78. The Delayed End of the 19th Century
In 1900 and 1901 the #1 third basemen in baseball were 19th century holdovers:
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1900
|
1
|
John
|
McGraw
|
2
|
33
|
.344
|
.505
|
.416
|
26.51
|
|
1900
|
2
|
Jimmy
|
Collins
|
6
|
95
|
.304
|
.352
|
.394
|
23.03
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1901
|
1
|
Jimmy
|
Collins
|
6
|
94
|
.332
|
.375
|
.495
|
26.23
|
|
1901
|
2
|
Lave
|
Cross
|
2
|
73
|
.328
|
.358
|
.465
|
23.35
|
|
1901
|
3
|
Bill
|
Bradley
|
1
|
55
|
.293
|
.336
|
.403
|
22.35
|
|
1901
|
4
|
Fred
|
Hartman
|
3
|
89
|
.309
|
.355
|
.431
|
20.09
|
|
1901
|
5
|
John
|
McGraw
|
0
|
28
|
.349
|
.508
|
.487
|
19.75
|
79. The Bradley-Devlin Era (1902-1908)
For three years each, Bill Bradley and Art Devlin were the best third basemen in baseball. Bradley was a big guy, a Cleveland native who starred for the Indians. Devlin, listed as about the same size as Bradley although Bradley was thought of as a big athletic guy and Devlin as more of a scrappy guy, was the third baseman for the Giants. I think they’re both figures in The Glory of Their Times, although it has been 30 years since I read The Glory of Their Times. They were both very good players, although they didn’t stick at the top long enough to be Hall of Famers. The only Hall of Fame third baseman of this era was Jimmy Collins.
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1902
|
1
|
Bill
|
Bradley
|
11
|
77
|
.340
|
.375
|
.515
|
26.47
|
|
1902
|
2
|
Jimmy
|
Collins
|
6
|
61
|
.322
|
.360
|
.459
|
25.65
|
|
1902
|
3
|
Tommy
|
Leach
|
6
|
85
|
.278
|
.341
|
.426
|
25.14
|
|
1902
|
4
|
Lave
|
Cross
|
0
|
108
|
.342
|
.374
|
.440
|
24.46
|
|
1902
|
5
|
Bill
|
Coughlin
|
6
|
71
|
.301
|
.348
|
.414
|
20.74
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1903
|
1
|
Bill
|
Bradley
|
6
|
68
|
.313
|
.348
|
.496
|
28.06
|
|
1903
|
2
|
Jimmy
|
Collins
|
5
|
72
|
.296
|
.329
|
.448
|
27.42
|
|
1903
|
3
|
Tommy
|
Leach
|
7
|
87
|
.298
|
.352
|
.438
|
24.09
|
|
1903
|
4
|
Lave
|
Cross
|
2
|
90
|
.292
|
.304
|
.356
|
21.17
|
|
1903
|
5
|
Wid
|
Conroy
|
1
|
45
|
.272
|
.322
|
.372
|
19.64
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1904
|
1
|
Bill
|
Bradley
|
6
|
83
|
.300
|
.334
|
.409
|
26.69
|
|
1904
|
2
|
Jimmy
|
Collins
|
3
|
67
|
.271
|
.306
|
.379
|
26.01
|
|
1904
|
3
|
Tommy
|
Leach
|
2
|
56
|
.257
|
.316
|
.335
|
23.95
|
|
1904
|
4
|
Art
|
Devlin
|
1
|
66
|
.281
|
.371
|
.354
|
23.09
|
|
1904
|
5
|
Lave
|
Cross
|
1
|
71
|
.290
|
.310
|
.379
|
20.36
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1905
|
1
|
Art
|
Devlin
|
2
|
61
|
.246
|
.344
|
.310
|
25.18
|
|
1905
|
2
|
Jimmy
|
Collins
|
4
|
65
|
.276
|
.330
|
.368
|
23.17
|
|
1905
|
3
|
Bill
|
Bradley
|
0
|
51
|
.268
|
.321
|
.354
|
21.48
|
|
1905
|
4
|
Tommy
|
Leach
|
2
|
53
|
.257
|
.309
|
.345
|
21.41
|
|
1905
|
5
|
Wid
|
Conroy
|
2
|
25
|
.273
|
.329
|
.395
|
19.72
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1906
|
1
|
Art
|
Devlin
|
2
|
65
|
.299
|
.396
|
.390
|
30.26
|
|
1906
|
2
|
Harry
|
Steinfeldt
|
3
|
83
|
.327
|
.395
|
.430
|
25.93
|
|
1906
|
3
|
Tommy
|
Leach
|
1
|
39
|
.286
|
.333
|
.342
|
23.10
|
|
1906
|
4
|
Jim
|
Delahanty
|
1
|
39
|
.280
|
.371
|
.364
|
21.94
|
|
1906
|
5
|
Wid
|
Conroy
|
4
|
54
|
.245
|
.304
|
.332
|
19.41
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1907
|
1
|
Art
|
Devlin
|
1
|
54
|
.277
|
.376
|
.324
|
25.42
|
|
1907
|
2
|
Jim
|
Delahanty
|
2
|
60
|
.279
|
.350
|
.361
|
21.91
|
|
1907
|
3
|
Harry
|
Steinfeldt
|
1
|
70
|
.266
|
.323
|
.336
|
21.75
|
|
1907
|
4
|
Dave
|
Brain
|
10
|
56
|
.279
|
.324
|
.420
|
19.50
|
|
1907
|
5
|
Wid
|
Conroy
|
3
|
51
|
.234
|
.279
|
.315
|
18.16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1908
|
1
|
Tommy
|
Leach
|
5
|
41
|
.259
|
.324
|
.381
|
28.11
|
|
1908
|
2
|
Hans
|
Lobert
|
4
|
63
|
.293
|
.348
|
.407
|
25.51
|
|
1908
|
3
|
Art
|
Devlin
|
2
|
45
|
.253
|
.346
|
.313
|
24.34
|
|
1908
|
4
|
Harry
|
Steinfeldt
|
1
|
62
|
.241
|
.294
|
.306
|
19.84
|
|
1908
|
5
|
Harry
|
Lord
|
2
|
37
|
.260
|
.298
|
.319
|
16.22
|
80. Home Run Baker (1909-1914)
From 1909 to 1914 the best third baseman in baseball—and the best third baseman in baseball history up to that point—was Frank Baker.
