles rode a wave of “Fernandomania,” the catchy epithet used to describe enthusiasm generated by the deeds of the team’s sensational rookie pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela.   

Against this backdrop of labor rancor and the subsequent redemption of a thrilling postseason, major-league baseball held its annual winter meetings from December 7 through the 11th at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.     

The Business Side

With over five years having passed since the landmark Messersmith decision that facilitated free agency, the financial state of the game was less than promising.  Addressing the gathering of owners, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn stated that baseball collectively lost $25 million in 1980, and the accounting data for the just-completed season would reveal, according to Kuhn, a $50 million loss.1 Only nine of the 26 major-league franchises turned a profit in 1980, and some small-market teams, already at a disadvantage because of lower revenue streams, sought some form of revenue-sharing to be modeled on a system used by the National Football League. The pooling and redistribution of a sports league’s monies had already taken root in the NFL, and this move had been initiated — successfully so — to ensure the stability of weaker and small-market clubs. Well-funded major-league baseball teams, however, were less than enthusiastic to provide alms for their poorer brethren. Orioles owner Edward Bennett Williams was leading the effort to remedy the disparity and “appear[ed] to have made some progress, but most of the owners in the larger markets … aren’t overly anxious to slice up the pie.”2  

During a quick trip to the nation’s capital on December 9, Kuhn fanned the flames of the revenue debate when he testified before a congressional subcommittee and expressed concern about “the potential overexposure of baseball games on cable television [that] threatens the economic viability of the sport.”3 Kuhn’s remarks drew a sharp rebuke from Ted Turner, owner of television superstation WTBS and the Atlanta Braves, whose games were beamed to cable outlets nationwide.  It was acknowledged at the winter meetings that the American and National League rules dealing with radio and television  licensing, some of which were decades old, needed amending in order to account for the “new technology and terminology that didn’t exist when the [leagues’] charters were adopted.”4

Another proposal under consideration by the owners concerned the realignment of each league into three divisions, a concept that would have led to an additional round of playoff games. However, the proposal failed, primarily because of a noticeable lack of support in the National League. The restructuring of the American League required the approval of 10 of its 14 franchises, and informal voting among the junior circuit’s moguls seemed to favor the change. But National League bylaws called for unanimous approval, and Dodgers President Peter O’Malley was the most powerful among a bloc of five owners strongly believed to be opposed to three-division league formats.5

While the midsummer players strike was thankfully in the past, the owners were beginning to cast a wary eye on negotiations with the umpires union, whose contract had expired at the conclusion of the 1981 season. Bargaining sessions had commenced, noted Blake Cullen, the National League supervisor of umpires, but the progress was slow in the early going. 6

At the senior level of the uppermost echelon of major-league baseball’s power structure, the Executive Council named Baltimore’s Edward Bennett Williams, the Brewers’ Bud Selig, and Ballard Smith of the Padres as new members, replacing John Fetzer of Detroit, Ed Fitzgerald of Milwaukee, and Peter Bavasi of Toronto. Selig and Eddie Chiles of the Texas Rangers were also named to the Player Relations Committee to replace Fitzgerald and Minnesota’s Calvin Griffith. Owners also approved the use of batting helmets with double earflaps, and voted to restrict the size of major-league rosters after August 31 to 28 players rather than 40.7

Minor-league business at the meetings created barely a ripple, but several club officials were recognized for their efforts in 1981. Pat McKernan (Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes), Allie Prescott (Double-A Memphis Chicks), and Dan Overstreet (Class-A Hagerstown Suns) were named by The Sporting News as the top executives of their respective levels.8            

The drama receiving the most attention was a nefarious move that threatened to displace Bowie Kuhn from the commissioner’s office. Still stung by what was perceived as his aloofness during the summer strike, Kuhn remained in the crosshairs of a cabal of representatives from nine teams seeking his ouster. Kuhn claimed that Lou Susman, an attorney working for the St. Louis Cardinals, was “secretly campaigning” to undermine him.9 The group of conspirators consisted of Edward Bennett Williams, Ballard Smith, John McMullen (Houston), Bill Williams (Cincinnati), Eddie Chiles, George Steinbrenner (Yankees), George Argyros (Seattle), Nelson Doubleday (Mets), Fred Wilpon (Mets), and Susman. Reporting for the New York Times, Joseph Durso listed Edward Bennett Williams as “the leader of the revolt against Kuhn’s role as commissioner.”10 Less than two weeks before the winter meetings, Kuhn’s detractors had met in New York and drafted what soon became known as the “Hollywood Letter,” a missive calling for Kuhn’s resignation. 

Several days into the gathering in Florida, the anti-Kuhn forces, letter in hand, convened on the evening of Wednesday, December 9, “and decided to press for a restructuring of the high command during Thursday’s league meetings.”11 Meanwhile, a group of pro-Kuhn owners, led by the Dodgers’ O’Malley and dubbed “the white hats,” learned of the plot and held their own confab a few hours the next morning to discuss ways to rally support for the imperiled commissioner. While Kuhn was the most visible figurehead among all baseball executives, he had no control over how owners and teams spent their money. Nonetheless, Kuhn had become the scapegoat for the financial losses of the previous years and the widening gap between richer and poorer teams.

Kuhn retained his composure even when the existence of the letter was revealed, and, defending himself in the face of the onslaught of criticism, he explained that his hands were tied to a great extent during the recent strike because the owners’ Player Relations Committee — not the commissioner’s office — was tasked with negotiating with the players union.12 The meeting of National League owners was notably divisive, but a modicum of peace was restored when a new committee of executives was formed to study possible restructuring of the highest offices of baseball. In a superficial attempt to put the matter to rest, the Hollywood Letter was “symbolically torn up by Susman.”13

Kuhn’s term as commissioner was not set to expire until August of 1983, and the terms of his contract held that no discussion of his status could take place until 15 months before its termination. The preemptive assault on the commissioner by his detractors failed, and although he had survived this battle, Kuhn admitted that the shredding of the letter did nothing to dispel the bile among those who ardently sought his removal. This war on Kuhn, initiated by a select group of owners, would continue beyond the conclusion of the 1981 winter meetings.    

Personnel Dealings

A prelude to the traditional player transactions at the winter meetings occurred in late November when one trade was completed and another begun. In a swap of former All-Star outfielders, the Detroit Tigers sent former top draft pick and slugger Steve Kemp to the White Sox for Chet Lemon, and ground was broken on a three-way deal involving the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, and St. Louis Cardinals. The Phillies traded outfielder Lonnie Smith and a player to be named later to the Indians for catcher Bo Diaz, and Cleveland immediately shipped Smith to the Cardinals for two pitchers, Lary Sorensen and Silvio Martinez. This trade was completed at the winter meetings when the Indians picked up pitcher Scott Munninghoff from the Phils.     

When the action moved to Florida, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, never shy about amending his roster or management team, announced that manager Bob Lemon would be allowed to pilot the Bronx Bombers for the 1982 season, after which Gene Michael would take over in the Yankee dugout from 1983 through 1985. Another former Yankees skipper, Ralph Houk, had his contract extended through the 1984 season by the Boston Red Sox.     

On the ever-popular trading front, activity was relatively slow, leading one major newspaper to comment that most of the winter meetings consisted of “four days of boredom interspaced with rumors.”14 While many clubs may have been waiting until spring training of 1982 to evaluate their squads before ultimately deciding on how to address problem areas, 36 players were nonetheless swapped in 16 separate transactions. This total was off by a substantial margin from the previous winter meetings, at which 59 players were swapped in 18 trades. 

Outfielder Clint Hurdle, the bright Royals star who once graced the cover of Sports Illustrated but had been disabled for most of 1981, was sent to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Scott Brown, who had spent most of his professional career in the Reds’ minor-league system.

Pittsburgh sent veteran shortstop Tim Foli to the California Angels for catching prospect Brian Harper. Seeing only limited playing time with the Bucs and three other teams in the mid-1980s, Harper did not start having his best years until 1988 when he joined the Minnesota Twins. But just as he had done for the Pirates in their championship season of 1979, Foli paid a quick dividend for the Angels by helping to anchor their infield during California’s drive to the 1982 AL West pennant.  

The Mets traded the middle of their infield, exchanging shortstop Frank Taveras for Montreal pitcher Steve Ratzer and cash. The former ironically had been traded in 1979 from Pittsburgh to the Mets for the aforementioned Foli, while the latter, like Scott Brown, appeared in only a handful of major-league games up to 1981 and would never pitch at that level again. New York also sent second baseman Doug Flynn and hurler Danny Boitano to the Texas Rangers for closer Jim Kern. Flynn had been a key acquisition from the Reds as part of the controversial 1977 trade of Tom Seaver to Cincinnati but was a mediocre hitter at best, and Boitano, who pitched for several years in the Phillies and Brewers organizations, pitched only 30 innings for the Rangers in 1982, his last year in the majors. A three-time American League All-Star reliever in the late 1970s, Kern fell victim to injuries in mid-1980 and had become a rehabilitation project. The tall right-hander never pitched for the Mets, as he was traded, along with Alex Trevino and Greg Harris, for Reds slugger George Foster two months later as spring training commenced.                

Seattle’s Tom Paciorek, whose .326 average was runner-up to Boston’s Carney Lansford for the 1981 American League batting crown, was sent to the White Sox for outfielder Rod Allen, shortstop Todd Cruz, and catcher Jim Essian. Allen had no impact for the Mariners, and Essian saw only limited duty behind the plate, but Cruz became Seattle’s primary shortstop in 1982 before moving on to Baltimore. First baseman Paciorek, whose two other brothers also played in the major leagues, hit well for the White Sox (.312 in 1982, .307 in 1983) and continued to do so later for the Mets and Rangers in a career that eventually spanned 18 years.

After spending just one season in San Francisco, outfielder Jerry Martin was shipped to the Kansas City Royals for two pitchers, Rich Gale and Bill Laskey. Gale had been a top prospect in the Royals’ system but had alternating good and bad years since his 14-win, 3.09 ERA debut in 1978; Laskey blossomed briefly, winning 13 games in both 1982 and 1983. Martin, meanwhile, found a place in the Royals outfield, batting .266 in 147 games during 1982. However, he was swept up in the drug scandal that was soon to plague major-league baseball. Along with fellow Royals Willie Wilson, Willie Mays Aikens, and, most notoriously, Vida Blue, he would serve time in jail for involvement with cocaine. 

The Giants added outfielder-first baseman Doe Boyland from the Pirates in exchange for pitcher Tom Griffin, swapped hurler Doug Capilla for the Cubs’ Allen Ripley, and traded outfielder Larry Herndon to the Tigers for pitchers Dan Schatzeder and Mike Chris. San Francisco had set out to add one southpaw to its pitching staff at the meetings, but actually ended up with three (Capilla, Chris, and Schatzeder).       

Now operating in Chicago, Dallas Green, the new general manager of the Cubs, worked on retooling the team’s lineup, first by sending pitcher Mike Krukow and cash to the Phillies — Green’s former employer — for pitchers Dan Larsen, Dickie Noles, and catcher Keith Moreland. 

It is important to note that one trade that did not take place was a deal involving a prized prospect in the Philadelphia organization. Long rumored to be included in trades for several weeks, Ryne Sandberg was finally acquired in late January 1982 in a trade that brought the future Hall of Famer — along with shortstop Larry Bowa — to the Cubs for shortstop Ivan DeJesus. Based on accounts in The Sporting News at that time, one can draw the conclusion that Green had to have been laying groundwork for a deal involving Sandberg but did not complete trade talks until several weeks after the conclusion of the winter meetings.15        

Former National League Rookie of the Year Rick Sutcliffe, a 17-game winner for the Dodgers in 1979, appeared to be destined more for a minor-league bullpen than continued success at the major-league level after posting two dismal seasons (five total wins with a collective ERA of 5.10, in 1980 and 1981) following his stellar debut. Still perhaps overwhelmed by “Fernandomania” and basking in the glow of its World Series title, Los Angeles decided to move Sutcliffe and second baseman Jack Perconte to Cleveland for outfielder Jorge Orta — a former American League All-Star — catcher Jack Fimple, and pitcher Larry White. 

One of the last vestiges of the Big Red Machine, outfielder Ken Griffey, had been traded to the Yankees along with pitcher Brian Ryder a month before the gathering in Hollywood. At the meetings, the Reds completed the deal by acquiring pitcher Fred Toliver from New York. 

