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HOF candidate Bill Dahlen

jaxxrjaxxr Posts: 1,258 ✭✭
Lots of discussion about fairly recent players, however a real old-timer, 1891-1911, Bill Dahlen, a great defender at SS, seems very overlooked.

Just recently BB Reference has published WAR stats for all MLB players. WAR is Wins above replacement, and uses hitting, defense, and running.

Bill Dahlen has a career WAR of 75.9,
only 37 retired position players, in the entire history of MLB, have a better mark.
only three retired MLB SS have a better mark.

All eligible players with a WAR higher, are in the HOF, every other eligible player with a WAR of 70 or more is also in the HOF.

Other players with lesser WAR include, Al Simmons, Hack Wilson, Eddie Murray, Willie McCovey, and Jackie Robinson.
Other HOF SS, with a lesser WAR include everyone,.... except Honus Wagner, Cal Ripken Jr, and George Davis.

Dahlen has nearly twice the WAR of several HOF SS, like Rabbit Maranville and Phil Rizzuto.



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Comments

  • VitoCo1972VitoCo1972 Posts: 6,127 ✭✭✭
    obviously SS was a defensive position in that era but it's hard to overlook the .750 career OPS and .272 AVG. He had a monster first 8 years but looks like he may have hung around too long. He also had less than 2500 hits over a 21 year career. Those offensive numbers just don't bode well. I was surprised to see 15 HR out of him in a single season before the turn of the century. That was murdering the ball.
  • stevekstevek Posts: 27,582 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Maybe grote15 can comment - he saw him play.
  • TabeTabe Posts: 5,920 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>obviously SS was a defensive position in that era but it's hard to overlook the .750 career OPS and .272 AVG. He had a monster first 8 years but looks like he may have hung around too long. He also had less than 2500 hits over a 21 year career. Those offensive numbers just don't bode well. I was surprised to see 15 HR out of him in a single season before the turn of the century. That was murdering the ball. >>


    13 straight seasons of 140 or less hits (well, one year he got all the way to 151), that's just not cutting it. Several solid seasons to start his career with 2 great ones (1894 & 1896). 1894, however, is a anomaly - the second year of the 60-foot-6-inch pitching distance, it featured ridiculous offensive numbers. The Philadelphia team, for example hit *.350* as a team. Taken in that perspective, Dahlen's .359 that year loses a little luster. Still, his OPS+ of 137 shows he was a well-above-average performer. 1896 is much the same though not quite as ridiculous.

    Other than those 2 years, Dahlen looks like a pretty average player, his OPS+ of 109 bearing that out.

    HOF'er? No way.

    Tabe
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