In a swap of outfielders, the Astros sent Gary Woods to the Cubs for Jim Tracy, with both players immediately assigned to their new team’s Triple-A affiliate. The Cardinals signed a pair of pitchers from the Mexican League, Eric Rasmussen of the Yucatan club, and former American Leaguer Vicente Romo of Coatzacoalcos.

American League West rivals Seattle and Oakland completed a trade in which the Mariners shipped infielder-outfielder Dan Meyer, who had twice enjoyed 20-homer seasons, to the Athletics for Rich Bordi, a 6-foot-7-inch reliever who would end up pitching for four other clubs over the following six years. These teams also completed a trade in which the A’s sent pitcher Roy Thomas to the Mariners for outfielder Rusty McNealy and pitcher Tim Hallgren. 

In the annual major-league Rule 5 draft, held on December 7, 10 players were selected by other organizations for $25,000 apiece. Among these, only two players — pitcher and former Cardinal farmhand Jim Gott, and infielder Domingo Ramos, late of the Blue Jays — would enjoy any future success with his new club. While neither Gott nor Ramos racked up big numbers, they did exhibit staying power by each accruing 11 years of service time with four different big-league teams.                      

Other instances of post-meeting trades that had been initially discussed in Hollywood, were those involving the Houston Astros’ Cesar Cedeño, once one of the best all-around players in the game but now in noticeable decline, for Cincinnati third baseman Ray Knight. Knight was the heir-apparent to Pete Rose following Rose’s departure to Philadelphia at the end of the 1978 season, but he became expendable after his batting average dropped nearly 60 points from 1979 to 1981. But perhaps the biggest laying of groundwork for a future trade occurred in a transaction between the Cardinals and Padres.

On December 10, St. Louis dealt outfielder Sixto Lezcano to San Diego for pitcher Steve Mura, and these principals were each accompanied by the ubiquitous player-to-be-named from their respective clubs.  Having already surrendered two pitchers — Lary Sorensen and Silvio Martinez — in previous trading, Cardinals manager and GM Whitey Herzog stated that he was in the market for more frontline pitching, so it was fair to assume that at least one more hurler would be forthcoming from the Padres. At the onset of the meetings, however, Herzog alluded to possibly dealing his gifted but troubled shortstop, Garry Templeton. Having fallen out of favor with Cardinals fans and his own teammates, especially after a late August home game in which he made obscene gestures to the crowd at Busch Stadium, Templeton was placed on Herzog’s trading block.

After weeks of haggling following the initial Lezcano-Mura trade, Templeton and All-Star shortstop Ozzie Smith were announced — on February 11, 1982 — as the players swapped to complete the trade first brokered in Hollywood. Smith would go on to anchor the Cardinal infield for three National League crowns and a World Series title while endearing himself to St. Louis fans for the remainder of a career that landed him in Cooperstown. Templeton, feeling more comfortable closer to his home in Santa Ana, California, helped the Padres to the 1984 National League pennant, but he never fulfilled the promise he displayed during his early years when he hit well over .300 in three of his first four seasons as a Cardinal. 

Several free-agent signings at the winter meetings involved some well-known names, including former Boston outfielder Joe Rudi and Texas right-hander Fergie Jenkins, who returned to the cities that initially launched them into prominence, Rudi back to Oakland, Jenkins back to Chicago for another stint with the Cubs. Reliever Bill Campbell, also formerly of Boston and a member of the first big free-agent class of 1977, followed Jenkins to Wrigley Field by signing as a free agent. Others, such as outfielder Cesar Geronimo (Kansas City), infielder Jerry Remy (Boston), and catcher Buck Martinez (Toronto), re-signed with their 1981 clubs, and the Cardinals purchased pitcher Mike Stanton from the Indians.

In closing, a few other transactions warrant attention. On December 6, the Angels purchased catcher Bob Boone from the Phillies, and five days later, the Dodgers signed former Orioles shortstop Mark Belanger as a free agent. Both players had been very active as members of the Major League Baseball Players Association, and a third player with a high profile in the players union, Orioles third baseman Doug DeCinces, found himself traded to California in late January 1982. It may be argued that Boone had become expendable in Philadelphia with Bo Diaz about to become the Phillies’ backstop. It may also be claimed that Belanger was at the end of his career, and the Orioles were making room for rookie Cal Ripken Jr.; thus, the Phillies and Orioles had little to lose by letting this trio of veterans go. However, the movement of three players prominent in union circles to new addresses may well have been a case in which their former clubs simply chose to rid themselves of some of the reminders of the strike of 1981.  

Summary

The first winter meetings following the devastating midseason strike of 1981 were punctuated by a backlash against Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, instigated by a group of owners intent on forcing Kuhn’s resignation. Fueled by dissatisfaction over widespread financial problems besetting the national pastime and the ostensible distance at which the commissioner kept himself during the strike, those seeking Kuhn’s ouster were unsuccessful in their attempt, but the dissent that surfaced in Hollywood, Florida, did not bode well for Kuhn as baseball’s top executive. Trading activity was generally slower than in previous years, but formulation of a deal eventually involving two premier shortstops of the day, Garry Templeton and Ozzie Smith, was set in motion and finally consummated before the opening of spring-training camps in early 1982.         

Sources

Gillette, Gary, and Pete Palmer, eds. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia, Fourth Edition (New York: Sterling Publishing Company, 2007).

Kuhn, Bowie. Hardball: The Education of a Baseball Commissioner (New York: Times Books, 1987).

Miller, Marvin.  A Whole Different Ball Game: The Sport and Business of Baseball (New York: Birch Lane Press, 1991).  

Siegel, Barry, ed.  Official 1982 Baseball Register (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1982).

The Baseball Encyclopedia, Ninth Edition (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1993).

Wigge, Larry, Carl Clark, Dave Sloan, Craig Carter, and Barry Siegel, eds. Official 1982 Baseball Guide (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1982).

Notes

1 “Kuhn Says Baseball Lost $25 Million in 1980,” Washington Post, December 8, 1981: C1; Bowie Kuhn, Hardball: The Education of a Baseball Commissioner (New York: Times Books, 1987), 362.

2 Jerome Holtzman, “Owners Discuss Sharing Income,” Chicago Tribune, December 6, 1981: C5.

3 Bart Barnes, “Kuhn Hits Cable TV,” Washington Post, December 10, 1981: D1.

4 Dave Nightingale, “Chances Dim for 3-Division Play,” The Sporting News, December 12, 1981: 45.

5 Referring to a gathering of National League executives in October, O’Malley said, “I could have sworn I saw at least five hands in the air (in opposition to three-division play) at the National League meeting in Arizona.” See Dave Nightingale, “Chances Dim for 3-Division Play,” The Sporting News, December 12, 1981: 39.  

6 “Chances Dim for 3-Division Play.”

7 Clifford Kachline, “Baseball Takes Lumps, Survives Stormy, Strike-Plagued Season,” in Larry Wigge, Carl Clark, Dave Sloan, Craig Carter, Barry Siegel, eds., Official 1982 Baseball Guide (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1982), 25.  

8 “Top Minor League Execs Packed Their Parks,” The Sporting News, December 12, 1981: 40.

9 Kuhn, 366. 

10 Joseph Durso, “Attack on Kuhn Shook Baseball Talks,” New York Times, December 13, 1981: S3. 

11 Ibid.

12 As Kuhn informed the New York Times, “The commissioner’s powers are mostly restraining. I don’t make labor policy or labor decisions.” See Larry Wigge, Carl Clark, Dave Sloan, Craig Carter, Barry Siegel, eds., Official 1982 Baseball Guide (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1982), 24.  

13 Kuhn, 10.

14 Mark Heisler, “At Baseball Meetings, There’s a Lot of Talk, Not Much Action,” Los Angeles Times, December 11, 1981: G3.

15 Hal Bodley, “Phils Disgusted; Deals Collapse,” The Sporting News, January 2, 1982: 38.

Legal Hoops

Danny Ainge had a no-basketball clause in the contract he signed in 1980 with Toronto. Boston Celtics general manager Red Auerbach admitted to knowing about the Blue Jays clause and the contract, and being notified twice about it. Still, Ainge’s desire to play basketball over baseball landed in the courts. By the beginning of October 1981, a jury decided in favor of Toronto,1 even though Ainge signed his contract without counsel because he was still in college (Ainge became the first athlete to take advantage of an NCAA rule allowing a college athlete to be a pro in another sport.)2  However, the possibility of Ainge’s playing basketball remained, as Judge Lee Gagliardi questioned the situation:3

Gagliardi: “The affidavit filed by Ainge shows that he wants to play basketball, doesn’t it?”

Blue Jays attorney Douglas Parker: “Yes. It says he doesn’t want to play baseball. But the Toronto management’s position is that Ainge gets confused about his future.”

Gagliardi (reportedly smiling): “He’s a college man. And an academic All-America. I think he has a very good idea of what he wants.”

Toronto agreed to continue working on an agreement with Boston, but progress was slow. Rumors spread of Toronto President Peter Bavasi being an obstacle to negotiations, and hopes emerged after Bavasi resigned in late November, citing the need for a greater challenge.4 Pat Gillick, Toronto’s vice president of baseball operations, suggested that Bavasi’s resignation had no impact on the Ainge situation, referring to Toronto’s legal team as the driver of negotiations.5

Ultimately, a deal was reached on November 27, with settlement terms not announced.6

Notes

1 Mike Douchant, “Hands Off Ainge, Jury Tells Celts,” The Sporting News, October 17, 1981: 62.

2 Thomas Boswell, “Danny Ainge: A Singular Figure in a Double Play Ainge: Does He Have the Right Stuff for NBA?,” Washington Post, December 20, 1981: L1.

3 “Hands Off Ainge, Jury Tells Celts.”

4 Enquirer Wires, “Bavasi (Needing a Challenge?) Resigns from Blue Jays,” Cincinnati Enquirer, November 25, 1981: 34.

5 Neil Singelais, “Bavasi Quits Blue Jays; Ainge Dispute Continues: Resignation May Facilitate Deal with Celtics,” Boston Globe, November 25, 1981: 33.

6 Associated Press, “Boston Signs Ainge,” Albuquerque Journal, November 28, 1981: 32.

Unfortunately, with all the cinematic baseball on display there is scarcely a Cleveland Indian to be seen; not a smoke signal, not a tomahawk, not even a rain dance. They show the Prides of the Yankees and St. Louis and the Winning Team with Angels in the Outfield and The Natural who Bangs a Drum Slowly. The cable stations show re-runs of situation comedies which feature Drysdale, Davis, and Durocher, but not Colavito, Donovan, and McGaha. Everything Baseball lists appearances by Dodger stars of the `60s in every show from Donna Reed to The Munsters; Indian fans are left with Lucy in an Indian uniform (in the bowels of Yankee Stadium with Bob Hope) and former Indian player Luis Tiant being relieved by Mayday Sam Malone during the filming of a beer commercial.

In the thirties and forties animated cartoons featured caricatures of famous stars of the day such as Dizzy Dan (in Boulevardier from the Bronx), Carl Bubble (in Porky’s Baseball Broadcast), and Gabby Hairnet (in Sport Chumpions). Where are Earl Ape-rill, Hal Turkey, and Bob Fowler? The best Indian fans can see is a throw-away gag in The Hardship of Miles Standish when Standish (Elmer Fudd in pilgrim garb) is attacked by Indians, on horseback, in uniform, carrying bats instead of tomahawks. The narrator underlines the gag: these were Cleveland Indians!

Sadly, with two exceptions, sharp-eyed viewers have to look quickly to see Cleveland players in cameos. Bob Feller appears as himself in an old-timers sequence in It’s My Turn; Gene Bearden can be seen in support of Jimmy Stewart in The Stratton Story; and sixties slugger Leon Wagner has parts in The Bingo Long Traveling All Stars and Motor Kings and A Woman Under the Influence. Hall of Famer Bob Lemon had a more substantial role as Hall of Famer Jesse Haines in support of Ronald Reagan in The Winning Team and Satchel Paige had a good-sized role in The Wonderful Country. Biographical films were made about Jimmy Piersall (Fear Strikes Out) and Paige (Don’t Look Back), but both films dealt with the time each spent prior to joining the Indians, although the latter ended with Paige pitching in the 1948 World Series. Johnny Beradino had a small part in Don’t Look Back. Beradino (or Berardino) played for Cleveland and other teams in the forties and went to a film career in such films as Marty and in the television series, I Led Three Lives and General Hospital. There must surely be documentary footage of the Tribe available; there are certainly films of the 1948 and 1954 World Series, and many of the television stations show old newsreels which often feature sports highlights. Bob Feller and Mel Harder and Frankie Pytlak and their contemporaries must surely appear in one newsreel or another.

Although the Indians and Tribe players appear in these fringe roles and settings, there are only two films to deal largely with the Indians, Major League and The Kid from Cleveland.

Major League is a recent, popular film, readily available on video cassette so the discussion will be brief. The Indian team portrayed in Major League is fictional. The story, in brief summary, is one of a grasping female owner who wants to move the Indians from Cleveland to Miami. She sets out to exploit a clause in the team’s agreement which gives her permission to relocate the franchise if attendance fails to reach 800,000 a season. To keep attendance down, she hires castoffs as players, including an over-the-hill catcher (Tom Berenger), a “wild” young pitcher who last played in the California Penal League (Charlie Sheen), an egotistical, overpaid infielder (Corbin Bernsen), a brash, young outfielder — Willie Mays Hayes — and a voodoo-practicing slugger. The owner chooses a long-time minor league manager to lead the Tribe into the cellar. Of course, the team pulls together and defeats the Yankees for the pennant.

Major League received mixed reviews; the film had the misfortune to follow Bull Durham and Eight Men Out, two critical favorites. I think that Major League holds its own with these more-acclaimed pictures. David S. Ward’s screenplay is fast and funny with very little of the pretentiousness that mars Bull Durham and none of the solemnity that makes Eight Men Out slow-going at times. The whole cast performs admirably with hilarious performances by James Gammon as the manager and Bob Uecker as the team’s hard-drinking radio announcer. Cleveland viewers will recognize the Hope Memorial Bridge, The Old Stone Church, Public Square and Municipal Stadium under the credits. Several friends have mentioned the sheer joy of the climax when the Tribe wins the pennant and the crowd goes crazy.

If Major League is not a total success, it certainly fares better than The Kid from Cleveland. In Everything Baseball, Bill Veeck states: “I have one unwritten law at home … never allow my kids to mention or see this abortion.” In The Hustler’s Handbook, Veeck adds: “… they still persist in playing (it) on TV in the face of Newton Minow’s sternest warnings.” Lou Boudreau called it “a dog.” In Bruce Dudley’s Distant Drums, Boudreau implicates The Kid from Cleveland in the Tribe’s slow start in the 1949 season:

Outside activities definitely put a cringe to our playing ability. Veeck agreed to make a movie, The Kid from Cleveland, we would be in League Park during the day and consequently on our feet quite a bit doing shots … then at night we’d go to the Stadium and play a night game.

There is little in the cast and credits to indicate that The Kid would be in any way exceptional. The male lead George Brent was definitely on the downside of his career. A decade before, Brent appeared opposite Bette Davis in Jezebel and Dark Victory. As recently as 1946, Brent had the lead in The Spiral Staircase, but Brent was nearing the end. He would make a half-dozen more films before retiring in the early ’50s. Brent played radio commentator Mike Jackson who becomes interested in a young, delinquent boy, Johnny Barrows (player by Rusty Tamblyn a full decade before High School Confidential). Johnny is having family and police troubles when Brent spots the baseball-crazy youth sneaking into the Stadium. Brent and his wife, played by B-picture queen Lynn Bari, befriend the troubled boy, and Brent introduces him to his “30 godfathers”, the Cleveland Indians, who take the boy in hand and lead him down the good path. (At one time during production, the working title of the film was 30 Godfathers, an obvious nod to John Wayne’s 1947 hit, Three Godfathers. The film was also known as The Cleveland Story during production.)

Supporting players included Ann Doran as the boy’s mother and Johnny Bera(r)dino as Mac, a hoodlum who is not pleased with the lad’s rehabilitation. The film was shot largely on location by Republic Studios, best known at the time for Roy Rogers and Gene Autry westerns. In fact, the same issue of Variety which reviews The Kid also reviews Down Dakota Way in which Roy, Dale and Trigger root out hoof-and-mouth disease in Roy Barcroft’s herd. Herbert Kline directed The Kid from Cleveland; even the most dedicated auteurists will have difficulty remembering Kline.

Surprisingly, contemporary reviews were generally favorable. A positive review could be expected from the Plain Dealer’s W. Ward Marsh as the film was shot in Cleveland and had its world premiere at Loew’s Stillman Theater downtown. However, the film received a favorable notice from “Wear” in Variety, the most reliable of the trade journals. “Wear” praised the baseball scenes, Jack Mata’s excellent camera work, and the performance of Bill Veeck in his review of September 7, 1949. (Incidentally, other films reviewed in that issue of Variety in addition to Down Dakota Way, are William Wyler’s The Heiress, for which Olivia deHavilland won an Academy Award, and Carol Reed’s The Third Man with Orson Welles as Harry Lime.) The Film Daily reviewer also liked The Kid from Cleveland, calling it “… a fine story of the big game.” Several reviewers mentioned that it was the first major film shot in Cleveland since False Fronts in the early ’20s.

Despite good notices, The Kid is almost forgotten today by film historians. It is not listed in the comprehensive Halliwell’s Film Guide. Leonard Maltin gives it two stars in TV Movies. Despite the frequent showing of Republic pictures on television, the film has not been shown on Cleveland TV in recent years although the Art Museum presented it in December 1989. Perhaps with the large number of older films available on cable, The Kid from Cleveland may again turn up on the small screen.

There are figures in Cleveland baseball history whose stories would make compelling films: Ray Chapman, Bob Feller, Bill Veeck, Herb Score, and Frank Robinson. Perhaps the success of Major League, Field of Dreams, and Eight Men Out will encourage filmmakers to examine baseball history and bring these stories to the screen.

CLEVELAND INDIANS’ FILMOGRAPHY

(Title of film, year of release, studio, director, leading actors, and Indians in film)

The Hardship of Miles Standish; 1940 WB; I. Freleng; Elmer Fudd. Animated Indians in uniform on horseback menace Elmer in this Merrie Melodie often shown on TV at Thanksgiving time.

The Stratton Story; 1948 MGM; Sam Wood; James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorhead. Gene Bearden played himself in the baseball game finale to this inspirational story of Monty Stratton who pitched for the White Sox in the late thirties and lost his right leg in a hunting accident. Bearden also suffered a severe knee injury during the war. The Stratton Story is not yet available on home video, but Ted Turner has colorized it.

The Kid from Cleveland; 1949 Republic; Herbert Kline; George Brent, Lynn Bari, Rusty Tamblyn, Ann Doran; Bill Veeck (owner), Lou Boudreau (manager), Tris Speaker, Hank Greenberg (coaches), Bob Feller, Gene Bearden Satchel Paige, Bob Lemon, Steve Gromek, Joe Gordon, Mickey Vernon, Ken Keltner, Ray Boone, Dale Mitchell, Larry Doby, Bob Kennedy, Jim Hegan (players), Gordon Cobbledick, Ed MacAuley, Franklin Lewis (sportswriters), Bill Summers and Bill Grieve (umpires).

The Winning Team; 1953 WB; Lewis Seiler; Ronald Reagan, Doris Day, Frank Lovejoy, Rusty Tamblyn. Bob Lemon portrays Hall-of-Fame Cardinal pitcher Jesse Haines in support of Ronald Reagan as Grover Cleveland Alexander in this sentimentalized biography. Lovejoy plays manager Rogers Hornsby. Note the presence in the cast of the kid from Cleveland, Rusty Tamblyn.

The Wonderful Country; 1959 UA; Robert Parrish; Robert Mitchum, Julie London, Gary Merrill, Jack Oakie. Satchel Paige portrays Sergeant Sutton in this Robert Mitchum western set along the Texas/Mexico border.

A Woman Under the Influence; 1974 Faces Int’l; John Cassavetes; Peter Falk, Gena Rowlands. Leon Wagner has a small role in this acclaimed domestic drama. Cassavetes’ wife Rowlands was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar.

The Bingo Long Traveling All Stars and Motor Kings; 1976 Universal; John Badham; James Earl Jones, Billy Dee Williams, Richard Pryor, Stan Shaw. Leon Wagner has a good-sized role as one of the barnstorming ballplayers in this entertaining adaptation of William Brashler’s novel. Available on home video.

It’s My Turn; 1980 Columbia; Claudia Weill; Michael Douglas, Jill Clayburgh, Charles Grodin, Beverly Garland, Steven Hill. Michael Douglas plays a retired Indians player who becomes romantically involved with the daughter of his father’s second wife. Bob Feller appears with Elston Howard, Mickey Mantle, and Roger Maris in Old-Timers’ Day sequence. Available on home video.

Don’t Look Back; 1981 TBA Prod; Richard Colla; Louis Gossett, Jr., Beverly Todd, Cleavon Little, Clifton Davis, Hal Williams, Ernie Barnes, Ossie Davis, John Beradino. Gossett portrays Satchel Paige in this made-for-TV film based on Paige’s Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever. The film follows Paige from his barnstorming days in the ’20s to his successful appearance in the 1948 World Series. Paige appears as himself in the epilogue a year before his death. Negro League greats Josh Gibson and Cool Papa Bell are played by Barnes and Davis. Note the presence of former teammate Beradino in the cast. Former Indian Bubba Phillips also has a small role. Available on home video.

Major League; 1989 Paramount; David S. Ward; Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen, Charlie Sheen, Margaret Whitton, Rene Russo, James Gammon, Bob Uecker, Steve Yeager. Available on home video.

What makes the cycle special? For collectors of anything—Norman Rockwell calendars, Betty Crocker cookbooks, Red Man Tobacco baseball cards, etc.—there is a special satisfaction when the collector succeeds in completing the entire set. Achieving a complete set of each type of safe hit in the same game provides an analogous feeling, and the rarity of the occurrence makes it feel exceptional. More importantly, however, the cycle is special because it achieves each of the three tools of offense: (1) hitting for average, i.e. collecting four hits in four—or five or so—at bats; (2) hitting for power, i.e. collecting three long hits with a total of six extra bases—one from the double, two from the triple, and three from the homer; and (3) baserunning skill and speed, i.e. a double and a triple in the collection of hits, which requires three baserunning bases—one from the double and two from the triple. (Not to mention that some singles—bunt singles and scratch infield singles—also require baserunning prowess and speed.)

Now, since a batter’s primary objective is to get on base and ultimately make his way around the bases and touch home plate to count a run—irrefutably baseball’s most important statistic—it stands to reason that a priori a double is more valuable than a single, and a triple is more valuable than a double, and a homer is more valuable than a triple. With that premise, let’s consider the following:

Player A has a game batting line of two doubles, one triple, and one homer. Player B has a final batting line of one single, one double, one triple, and one homer—i.e., Player B has hit for the cycle. As it is now—and has been for decades—Player B gets special recognition by being eternally listed in baseball’s record books for the feat. In contrast, Player A merely gets a fleeting “atta boy!” before his accomplishment vanishes into obscurity. (See the “Cycles and the Record Books” sidebar.) Shouldn’t there be some long-lasting special recognition for the superb performance of Player A? What about an enduring special acknowledgment for the player who collected one double, two triples, and one homer—but no single? Or the player who connected for one two-baser, one three-baser, and two four-basers—but no one-baser? Each of these combinations is just like the traditional cycle, except that the cycle’s single has been replaced by a more valuable hit—an extra base hit. Let’s call these accomplishments quasi-cycles—four long hits in a game with at least one double, at least one triple, and at least one homer.^12,13

The quasi-cycle embodies all of the definitive characteristics of the standard cycle except for the single. Now one can ask, “Which players have achieved quasi-cycles?”

RESEARCH PROCEDURE

The first thing to compile is a list of all players who collected at least four extra base hits in a game, with the long hits distributed according to the definition of a quasi-cycle. That is an enormous task. Thanks to the research of Joseph L. Reichler, the workload was greatly reduced. In the 1993 edition of The Great All-Time Baseball Record Book, Reichler presented his list of players with five or four extra base hits in a game from 1876 through 1992.¹⁴ Similarly, in the 1993 edition of The Baseball Research Journal, Joseph Donner presented his “complete” list of players with five or four long hits in a game from 1876 through 1992.¹⁵ According to Donner, the feat was accomplished 301 times. Reichler’s list includes 27 players not given on Donner’s list, while Donner’s list includes 50 players not given on Reichler’s list. Examination of the two lists provided a sub-list of the players who collected or may have collected a quasi-cycle.

The next step was to ascertain which players hit a quasi-cycle 1993–2016. That is also a prodigious task. Fortunately, thanks to the Herculean efforts put forth by Retrosheet volunteers to generate box score files (and derived player daily files), extracting the necessary information was greatly facilitated. The extraordinarily helpful “Play Index” tool on the Baseball-Reference website utilizes the Retrosheet database for the seasons back to 1913. In addition, Retrosheet’s Tom Ruane graciously wrote a computer program to extract quasi-cycles achieved back to the 1911 season. (Note that the quasi-cycle information obtained from the Baseball-Reference Play Index and from Ruane’s computer program identified several instances in disagreement with Donner’s and/or Reichler’s findings. The Appendix to this article, available on the SABR website at https://sabr.org/node/47842, provides detail on the discrepancies.)

Finally, each of the quasi-cycles identified as described above was verified by checking the game accounts in the relevant newspapers or the play-by-play descriptions given on the Retrosheet website.

RESULTS and DISCUSSION

Table 1 presents the pertinent information for each of the 88 quasi-cycles identified. Since Joe DiMaggio collected two quasi-cycles, the total number of players who connected for a quasi-cycle according to my research is 87. Just over a third of the players (31) who achieved a quasi-cycle also collected a single and thereby simultaneously accomplished a traditional cycle—the names of those players are shown in boldface—including DiMaggio twice. Thus, from 1876 through 2016, only 56 major-league players managed to assemble the critical three-tool components of the cycle, but didn’t connect for a simple single to complete the classic cycle. Of these 56 quasi-cycle achievers, only five also accomplished a traditional cycle in some other game during their big league careers—Lou Gehrig (twice), Bob Fothergill, Jimmie Foxx, Johnny Mize, and Willie Stargell.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

Now we can answer the question, “Is a quasi-cycle better than a cycle?” Technically, the answer is “Yes!” Both from the standpoint of a player’s contribution to his team’s offense and from the rarity of the achievement demonstrated by this research, the quasi-cycle deserves to be noted and recorded along with other hitting feats usually included in the record books such as the classic cycle or hitting four homers in a game. This leads to a follow-up question, “Will the quasi-cycle achievers ever be listed as such in baseball’s record books?” At least at this time they are now recorded here in the Baseball Research Journal.

Table 1: Quasi-Cycles (1876 to 2016)

NOTES: (1) Players listed in boldface also collected a single and therefore simultaneously also achieved a traditional cycle. (2) A player’s name bracketed with asterisks indicates that he was subsequently elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

According to the list of cycles given on the Retrosheet website, the major league record for most cycles, career, is three — held by four players:

(1) John Reilly [with Cincinnati (AA) on September 12, 1883, and September 19, 1883, and with Cincinnati (NL) on August 6, 1890]

(2) Bob Meusel [with New York (AL) on May 7, 1921, July 3, 1922, and July 26, 1928]

(3) Babe Herman [with Brooklyn (NL) on May 18, 1931, and July 24, 1931, and with Chicago (NL) on September 30, 1933]

(4) Adrian Beltre [with Seattle (AL) on September 01, 2008, and with Texas on August 24, 2012, and August 03, 2015].

Considering both traditional cycles and quasi-cycles, Lou Gehrig accumulated a combined total of three — his two authentic cycles [with New York (AL) on June 25, 1934 and August 01, 1937] and his one quasi-cycle [with New York (AL) on July 29, 1930].

• Appendix: Click here to read the online Appendix to this article

HERM KRABBENHOFT joined SABR 36 years ago. His many and varied accomplishments in baseball research include the following: ultimate grand slam home runs, accurate triple play database [with Jim Smith and Steve Boren], Ted Williams Consecutive-Games-On-Base-Safely record, Cobb (hitter) vs. Ruth (pitcher), accurate RBI totals for Ruth, Gehrig, and Greenberg, accurate records for twentieth century leadoff batters, Zimmerman’s triple crown, Hamilton’s MLB runs-scored record [with Keith Carlson, Dave Newman, and Dixie Tourangeau], comprehensive compilation of Detroit Tigers uniform numbers.

Dedication

Herm Krabbenhoft gratefully dedicates this article to his good friend Ron Kabacinski. Together they have enjoyed many games at Tiger Stadium and Comerica Park—including the one on July 18, 2001, when Roger Cedeño of the Tigers hit a quasi-cycle. Thanks, Ron!—for all the great times playing catch down on the farm and the wonderful memories of our fantastic times at the ballpark—including especially the 1968 and 1984 World Series and the final game at Tiger Stadium. All the best to you and Barbara!

Acknowledgments

Special thanks are gratefully extended to Tom Ruane for writing a computer program to extract the quasi-cycles from the Retrosheet database for the 1911–2016 seasons. Similarly, I am very grateful to the following people for providing details for some of the quasi-cycles: Keith Carlson (for the quasi-cycles hit by Caruthers, Cobb, and Laabs); Dixie Tourangeau (for McCarthy’s quasi-cycle); Dave Smith (for the quasi-cycles hit by Wrightstone, Manush, Jackson, and Whitney); and Dennis Thiessen and Jay Buck (for Tip O’Neill’s quasi-cycle). I should also like to thank Cassidy Lent, Ev Cope, Doug Kern, J.G. Preston, Andy McCue, Philippe Cousineau, Doug Goodman, Gary Gillette, John Swol, Sean Holtz, Andrew Sharp, Brian Rash, Steve Boren, Dan DiNardo, Steve Gietschier, Chuck McGill, Don Mankowski, Bob Wilson, Barry Mednick, and Trent McCotter for their inputs to my requests (posted on SABR-L and SABR_Records) for information/guidance on pre-1981 printed (hard-copy) lists of players who hit for the cycle. Similarly, I am very grateful to Doug Todgham, Cliff Blau, Gary Stone, Albert Hallenberg, Misty Mayberry, Gordon Turner, Jerry Nechal, and Amy Welch for providing newspaper game accounts for the hit sequences and/or other important information for some of the players who hit cycles and/or quasi-cycles. And it is a pleasure to again acknowledge the Retrosheet volunteers who contributed to the phenomenal Retrosheet database of play-by-play information as well as the Baseball-Reference website’s extraordinarily useful Play Index tool, which was key to generating the information presented in Table 1. Finally, I should like to thank Dennis Thiessen and Jeff Robbins for their very helpful suggestions.

Notes

1. “History of the Game, Doubleday to Present Day—Players who have hit for the cycle,” MLB.com, accessed June 10, 2017.
2. Joseph L. Reichler (Revised by Ken Samelson), The Great All-Time Baseball Record Book, Macmillan, New York (1993) 126.
3. Steve Gietschier, Editor, The 2008 Complete Baseball Record Book, Sporting News, Chesterfield, MO (2008) 130.
4. “Cycles,” Retrosheet.org, accessed July 3, 2017.
5. Chuck McGill, personal communication (email) to Herm Krabbenhoft, June 01, 2017—from the Tennessean [Nashville, Tennessee, August 21, 1921 (p12)] was the following news item: “George Sisler on August 13 hit the cycle by getting on a single, double, triple, and home run, and by getting an extra double in the same game.”
6. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the first use of the term “cycle” to mean hitting a single, double, triple, and home run in the same game was in a 1933 Washington Post article: Paul Dickson, The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, W.W. Norton & Company, New York (2009) 237.
7. Charlie White, The Little Red Book of Baseball, Cortland, NY (1937), 26.
8. Joseph Reichler, The Ronald Encyclopedia of Baseball, Ronald Press Co., New York (1964), 80.
9. Joseph G. Donner, “Hitting for the Cycle,” Baseball Research Journal, Society for American Baseball Research (1981) 75.
10. Joseph L. Reichler, The Great All-Time Baseball Record Book, Macmillan, New York (1981) 110.
11. For example, beginning with the 1951 edition of The (Sporting News) Official Baseball Guide, in the section titled “Batting Feats of 1950,” lists of players with 5-hit games, 3-homer games, grand slam homers, and cycles were presented. In the 1952–1954 editions, only 5-hit games and grand slam homers were provided. Then, starting in 1955 (and continuing until the very last edition in 2006) 5-hit games, 3-homer games, and grand slams were presented; the lists of pinch homers were discontinued (permanently) with the 1974 edition. A list of cycles was not presented in any edition other than the 1951 edition. With regard to cumulative lists of batting feats, beginning with the 1951 edition of One for the Book, a list of players who achieved “Six or More Hits in One Game” (p30) was presented. Beginning with the 1952 edition, lists of players who hit (a) hit “Four Home Runs in One Game” (page 45) or (b) “Three Home Runs in One Game” (page 45) were presented. These batting feats were published in each subsequent annual edition through the final edition [then titled The (Sporting News) Complete Record Book] published in 2008. Curiously, a comprehensive list of cycles was not included until the 1998 edition (page 177).
12. The modifier “quasi” is defined by Merriam-Webster as follows: “having some resemblance usually by possession of certain attributes.” Similarly, the combining form “quasi-“ is defined as follows: “in some way or sense, but not in a true, direct, or complete way; resembling in some degree.” Also Merriam-Webster defines “cycle” as follows: “the series of a single, double, triple, and home run hit in any order by one player during one baseball game.” Thus, a “quasi-cycle” is a cycle in some way or sense (i.e., it has four hits like a cycle, including a double, triple, and home run), but is not a true or complete cycle since it lacks the single, the single having been replaced by an additional long hit. Some common “quasi-“ words are quasi-governmental, quasi-judicial, quasi-legislative, quasi-public.
13. One might also ask, “What about a player who hits one homer and three doubles—should that combination also be a quasi-cycle?” Or the player who blasts out two doubles and two homers or three homers and one double or even four homers? The answer for these “tripleless” combinations of four long hits is, “No—because the definition of the quasi-cycle mandates that at least one of each of the three types of extra base hits (double, triple and home run) must be included in the combination of four long hits.”
14. Joseph L. Reichler (Revised by Ken Samelson), The Great All-Time Baseball Record Book, Macmillan, New York (1993) 89.
15. Joseph Donner, “Four or More Long Hits in a Game—The Complete List,” The Baseball Research Journal, Society for American Baseball Research, Cleveland (1993) 54.

3. Edward Burns, “Hack, Cubs’ Rookie Infielder, Plucked Out of Bank on Coast,” Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY), January 10, 1932, 27.

4. The winning bid was $370.98. “Stanley C. Hack/SMILE WITH ME” pocket mirror, Hake’s Auctions, hakes.com/Auction/ItemDetail/201987/STANLEY-C-HACKSMILE-WITH-ME-POCKET-MIRROR, March 15, 2016 (accessed December 18, 2022).

5. Bill Veeck and Ed Linn, Veeck as in Wreck, (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1962), 158.

6. Bill Veeck, “Gamesmanship Helped Indians Win 1948 AL Pennant,” News-Journal (Mansfield, OH), September 14, 1962, 14.

7. David Condon, “Cub Fans, Smile if You Loved Stan Hack,” Chicago Tribune, December 16, 1979, 86.

Fans of the 1958 Philadelphia Phillies had little to cheer about at the end of a rather dismal season. When the final standings were posted, the club was firmly planted dead last in the National League. One bright note was the team’s pinch-hitting performance: It led both major leagues with an impressive batting average of .308 and 11 home runs.1 A leading contributor to this clutch performance was a well-traveled veteran named Dave Philley, who hit .404 off the bench and ended the season with a remarkable streak of eight consecutive pinch safeties to set a major-league record. Not bad for a 38-year-old journeyman making his second tour of the city.

Philadelphians likely remembered Philley from his first stint in the City of Brotherly Love during the early part of the decade. Back then he was a defensive stalwart for the Philadelphia Athletics, regularly patrolling center field, where he covered lots of ground with his long, graceful strides and exceptional speed. He also possessed a rifle arm, fully capable of cutting down opposing baserunners. Dave Philley’s career was radically transformed during the decade of the 1950s and he did it in his own workmanlike style.

Born May 16, 1920, in Garrett’s Bluff, a suburb of Paris, Texas, David Earl was the second son of Maxie and Leila Philley. Baseball ran in the family; Dave’s dad played semi-pro ball in East Texas, while older brother Noel and younger brother Frank each had brief professional careers. In addition to baseball, Dave excelled at football, track, and boxing at Chicota High School, where he also became a local Golden Gloves champ. 

As a youngster, Dave naturally batted left and threw right-handed, until a fall from a tree cracked a bone in his left arm. The injury made it impossible for the eight-year-old to swing from his natural side, but wanting to continue playing the game he loved, he learned to hit right-handed. Proper healing was a long, drawn-out process, so he had lots of practice batting right-handed and became so adept that he continued to switch-hit after the arm fully recovered.2 

Signed by the Chicago White Sox as a catcher in 1940, he was quickly shifted to the outfield to capitalize on his fine speed. Although an outfield novice, Philley did well enough to warrant a brief (seven-game) trial with the parent White Sox late in 1941. When Manager Jimmy Dykes cautiously inserted the rookie into the lineup against the Washington Nationals, Philley completely lost one ball hit in his direction and, later, a scorching line drive barely missed his head. A Washington sportswriter commented: “A rookie named Dave Philley played left field for five innings and escaped without serious injury.” Dykes later preemptively “removed the youngster before being charged with manslaughter.”3 Philley carried the tattered news clipping in his wallet for many years. 

Philley served in the United States Army from early 1942 until after the end of WWII. He was discharged in 1946 and returned to work out the kinks with Milwaukee in the American Association, hitting .329 in 130 games, which was good enough to warrant another late-season call-up by the White Sox. He became Chicago’s regular center fielder in 1947, hitting .258 in 143 games. His 21 stolen bases ranked second in the league and his 11 triples placed him third in that category. White Sox General Manager Frank Lane admired Philley’s style, calling him “a battler not afraid of anything.”4

The six-foot, 188-pound Philley improved to a .287 mark in 1948, while leading all AL outfielders with 22 assists. A 1949 move to right field didn’t affect his hitting or fielding one bit, as Philley posted a .286 average, while again leading the league with 16 assists. 

Realizing he hit about 100 points higher from the port side of the plate, Philley toyed with the idea of becoming strictly a left-handed batter in 1950. The test ended early in the season at Yankee Stadium, when he was jammed with a pitch.5 The close call prompted him to resume switch-hitting—at the time he was the only regular in the American League to do so. He finished the season with a career-best 14 home runs, although his average dipped to .242. Philley later acknowledged his productivity suffered at this point in his career, due to his self-imposed tendency to swing for the fences.

By 1951, his former skipper Jimmy Dykes was running the Philadelphia Athletics, and on April 30, he acquired Philley as part of a rare three-team deal, involving the A’s, White Sox, and Cleveland. Dykes had always admired Philley’s style of play and was happy to have him back. Philley settled into center field, while fellow acquisition (and roommate) Gus Zernial patrolled left. Right fielder Elmer Valo filled the remaining slot among the outfield corps. It’s interesting to note that all three would go on to become prominent pinch-hitters later in their respective careers. 

After hitting .263 in 1951 with Philadelphia, and again in 1952, Dave decided to switch bats early in 1953. He’d been using a 47.5-ounce model as a left-handed hitter, but from the right side he preferred a 34-ounce piece of lumber. The monstrous war-club was a thick handled model brought to the clubhouse one day by Father William J. Casey, an old friend of Manager Dykes. Father Casey visited the team, accompanied by the 47.5-ounce bat he used in college. Dykes passed it around and intimated that modern players couldn’t handle such a bat. Zernial later recalled: “We all swung it around a little for warm-up, but Dave got to fooling around with it more than the rest of us. He began going up to the plate with it and one day at Yankee Stadium he lined one right into the stands. Well after that, it was his regular bat and he did well with it.”6 Philley abandoned the bat early in 1953, however, and began using his 34-ounce model from both sides.

The lighter bat produced immediate results and helped Philley enjoy his most productive offensive season yet, hitting .303 in 157 games for the A’s. Philley worked hard at his craft and practiced to become an exceptional bunter, and he once led the A’s in sacrifices. Defensively, he again led all AL outfielders with 18 assists. 

After his success in 1953, the A’s simply couldn’t meet Philley’s salary demands. As a result, he was traded to Cleveland just prior to the start of the 1954 season. He learned of the transaction while negotiating a cattle deal in Oklahoma, and he couldn’t have been happier. “With Cleveland, I’ll have a chance at the pennant. They’re nice people and fine players. It’s a real break for me.” Cleveland GM Hank Greenberg added: “He’s fast of foot, a good defensive man, and an outstanding hustler. We’ve got another solid outfielder who can be very helpful to us. He’s the kind of ballplayer we’ve been looking for.”7

The hard-playing Philley liked to win and called himself “the most hated player in the American League.” He confidently stated, “I never look for trouble,” but teammates and opposition alike agreed he never ran from it either.8 “I play so hard to win that if a man gets in my way, I go into him, knock him down. If I was a manager and one of my men didn’t go into the second baseman to break up the double play, I’d fire him. That’s part of team play.”9

In 1954, Cleveland was pennant bound. Cleveland teammates and fans agreed that the Paris outfielder was the man who built the pennant fire under the team, even though he hit only .226 for the season.10 Philley made his only World Series appearance that October, as the New York Giants swept favored Cleveland in four straight. Philley started the first and third games, both against right-handed pitching. In the first inning of Game 1, he narrowly missed a two-run homer when Don Mueller, with his back firmly planted against the right-field fence, hauled in his deep drive.

In 1954, the St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles, but despite relocating, the team still finished a dismal seventh. Under manager Paul Richards, 1955 started out even worse: the O’s opened the season at a 20–53 clip. Desperate to add offensive punch, Richards learned that Philley was available and promptly plucked the big Texan off the waiver list from Cleveland. The acquisition immediately sparked the club, with Philley hitting .299 as a regular outfielder. The Orioles went 37–45 after his arrival and the media voted him Most Valuable Oriole for 1955.

Philley was traded by Baltimore back to the White Sox, in a multi-player deal on May 21, 1956. Hitting .265, while adding first base to his growing resume of defensive positions, he helped Chicago finish third in the American League. The versatile Philley also saw action in the outfield for the White Sox. Traded to Detroit on June 14, 1957, Philley was primarily a pinch-hitter and hit .400 off the bench, while posting an overall mark of .283 for the fourth-place Tigers.

Philley was sold to the Phillies on December 11, 1957, giving the veteran his first opportunity to face National League pitching. Although he was acquired specifically for pinch-hitting duties, the 38-year-old was still agile enough for outfield or first-base duties. On May 17, 1958, while chasing a foul ball, the hard-playing veteran broke his nose while diving into the first base stands. The collision kept Philley out of the lineup for six days. 

Overall, he feasted on NL pitching to the tune of a .309 average, producing 18 hits as a pinch-hitter, with eight coming consecutively at the end of the season. The last safety was on September 28, 1958, against the Pirates. It broke the previous record of seven consecutive pinch hits, set by Debs Garms of the Pirates in 1941. Although the Phillies finished in last place, their pinch-hitting corps, led by Philley and Bob Bowman, paced the club to a league-leading pinch-hitting average of .308. Also prominent off the bench were Rip Repulski and Wally Post. Philley remarked about his approach to pinch-hitting: “I guess you’d call it a battle of wits up there. You learn more about pitchers. You have to keep learning.”11

Philley believed he became a better player at this point in his career. Although he relished the opportunity to play every day, Philley acknowledged he did more thinking about the game as a reserve than he did when he was in the regular lineup. He studied opposing pitchers, learned their best pitches, and became better prepared when called upon in the late innings.

Philley extended his streak to nine hits in a row when he connected in his first appearance of the 1959 season. His seventh-inning double came in Milwaukee on April 16, 1959, against right-hander Lew Burdette, in a 7–3 Phillies loss. Philley elaborated on his overall approach to pinch-hitting: “I walk to the plate with all the confidence in the world. I figure I’ve got only one shot at it. I relax as much as possible, yet manage to bear down. Of course it helps to know the opposing pitchers. I study them as much as I can.”12 Confidently standing at the plate in a significant crouch with his knees bent, Philley utilized a slightly open stance and level swing, usually offering at the first pitch in the strike zone.

A productive .291 mark for the 1959 Phillies resulted in his sale to the San Francisco Giants at the start of the 1960 season. Philley hit only .164 in 39 games. He was reunited with the Orioles and former manager Paul Richards on September 1, 1960. Although 40 years old at the time and once again obtained specifically for pinch-hitting duties, the veteran was immediately pressed into the lineup when starting left fielder Gene Woodling was injured. Philley hit .265 in 14 games. 

By 1961, the Baltimore Orioles had become very respectable, winning 95 games and finishing a strong third in the American League. Coming off the bench, 41-year-old Dave Philley laced 24 safeties to establish an American League record. Despite his success as a pinch-hitter, the Orioles released Philley at the end of the season. By then, former boss Paul Richards was developing the expansion Houston Colt 45’s. He signed Philley as a free agent in 1962, and subsequently traded the veteran to the Boston Red Sox, where he wrapped up his big league career. Philley then returned to work for Richards as a minor-league manager in the Houston organization, helping to develop future stars in spring training, including Joe Morgan and Rusty Staub—the latter went on to tie Philley’s major-league pinch-hitting record. Philley also served as an instructor and scout for the Boston Red Sox.

Overall, Philley’s 1,700 hits in 6,296 at-bats produced a lifetime batting average of .270, with a total of 84 home runs, in a career spanning from World War II to the Kennedy administration. “I figured I’d play five or six years,” said Philley. “I had one thing on my mind and that was to play big-league ball. Nothing was going to interfere with that.”13

Philley was a competitor and strived to improve every aspect of his game. A believer in top physical conditioning, he was a proponent of fingertip push-ups, as taught to him by Ted Williams.14 Former Oriole teammate Willy Miranda related a story from the spring of 1956 when the holdout Philley and the tardy Miranda showed up late for spring training in Arizona. Arriving on the same evening, they were temporary roommates. Miranda commented how Philley arose the next morning at 6 a.m., sprang out of bed, hit the floor, and did 50 push-ups without even losing his breath. He then coaxed Miranda out of bed to do the same. Philley regularly turned in early, always got plenty of sleep, watched his diet, and strictly adhered to training rules. The strongest drink he would consume was soda pop, and an admitted vice was smoking an occasional cigar.15

Dave Philley played major-league baseball with the same no-nonsense efficiency he successfully utilized in operating his 557-acre Texas ranch and managing his other business enterprises. In retirement, he became an active community leader and held several local elected posts. He enjoyed fishing and quail hunting with fellow Texan and former major leaguer Eddie Robinson. Often in demand as an after dinner speaker, Philley would happily appear before youth and church groups. A devout Baptist, he spoke frankly about his religious views, and had no patience for major leaguers who set bad examples with partying and carousing.16 Philley was tending his Texas ranch when he passed away from an apparent heart attack on March 15, 2012, at the age of 91.

Primarily remembered as one of the game’s finest pinch-hitters, fans in Philadelphia could attest that Philley was much more. He actually had two very distinct careers while wearing the uniform of eight different major-league teams. In addition to his pinch-hitting prowess, he earlier played as a regular at multiple positions. He was fast afield and a threat to steal bases. A more than adequate switch-hitter, he possessed some power and a strong throwing arm. “Durable Dave” was quite handy to have around for over 20 years. In many respects, he was the exceptionally rare pinch hitter, possessing all five tools.

CORT VITTY is a native of New Jersey and a graduate of Seton Hall University. A lifelong fan of the New York Yankees, he has been a SABR member ((Bob Davids Chapter) since 1999. Vitty’s work has appeared in “The National Pastime” and “Go-Go to Glory: The 1959 White Sox.” Web articles are posted at Seamheads.com and PhiladelphiaAthletics.org. Vitty has authored SABR biographies of Buzz Arlett, Lu Blue, Mickey Grasso, Goose Goslin, Babe Phelps, Dave Philley, and Harry “Suitcase” Simpson. Vitty resides in Maryland with his wife, Mary Anne.

SOURCES

The New York Times

Paris (Texas) News

Salisbury (Maryland) Times

The Sporting News

The Washington Post

www.astroland.net

www.baseball-almanac.com

www.baseball-reference.com

www.retrosheet.com

NOTES

1 Ford Sawyer, “Bowman, Zernial Top Pinch-Hitters,” The Sporting News, October 28, 1958.

2 “Dave Philley is Fighting Slump,” Salisbury Times, April 24, 1956. 

3 Ibid.

4 Art Morrow, “Hoodooed Hitter Philley Swings on Jinx,” The Sporting News, May 17, 1953.

5 “Hats Off,” The Sporting News, May 6, 1953.

6 Morrow.

7 “Philley Pleased With New Team,” Paris News, February 21, 1954.

8 Morrow.

9 Bill Thompson, “Billboard,” Paris News, April 7, 1954.

10 Bill Thompson, “Billboard,” Paris News, October 10, 1954.

11 Ibid.

12 Allen Lewis, “Philley and Bowman Give Phillies Top Clutch Hitting Team,” The Sporting News, May 20, 1959.

13 Tom Waits, “Memories Vivid for Philley,” Paris News, June 20, 1990.

14 Dan Dunkin,“Dave Philley, Still a Ballplayer After All These Years,” Paris News, July 3, 1983.

15 Bob Maisel, “Morning After,” Baltimore Sun, July 2, 1960.

16 “Dave Philley: Baseball is His Business,” Paris News, March 8, 1959.

In recent years, statistics have been developed to facilitate comparisons of player performances across seasons and across generations. One such statistic, OPS+, places a players’ OPS (on-base plus slugging) into the context of the league’s OPS, adjusted by a park factor. An .800 OPS in a pitcher’s year such as 1968 results in a higher OPS+ than an .800 OPS in a hitter’s year such as 1930. Unfortunately, OPS+ underplays the true measure of the outstanding achievement of exceptional events. For instance, Barry Bonds’ OPS+ of 268 in 2002 is the all-time record (excepting the Negro League statistics).1 He broke his own record of 259, set in 2001, which broke Fred Dunlap’s record of 256, set in 1884 with the St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association. However, this paper will demonstrate that Bonds’ OPS+ in 2002 was not incrementally better than Ruth’s career-best 255 OPS+ in 1920; it reached a whole new level of performance.2 In addition, Dunlap’s OPS+ does not reflect the weakness of the UA.

Raw statistics also suffer from a lack of context. Babe Ruth’s 54 home runs in 1920 were almost 15% of the home runs hit by the entire AL. But on the all-time record charts, it sits astride Jose Bautista’s 54 home runs in 2010, which were but 2.4% of the AL’s total that season. Fortunately, there is a basic statistic that puts these and other accomplishments into other proper perspective: the z-score.

USING Z-SCORES TO ASSESS HITTERS’ PERFORMANCES

Z-scores derive from standard deviations (SDs), which measure the variation of values from the mean of a dataset. Also known as “standard scores,” z-scores measure the number of SDs by which data points deviate from the mean. The lower the SD, the more data in a dataset cluster near the mean.

To illustrate the concept, below are two sets of hitters. Each set has a mean batting average of .270, and a hitter, Hitter A, who batted .310. The data in Set 2 are clustered closer together and therefore their .022 SD is smaller than .032 of Set 1. In Set 1, Hitter A’s batting average z-score is 1.25, which was calculated as follows:

(.310 – .270) / .032 = 1.25

In Set 2, Hitter A’s batting average z-score is 1.82, which was calculated as follows:

(.310 – .270) / .022 = 1.82

Hitter A in Set 2 had the more impressive season than Hitter A in Set 1 because his .310 average was much better than the other hitters, which can be deduced intuitively and is quantified by his higher z-score.

Table 1 shows the expected spread of data in a normal distribution. Most data will fall within one SD of the mean. The vast majority of datapoints fall within three SDs of the mean. To fall four or more SDs from the mean is extraordinary in a normal distribution. SDs at or beyond five SDs should be next to impossible in datasets such as the ones analyzed in this paper.

 

Table 1. Expected Distribution of Data Points Within a Normally-Distributed Dataset

In this study, z-scores were calculated and analyzed for nine statistics:

• Batting Average (BA)
• On-Base Average (OBA)
• Slugging Average (SLG)
• OBA + SLG (OPS)
• Home Runs
• Runs Batted In (RBIs)
• Earned Run Average (ERA)
• Total Strikeouts (SO)
• Strikeouts per Nine Innings Pitched (SO/9)

PRIOR STUDIES USING Z-SCORES

Many researchers have applied z-scores to baseball statistics. Cottone & Wirchin (2015) used similar methodologies employed in this paper.3 However, their study was more narrowly focused and therefore missed certain significant data. For instance, in the Deadball Era, which they defined as 1901 to 1919, they only evaluated the home run z-scores for Gavy Cravath in 1915 and Babe Ruth in 1919.

Several other studies focused on one or a few particular statistics. Taylor and Krevisky (2006) calculated z-scores for home runs and slugging average to select the greatest sluggers of all time.4 James (2013) calculated OPS z-scores throughout baseball history.5 Colston (2011) calculated z-scores for batting average, home runs, and RBIs of selected player-seasons to determine which hitter had “the best season ever.”6 Schulman (2022) compared the z-scores for the record-breaking home run seasons of Babe Ruth in 1919 and Barry Bonds in 2001.7 Szymborski (2020) used z-scores to demonstrate the difficulty in batting .400.8 Cohen (2020) used z-scores from 2019 to predict players’ performances in the upcoming 2020 season.9 Kelly (2021) conducted a similar study to predict player performances in the upcoming 2022 season.10

METHODOLOGY

To calculate z-scores, a dataset’s mean and SD must be known. Each league’s average BA, OBA, SLG, and OPS for a given season are readily available, but SDs must be calculated. The SD of a dataset varies based on what is included in the dataset. A cutoff must be drawn to avoid including players with just a few at-bats, who would overwhelm the database and render the results useless.

Using only hitters who qualified for the batting title was rejected as an option because the criterion to qualify for batting titles has changed over time. The current criterion has been in place since 1957. Several different rules prevailed before 1957, and the NL and AL had different criteria from 1936 to 1949. Inconsistency in the datasets would impact the ability to compare the results across seasons. Taylor and Krevisky used 200 at-bats or 250 plate appearances, adding 5% to these numbers in the Expansion Era. James used 300 PAs as a cut-off. Cottone & Wirchin appear to have used the current batting title criterion of 3.1 plate appearances per team game played. Gould and Szymborski (2020) do not indicate their cut-offs.11

This study uses the current criteria defining the minimum number of plate appearances for a hitter to qualify for the batting title (3.1 plate appearances per game) and the minimum number of innings pitched by a pitcher (1 inning per team game) to qualify for the ERA title. Doing so excludes part-time players and pitchers from hitting datasets, so the focus is on the “regular” batters and pitchers. Although these criteria have changed over the decades, using consistent criteria allows for apples-to-apples comparisons between league-seasons. This is especially important for the shorter seasons in baseball history. For example, Negro League seasons were much shorter than contemporaneous AL/NL seasons, and the numbers of games played by teams within a given league often varied widely. An arbitrary cutoff of 100 plate appearances was applied to Negro League hitting data.

There are 17,569 hitter-seasons and 11,189 pitcher-seasons that meet these thresholds in the 538 league-seasons evaluated. SDs were calculated for each league-season for the nine statistics evaluated from which. Z-scores were derived for each player.

What does a typical dataset look like? Whereas a classical normal distribution is centered at the mean, the datasets analyzed for this study are skewed above the mean. For instance, Figure 1 shows the distribution of z-scores for batting averages from the National League in 1987. The result is a classic-looking bell curve, but one that is shifted to the right of the mean. The uptick at the far right of the curve is Tony Gwynn, whose all-time great season is discussed later in the paper.

Figure 1. Distribution of NL Batting Average Z-Scores in 1987

This shift to the right is fully expected, and is present for all the databases analyzed in this study. Regulars are regulars because they are the best available players at their position. Lesser players and pitchers pull down the league average. The 56 regulars in the 1987 NL database batted a combined .284, well above the NL batting average of .261, and 0.94 SDs above the mean.

With the normal distribution shifted to the right, one could expect the probabilities of events to shift as well. In fact, it is much more common for data derived in this study to be 2 SDs and 3 SDs above the mean than the probabilities shown in Table 1 suggest. Data 4 SDs above the mean still are special, and data 5 SDs or more above the mean signify extraordinary events. This study uses 4 SDs as an arbitrary benchmark to signify an extraordinary achievement. The top 10 results are highlighted and discussed for databases with fewer than 10 datapoints at or above 4 SDs.

The next sections analyze the z-scores for the four hitting averages, starting with batting average (the metric covered most extensively in previous studies), followed by z-scores for home runs and RBIs.

BATTING AVERAGES

Table 2 lists the players with BA z-scores at or above 4.00. Surprises on the list include Harry Walker, whose .363 batting average in 1947 was a whopping 99 points above the NL average, and Ralph Garr, whose .353 batting average in 1974 was 98 points above the NL average.

Table 2. Hitters with Batting Average Z-Scores at or Above 4.00

Nap Lajoie (1901) and Tip O’Neill (1887) are the only .400 hitters on the list. Between 1902 and 1948, when most of the .400 averages were recorded, no hitters attained z-scores at or above 4.00. Ty Cobb had a 3.45 batting average z-score in 1911, when he batted .419. Rogers Hornsby’s .424 average in 1924 yielded a z-score of 3.75, while Ted Williams’ .406 average in 1941 yielded a z-score of 3.76. Due to the league’s lower batting average and SD, his .356 batting average in 1942 was a greater accomplishment, with a z-score of 3.90.

The early- to mid-1960s had overall low batting averages, but few individual hitters were able to post high batting averages during this period, with the notable exception of Norm Cash in 1961. In the 50 ensuing years, many players have attained high batting average z-scores due to relatively low batting averages and low SDs.

Tip O’Neill’s batting average z-score from 1887 is one of only three z-scores from the nineteenth century at or above 4.00 for the four averages evaluated in this paper. The others are O’Neill’s SLG z-score from the same season (see Table 4) and John McGraw’s OBA z-score in 1899 (see Table 3). Hitting datasets from the nineteenth century have much higher SDs than post-1900 datasets (other than datasets from the Negro Leagues, see below). Because of the higher SDs, it is much rarer for a hitting average datum from the nineteenth century to obtain a very high z-score.

A .400 batting average? Almost impossible in today’s game. Luis Arraez’s .354 batting average in 2023 yielded a z-score of 3.86. He would have needed a z-score of 5.08 to bat .400 that season. For hitters to have a reasonable chance to reach that lofty peak again, the tide would have to lift all boats. That is, league batting averages would have to be much higher, perhaps .280 or better.

The lowest batting average z-score is –2.74 by Jim West in 1931, who batted .133 for the Cleveland Cubs of the Negro National League (NNL) when the league average was .266. The lowest in modern times outside of the Negro Leagues is Chris Davis’s –2.59 in 2018, when he batted just .168 for the Baltimore Orioles.

ON-BASE AVERAGE

Barry Bonds occupies the top three slots on Table 3, which lists all OBA z-scores at or above 4.00. In 2004, his .609 on-base average set the all-time record as well as the all-time record for a z-score of any statistic evaluated in this study. More than six SDs from the mean, it is baseball’s equivalent of a unicorn, an event so extraordinary that it is unlikely to ever happen again. Even Bonds’ incredible OBA z-score of 5.31 in 2002 pales in comparison.

 

Table 3. Hitters with OBA Z-Scores at or Above 4.00

The other player dominating this list is Ted Williams, who has 5 of the 15 listings. Arky Vaughan is the only other player on the list between 1899 and 1961, a period of high average OBA SDs. Low OBAs in the 1960s opened the door for Norm Cash and Mickey Mantle, and an overall decrease in OBA SDs, especially since 2007, resulted in a high OBA z-scores for Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. Judge’s epic 2024 season also places him on the all-time lists for SLG and OPS (Table 4).

Missing from Table 3 are Billy Hamilton, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Kelley, Hugh Duffy, and Ed Delahanty, who posted OBAs above .500, but did so in years with high average league OBAs. The lowest OBA z-score is Germany Smith’s –2.54 in 1897, who ran a paltry .233 OB for the Brooklyn Grooms.

SLUGGING AVERAGE

Table 4, which lists all SLG z-scores at or above 4.00, features many familiar names. Hitters from every era are on this list. Babe Ruth appears five times, with four seasons each for Ted Williams and Barry Bonds. Honus Wagner, Rogers Hornsby, and Aaron Judge are on the list twice. Shohei Ohtani’s spectacular 2024 campaign places him fourth on this list and sixth on the OPS list (see Table 5).

 

Table 4. Hitters with SLG Z-Scores at or Above 4.00

Ironically, Ruth’s most famous season, 1927, does not appear on the list. Ruth and Lou Gehrig both ran top-10 all-time slugging averages, but their tandem exceptional seasons raised the SD for the AL, resulting in respective SLG z-scores of 3.85 and 3.78. Nick Punto’s .291 SLG for the Twins in 2007 netted him the lowest SLG z-score (-2.36) in baseball history.

Table 4 has two entries from the Negro Leagues: Josh Gibson in 1943, and Oscar Charleston in 1924. Both players also appear on the home run list (see Table 6, below). As with nineteenth century data, Negro League hitting datasets have much higher SDs than other contemporary major league datasets. Because of the higher SDs, it is much rarer for a hitting datapoint to obtain a very high z-score, making the achievements of Gibson and Charleston all the more extraordinary.

Table 5. Hitters with OPS Z-Scores at or Above 4.00

OPS

As with slugging average, the list of top OPS z-scores features the usual suspects in Bonds, Ruth, and Williams, who together occupy 18 of the 32 slots (see Table 5). Honus Wagner and Aaron Judge are the only other players who appear more than once.

Each player’s OPS+ is included for comparison. Since 1893, 51 hitters have attained an OPS+ of 200 or higher (not including the Negro Leagues). Most of the hitters on Table 5 have OPS+ scores above 200 and only 2 have OPS+ scores below 190, a good correlation. But the top OPS+ scores differ from the top OPS z-scores, as noted in the introduction. Not only is Bonds’ OPS z-score in 2004 the highest in history, it is in a class by itself. He owns all three z-scores calculated for the four averages (batting, on-base, slugging, and OPS) that exceed 5.00.

It is worth noting that Fred Dunlap, owner of the third highest OPS+ in baseball history, is not close to making this list. His OPS z-score of 3.59 in 1884 is due to the Union Association’s high OPS SD.

The lack of a park factor is the cause of some of the differences between the above OPS z-score list and the OPS+ list. For instance, Larry Walker’s dominant 1997 put him on the SLG list, but the large park factor adjustment applied to Colorado Rockies players lowered his OPS+ to a very good but not extraordinary 178 OPS+.

In 1932, Fermin Valdés of the Pollock’s Cuban Stars in the East-West League (EWL) posted an anemic .452 OPS, leading to an all-time low OPS z-score of -2.34. The lowest OPS z-score post-1893 and outside of the Negro Leagues is Tim Johnson’s -2.30 with the Milwaukee Brewers in 1973.

HOME RUNS

Unsurprisingly, Babe Ruth dominates the list of home run z-scores in Table 6. He accounts for nine of the 20 listings. His run of superior z-scores began in 1919 and continued into the late 1920s, indicating that it took the rest of the American League a decade to even begin catching up to the Bambino.

 

Table 6. Hitters with Home Run Z-Scores of 4.00 or Higher, (Post-1893)

There are five home run z-scores above 5.00, more than the other eight statistics combined. A slugger before slugging became a valid strategy for winning ballgames, the all-but-forgotten Buck Freeman joins Bonds and Ruth as the only hitters to exceed 5.00. Freeman’s 25 home runs in 1899 more than doubled the production of the runner-up in that category and exceeded the totals of four teams. Pre-1920 sluggers Gavy Cravath, Tim Jordan, Jimmy Collins, Wally Pipp, and Harry Davis also posted double-digit home runs totals before such achievements became common.

Ned Williamson, who held baseball’s home run record for 35 years, is not on this list. His 27 home runs in 1884 yield a z-score of 3.64. Aided by short fences in his home ballpark, he and five of his teammates reached double digits that season, raising the league average and SD and lowering their z-scores. Also coming short are Roger Maris in 1961 (3.00), Mark McGwire in 1998 (3.64), and Barry Bonds in 2001 (3.42), due to the high level of home run production in their leagues.

Aaron Judge’s home run z-score for 2022 is the only entry on this list from the last 90 years. Even though plenty of home runs were hit in the AL that season, Judge’s production greatly exceeded the other players.

The lowest HR z-score (-2.37) is owned by Yolmer Sanchez, who hit but two home runs in 555 plate appearances for the White Sox in 2019. It stands in sharp contrast to the high average number of home runs (25.7) hit by regular AL players that season.

RUNS BATTED IN

Table 7 lists the top RBI z-scores since 1893. No hitter has achieved an RBI z-score at or above 4. Driving in runs did not undergo the same revolution as did home runs, nor have there been stand-outs through the ages as there were for the four averages analyzed for this study.

 

Table 7. Ten Highest RBI Z-Scores (Post-1893)

All 10 seasons came before 1938, indicating that it has become increasingly difficult to stand out. Cap Anson posted RBI z-scores above 3.50 four times, all before 1893. By the late 1930s, each league had many run producers. Cecil Fielder’s 132 RBIs in 1990 yielded an RBI z-score of 3.26, the highest mark in the AL since 1935. Mike Schmidt’s 91 RBIs in the strike-shortened 1981 season yielded an RBI z-score of 3.20, the highest in the NL since 1937. Hack Wilson’s record 191 ribbies in 1930? A very high but unextraordinary z-score of 2.93 due to the offense-saturated season when it occurred.

The lowest RBI z-score after 1893 belongs to Jemile Weeks, whose 20 RBIs in 511 PAs for the Oakland Athletics in 2012 resulted in a z-score of –2.49.

USING Z-SCORES TO ASSESS PITCHING PERFORMANCES

Similar analyses were performed on the two basic pitching statistics, ERA and strikeouts, and one less common statistic, strikeouts per nine innings.

EARNED RUN AVERAGE

Table 8 contains the 10 lowest ERA z-scores in baseball history (negative ERA z-scores are better because lower ERAs are better.) Just one pitcher has an ERA z-score four SDs from the mean: Pedro Martinez in 2000. Martinez’s record 291 ERA+ merely hints at his dominance in 2000, when he posted a 1.74 ERA, barely more than a third of the AL’s 4.91 ERA. His ERA z-score is more than 1 SD above all but two ERA z-scores, those of Zack Greinke in 2009 and Martinez himself in 1999.

 

Table 8. The Lowest ERA Z-Scores in Major League History

 

Among the pitching achievements that just miss this list are Greg Maddux’s 1995 season (-3.11), Dwight Gooden’s 1985 season (-3.10), Bob Gibson’s 1968 season (-2.97), and Ron Guidry’s 1978 season (-2.96). As the number of pitchers qualifying for the ERA title has trended down, it has become easier for pitchers like Hyun Jin Ryu in 2019 and Blake Snell in 2023 to record impressive ERA z-scores.

Unique among the nine performance statistics analyzed in this paper, there are seven ERA z-scores that are more than three SDs below the mean. The highest (i.e., worst) is 3.56 by Bill Rotes of the Louisville Colonels in 1893. The highest ERA z-score in modern times outside of the Negro Leagues is 3.20, set by Jose Lima in 2005 when he posted a 6.99 ERA.

STRIKEOUTS

In contrast to the ERA z-scores, Table 9 shows the 11 strikeout z-scores above 4.00. Randy Johnson has three of the listings, but it is Dazzy Vance who really stands out. In 1924, he recorded 262 punchouts when just one other NL pitcher recorded more than 86 (teammate Burleigh Grimes, with 135). His strikeout total was quadruple that of the average qualifying pitcher, and his SO z-score of 5.13 is arguably the greatest season pitching achievement in baseball history.

 

Table 9. Pitchers With Strikeout Z-Scores at or Above 4.00

While Jim LaMarque of the Kansas City Monarchs had a strikeout z-score above 4.00 in 1947, this achievement is qualified, because his record contains 50% more innings than any other pitcher in the Negro American League (NAL) that season. His strikeout rate that season didn’t even lead the league, so LaMarque’s z-score is more a reflection on the number of innings he threw than his ability to punch out hitters.

Ty Blach’s strikeout z-score of -2.41 in 2017 is the worst in baseball history. He struck out 73 hitters for the San Francisco Giants (which would have been an above-average haul in 1924).

STRIKEOUTS PER NINE INNINGS

Earlier in baseball history, when three- and four-man rotations were common, it was not unusual for pitchers to throw double the innings needed to qualify for the ERA title. Because such large variations can play a major part in the strikeout totals for a pitcher, it is more illuminating to evaluate their rate of strikeouts as opposed to their total strikeouts. Table 10 lists the pitchers with the highest z-scores based on strikeouts per nine innings pitched.

 

Table 10. The 10 Highest SO/9 Z-Scores

Using this metric, Dazzy Vance’s accomplishments stand out even more. Although he is the only pitcher in this table who never struck out 300 hitters in a season, he owns the two highest z-scores, and a whopping four positions among the top six. His 1924 campaign again easily tops the list. While not nearly as heralded as the others on this list, these data make a case for Vance being the greatest strikeout artist in the history of the game.

CONCLUSIONS

Z-scores provide a statistically rigorous, yet simple way to compare the performances of players throughout the history of baseball. They can be calculated for any hitting or pitching statistic, be it a raw statistic, an average, or even a sabermetric statistic such as WAR. Even though this analysis focused on players who qualified for their league’s batting or ERA titles, z-scores can be calculated for any player, even if they played in just one game. Career z-scores can be calculated by adding the weighted averages of the z-scores from each of their seasons.

Z-scores can be calculated for any other sport, or any other database amenable to statistics, such as economic and demographic data, as demonstrated in Cottone and Wirchin. Who was greater in their respective sport, the Bambino or the Great Gretzky? Was it more likely that Dazzy Vance would punch-out 262 hitters in 1924, or that you will live to the age of 110? Z-scores can provide the answers. 

BENJAMIN ALTER has been a member of SABR’s Elysian Fields Chapter since 2019. Prior to retiring in 2021, he was a principal and shareholder at an environmental engineering firm. When not indulging his passion for baseball, Ben may be found singing and/or playing the piano, working out at the gym, or writing articles for charitable organizations.

Sources

Schall, Edward M. and Smith, Gary, “Do Baseball Players Regress to the Mean?” The American Statistician, 54, no. 4 (2000), 231–35.

Zimmerman, Jeff and Bell, Tanner, The Process (Self-published, 2004).

Notes

1. Baseball-Reference.com, last accessed January 23, 2025.

2. This paper uses statistics from the so-called PED Era at face value, without making any subjective evaluation regarding their validity.

3. John G. Cottone and Jason Wirchin, Z-Score: How a Statistic Used in Psychology Will Revolutionize Baseball (Story Bridge Books, 2016).

4. Randy Taylor, and Steve Krevisky, “Using Mathematics and Statistics to Analyze Who are the Great Sluggers in Baseball,” Seventh International Conference on Teaching Statistics Proceedings, 2006, https://iase-web.org/documents/papers/icots7/C432.pdf?1402524967.

5. Bill James, “Deviants At Work,” Bill James Online, June 11, 2013.

6. Gregory A. Colston Jr., “The Best Baseball Season Ever? A Triple Crown Perspective,” 2011, https://docslib.org/download/7954955/the-best-baseball-season-ever-a-triple-crown-perspective-gregory-a.

7. Kevin Schulman, “Data Analysis 101: The Z-Score is Your Friend,” The Agitator, August 10, 2022, https://agitator.thedonorvoice.com/data-analysis-101-the-z-score-is-your-friend/.

8. Dan Szymborski, “Toppling Ted: The 60-Game Season and the .400 Batting Average,” FanGraphs, July 21, 2020. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/toppling-ted-the-60-game-season-and-the-400-batting-average/.

9. Ariel Cohen, “Attacking Offensive Categories with Z-Scores,” RotoBaller, 2020, https://www.rotoballer.com/fantasy-baseball-adp-values-using-z-scores/753041.

10. Lucas Kelly, “Creating Your Rankings? Start with Z-Scores,” RotoGraphs, December 31, 2021, https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/creating-your-rankings-start-with-z-scores/.

11. Stephen Jay Gould, “Why No One Hits .400 Any More,” Triumph and Tragedy in Mudville (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003), 151–72.

12. Negro League statistics are incomplete, especially for the NAL. Therefore, raw quantities often do not accurately reflect the performances of the players.

Who’s the batter? Nowadays, fans attending a Detroit Tigers game at Comerica Park can just look at the player—his name and assigned number are on the back of his uniform, and his name is displayed prominently on a huge scoreboard. However, a hundred years or so ago, Tigers fans attending a baseball game at Navin Field in Detroit had to buy a scorecard to find out who was batting. Fans could see the ID number of the batter on the scoreboard on the outfield wall. (Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Navin Field scoreboard as it appeared during the 1934 World Series

 

The scoreboard had been located in left-center, but was relocated to right field to accommodate a bleacher section that was built for the World Series. In the upper left corner of the scoreboard, indicated by the arrow, it reads BATTER. The number 11 is shown, which corresponded to Schoolboy Rowe, who pitched and batted ninth in the order for Detroit that day. The line score indicates that the Cardinals completed their at bats in the top of the 5th inning, their line score being 1-0-0-0-2. The line score for Detroit (through the bottom of the 4th inning) is 0-0-1-0. According to the scoreboard, the Tigers are batting in the bottom of the 5th; there are two outs. This is in perfect synch with box score and play-by-play information given on Retrosheet for Game 6 of the 1934 World Series, confirming that Rowe is the batter.

The fans would then check their scorecards which listed the player names and their scoreboard ID numbers. Scorecards not only brought in revenue from sales at the ballpark, they were also a source of advertising revenue from local businesses. Figure 2 shows the scorecard grid for a game between Detroit and St. Louis in June 1922: four ads surround the grid. Other ads in the scorecard included Adams Black Jack Gum, Hotel Fort Shelby, Michigan Parfay Co., the American State Bank, the Haskins Agency (underwriting), Max O’Leary (Ford dealership), Louis Schiappacasse & Co. (fruits, candy, nuts, produce), and Thompson Auto Co. (Federal Motor Trucks dealership).1

Figure 2. The Detroit scorecard grid section for a Tigers-Browns game in June 1922

Unlike today, when players are assigned uniform numbers that very rarely change within a season, and some players might wear the same number for their entire careers, the ID numbers of players at Navin Field could vary from game to game. Because of changes in the roster, due to in-season transactions such as trades or promotions/demotions from/to the minor leagues, as well as changes in the starting lineups due to managerial realignments of the batting order, ID numbers would be reassigned. A new scorecard had to be bought for each game, or at least for each series, since the scorecards could not be reused from one series to the next, nor could the numbers be memorized. For example, Figure 3 compares facsimile scorecards for two games between the Tigers and the Yankees in 1926 at Navin Field, June 10 and September 11, following the same format as the scorecard shown in Figure 2.

Figure 3. Facsimile Detroit scorecard lineups from June 10, and September 11, 1926

Only two players had the same ID number for both games—Jackie Tavener (7) and Hooks Dauss (11). Even player-manager Ty Cobb had different ID numbers (4 and 61) for these games, reflecting that he was in the starting lineup in one game and not in the other. The scoreboard ID numbers corresponded to the lineup positions for the first seven batters, while the eighth spot is occupied by two catchers with scoreboard ID numbers 8 and 9. The pitchers have numbers in the teens and low twenties. The other players have scoreboard numbers that seem somewhat unusual—ID number 49 is that of the third-string catcher, while the others seem assigned at random: 51, 61, 71, 112, 151, and 171. (We do not know why many of these additional numbers end with the numeral one, though perhaps limiting the unique numerals used aided in the operation of the manual scoreboard.) With 27 unique home series between the Tigers and other American League clubs, there could have been as many as 27 unique scorecards, though examination of existing examples suggests they did not always update for every series. Examination of Retrosheet box scores suggests the numbers 1-6 and 8 were assigned to many different players during the course of the season. See Figure 4.

Figure 4. Possible Scoreboard ID Number Assignments for Players on the 1926 Detroit Tigers

These constant changes were certainly not fan-friendly. A simpler system would be to assign one number per player—such as a uniform number—which could be used as scoreboard ID number all season. While the idea had often been proposed, the majority of major-league clubs—including the Detroit Baseball Club—were strongly opposed because they feared it would reduce the sales of scorecards. As stated by Jack Looney in his book Now Batting, Number…, “during the idle winter months prior to the 1931 season, American League president Ernest S. Barnard informed all clubs in the league that players must wear numbers. He suggested that regulars wear #1–7, the catchers #8-11, pitchers #12–24 and utility players the rest. The #13 was left to the discretion of each team.”2 As The Sporting News reported, “The American League decided to number all of its players in 1931. It appeared to be the opinion of the owners that such identification had helped to maintain the individuality of Babe Ruth. With a number on his back, no one had mistaken him for any other player.”3 Uniform numbers had previously been used briefly, by Cleveland in 1916 and by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1923.4 The Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees began using numbers on the backs of the uniforms of their players in 1929, and maintained the practice from then on.5 All eight National League clubs did so starting in 1932.6

The need for teams to assign one permanent ID number to each player is clearly demonstrated by Detroit Tigers scorecards from the 1930 season, the year before Barnard’s edict. Three are compared in Figure 5. See also Figure 6.

Figure 5. Comparison of the ID numbers shown in printed scorecards May 4, July 4, and September 27, 1930

In 1930, Detroit hosted 25 home series with at least 25 unique scorecards. A total of 36 players participated in at least one game. As was the custom, the ID numbers reflected the batting order, giving the leadoff hitter number 1, the next batter 2, etc. The catcher always occupied the eighth spot in the batting lineup, and both the first-string catcher and his primary backup were shown on the pre-printed scorecard, assigned numbers 8 and 9, respectively. A blank space beneath the catcher’s line was provided for the fan to fill in the name of the starting pitcher. Figure 6 presents a listing of the ID code numbers for the players on the 1930 Tigers, based on seven surviving scorecards viewed by the author.

Figure 6. Scoreboard ID Numbers for Players on the 1930 Detroit Tigers, Derived from Seven Unique Scorecards

Here are a few of the interesting aspects of the scoreboard numbers for the 1930 Tigers:

• During the season, manager Bucky Harris (who also had a code number in case he was activated) used numerous lineups and several player transactions took place. John Stone had at least five different code numbers—1, 112, 5, 6, 171. Likewise Bill Akers—61, 71, 7, 6, 223. Liz Funk, Roy Johnson, Mark Koenig, and Billy Rogell each had at least four different scoreboard numbers; Marty McManus and Charlie Sullivan each had at least three.
• The scoreboard number assigned to the most different players appears to be 7. The following seven players had scoreboard number 7 and batted seventh in the seven scorecards examined—Yats Wuestling, Billy Rogell, Roy Johnson, Bill Akers, Mark Koenig, Tom Hughes, and Johnny Watson. According to box scores for other games played at Navin Field, Frank Doljack, Bob Fothergill, and Liz Funk also batted seventh, so as many as ten players may have had ID number 7.
• The out-of-sorts scoreboard numbers on the seven scorecards examined include 31 (Charlie Sullivan), 49 (third-string catchers Tony Rensa, Gene Desautels, and Hughie Wise); 61 (Bill Akers, Paul Easterling, Mark Koenig, and Marty McManus); 71 (Akers, Bob Fothergill, and Koenig); 112 (Bucky Harris, Jimmy Shevlin, and John Stone); 122 (Roy Johnson and Shevlin); 149 (Harris), 151 (Easterling and Rogell); 161 (Hank Greenberg); 171 (Stone); and 223 (Akers). Examination of other scorecards would probably yield more players with these numbers and that there may be additional out-of-the-ordinary scoreboard numbers.

Given Barnard’s edict, one might expect that for the 1931 season, this situation would cease. And the Detroit Baseball Club did comply with the AL mandate to give uniform numbers to each of its players in 1931, but the club only followed the letter of the law, not the spirit of the law. While the players were assigned uniform numbers, the Tigers did not display those numbers on the scoreboard. They continued to use variable scoreboard ID numbers in 1931–34, ensuring that fans still needed to purchase scorecards. For example, in 1933, when Hank Greenberg joined the Tigers for good, his uniform number for the entire season was 7, but his scoreboard number varied among four different numbers—61, 5, 6, and 7.

Figure 7 shows the scorecard grid from the Tigers official scorecard for the August 2–4, 1933, series versus the Chicago White Sox. The scoreboard number (Scr. Br. No.) is given on the left of the player’s name and the uniform number (Uniform No.) is shown on the right. The player’s uniform number presented in parentheses suggests that it was not as important as the scoreboard number (at least according to the Detroit Baseball Club). For the players in the starting lineup, only Greenberg’s scoreboard number (7) and his uniform number (7) are the same. Among the pitchers and players not in the starting lineup, none have the same scoreboard and uniform number.

Figure 7. The Detroit scorecard grid section for Tigers-White Sox series, August 2–4, 1933

Examining the practices of the Tigers in the 1931–34 period reveals how the practice of uniform number adoption was changing. There are many interesting aspects to discover about the ID numbers and the uniform numbers of the Tigers players for each season during the 1931–34 period. Many of these are presented in the Appendix to this paper, which is found online at SABR.org. Some items of particular note are given here:

• In 1931, three players had unusually high (out-of-sorts) uniform numbers—Johnny Grabowski (35), George Quellich (37), and Art Herring (41), as did two Detroit coaches—Jean Dubuc (43) and (future Hall-of-Famer) Roger Bresnahan (52). We don’t know whether these numbers had any special significance to those men or if the assignments were random. Only Herring continued in the major leagues beyond the 1931 season, but he changed to the uniform number 18 in both 1932 and 1933.
• In 1931, the Tigers reassigned six different uniform numbers within the season. Uniform number 5 was worn by both Marty McManus (107 games, April 14 through August 25) and Gene Desautels (3 games, September 23–27); uniform number 6: Frank Doljack (60 games, April 14 through July 25) and Orlin Collier (2 games, September 11–23); uniform number 8: Wally Schang (30 games, April 14 through June 22) and Muddy Ruel (14 games, September 14–26); uniform number 29: Marv Owen (107 games, April 16 through August 16) and Nolen Richardson (38 games, August 20 through September 27). Three players each wore uniform number 7 at one time or another during the season—Bill Akers (29 games, April 14 through June 8), Louis Brower (21 games, June 13 through July 27), and Billy Rogell (48 games, August 8 through September 27).
• Twenty men were on the Tigers in both 1931 and 1932, but only two of them had the same uniform number in both seasons—Tommy Bridges (16) and Dale Alexander (4). But only one 1932 player had a different uniform number in 1933—Frank Doljack (21 changing to 9). Eighteen men played for Detroit in both 1933 and 1934; only three of them had the same uniform number in both seasons—Chief Hogsett (17), Ray Hayworth (23), and Charlie Gehringer (2).
• Considering the uniform numbers ultimately retired by the Tigers—1 (in honor of Lou Whitaker, 2022), 2 (Charlie Gehringer, 1983), 3 (Alan Trammell, 2018), 5 (Hank Greenberg, 1983), 6 (Al Kaline, 1980), 11 (Sparky Anderson, 2011), 16 (Hal Newhouser, 1997), 23 (Willie Horton, 2000), 47 (Jack Morris, 2018)—the following 1931 Tigers were the first ones to wear them—Hub Walker (1), Gee Walker (2), Charlie Gehringer (3), Marty McManus (5), Frank Doljack (6), Earl Whitehill (11), Tommy Bridges (16). Note that the number 42 has been retired in all of MLB in Jackie Robinson’s honor.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In 1935, the Tigers finally did away with the practice of forcing fans to refer to variable scoreboard ID numbers for each game: the official scorecards provided only the players’ uniform numbers, which were used on the scoreboard. Even though the 1931–34 Tigers players had fixed uniform numbers to meet the mandate of the American League, the Detroit Baseball Club chose to use the same varying ID number system for display on the outfield scoreboard used in 1930 (as well as prior seasons). Examination of the uniform numbers for the Detroit Tigers during the 1931–34 seasons yields a fascinating story—revealing the strategy of the Detroit Baseball Club to circumvent the “spirit of the law” by keeping in place the scoreboard numbers while following the “letter of the law” by introducing uniform numbers, which were functionally irrelevant.

This is just one of the numerous engaging aspects that have emerged from my quest (which commenced in January 2001) to independently ascertain complete and accurate uniform numbers for the diamondeers who played for (and/or managed or coached) the Tigers (or who were on the active roster, but did not play—aka “Phantom Tigers”) from 1931 forward.7 (As described in previous articles, I have detailed other extraordinary aspects provided by the uniform numbers worn by Detroit Tiger players over the ensuing years.8) Other teams also participated in this practice of assigning scoreboard numbers, yet very little about them is mentioned in the many books about uniform numbers.9 Researching the topic is hereby heartily recommended to diehard fans of their teams, with the caveat that while the endeavor will be both challenging and rewarding, it will also likely be (very) frustrating, as exemplified by my not yet having been able to ascertain the uniform numbers (and scoreboard numbers) of Luke Hamlin and Roxy Lawson on the 1933 Detroit Tigers.10 

HERM KRABBENHOFT, a longtime SABR member—and frequent contributor to both the Baseball Research Journal and The National Pastime—has been a Detroit Tigers fan since Zeb Eaton (uniform #17) hit a pinch grand slam against the Yankees (July 15, 1945). Herm’s first in-person Tigers grand slam was by Bill Tuttle (#5) on May 20, 1956, at Briggs Stadium versus the Senators. Other memorable Tigers home runs for Herm include four by Charlie Maxwell (#4) on Sunday, May 3, 1959, vs the Yankees.

Detroit manager Bucky Harris (shown with Kenesaw Mountain Landis in 1932), was assigned various ID numbers in case he was activated as a player. (SABR-Rucker Archive)

Online appendix

Click here to view the online appendix to this article