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1909
|
1
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
4
|
85
|
.305
|
.343
|
.447
|
24.65
|
|
1909
|
2
|
Art
|
Devlin
|
0
|
56
|
.265
|
.362
|
.336
|
22.32
|
|
1909
|
3
|
Harry
|
Lord
|
0
|
31
|
.311
|
.345
|
.360
|
20.98
|
|
1909
|
4
|
Harry
|
Steinfeldt
|
2
|
59
|
.252
|
.331
|
.337
|
20.68
|
|
1909
|
5
|
Bobby
|
Byrne
|
1
|
40
|
.226
|
.327
|
.290
|
19.24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1910
|
1
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
2
|
74
|
.283
|
.329
|
.392
|
28.04
|
|
1910
|
2
|
Bobby
|
Byrne
|
2
|
52
|
.296
|
.366
|
.417
|
24.38
|
|
1910
|
3
|
Harry
|
Lord
|
1
|
42
|
.267
|
.315
|
.333
|
20.88
|
|
1910
|
4
|
Mike
|
Mowrey
|
2
|
70
|
.282
|
.375
|
.368
|
20.34
|
|
1910
|
5
|
Art
|
Devlin
|
2
|
67
|
.260
|
.353
|
.327
|
19.06
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1911
|
1
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
11
|
115
|
.334
|
.379
|
.508
|
34.27
|
|
1911
|
2
|
Harry
|
Lord
|
3
|
61
|
.321
|
.364
|
.433
|
23.61
|
|
1911
|
3
|
Bobby
|
Byrne
|
2
|
52
|
.259
|
.342
|
.366
|
22.66
|
|
1911
|
4
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
4
|
44
|
.285
|
.373
|
.376
|
20.97
|
|
1911
|
5
|
Roy
|
Hartzell
|
3
|
91
|
.296
|
.375
|
.387
|
19.55
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1912
|
1
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
10
|
130
|
.347
|
.404
|
.541
|
37.32
|
|
1912
|
2
|
Heinie
|
Zimmerman
|
14
|
99
|
.372
|
.418
|
.571
|
29.37
|
|
1912
|
3
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
3
|
86
|
.315
|
.383
|
.449
|
23.83
|
|
1912
|
4
|
Bobby
|
Byrne
|
3
|
35
|
.288
|
.358
|
.405
|
21.64
|
|
1912
|
5
|
Eddie
|
Foster
|
2
|
70
|
.285
|
.345
|
.379
|
21.20
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1913
|
1
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
12
|
117
|
.336
|
.412
|
.492
|
36.77
|
|
1913
|
2
|
Heinie
|
Zimmerman
|
9
|
95
|
.313
|
.379
|
.490
|
26.71
|
|
1913
|
3
|
Red
|
Smith
|
6
|
76
|
.296
|
.358
|
.441
|
23.92
|
|
1913
|
4
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
0
|
63
|
.281
|
.347
|
.359
|
20.83
|
|
1913
|
5
|
Tillie
|
Shafer
|
5
|
52
|
.287
|
.369
|
.398
|
20.12
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1914
|
1
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
9
|
89
|
.319
|
.380
|
.442
|
33.12
|
|
1914
|
2
|
Ed
|
Lennox
|
11
|
84
|
.312
|
.414
|
.493
|
25.03
|
|
1914
|
3
|
Red
|
Smith
|
7
|
85
|
.272
|
.346
|
.395
|
23.66
|
|
1914
|
4
|
Bill
|
McKechnie
|
2
|
38
|
.304
|
.368
|
.377
|
23.05
|
|
1914
|
5
|
Heinie
|
Zimmerman
|
4
|
87
|
.296
|
.326
|
.424
|
23.04
|
|
1914
|
6
|
Eddie
|
Foster
|
2
|
50
|
.282
|
.348
|
.351
|
19.28
|
|
1914
|
7
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
3
|
68
|
.259
|
.303
|
.385
|
18.60
|
|
1914
|
8
|
Fritz
|
Maisel
|
2
|
47
|
.239
|
.334
|
.325
|
18.17
|
If I was doing this again I might discount the Federal League numbers by 15, 20%, I think. Anyway, Baker was a true superstar, a man who hit .363 in six World Series as well as regularly leading the league in RBI. His "value" numbers peak around 37, which is superstar territory. He had tremendous value to his teams. There won’t be another third baseman who reaches that level for another half a century. He dominated for six years, which is a good long time, although he was only 28 when he took a season off, and was never quite the same player after that.
81. Grohs on You
In 1915 Baker didn’t play; my memory is that he sat out the season in a salary dispute, related to the breakup of the A’s, which is related to the Federal League. Anyway, with Baker out Heinie Groh of Cincinnati became the best third baseman in the game. Groh used the "bottle bat", a bat which looked as if it had swallowed a smaller bat, and hit .474 in the 1922 World Series. He usually hit around .300 and once led the league in walks, so he had very high on base percentages, plus he was a very, very good defensive third baseman.
Groh was the best third baseman in baseball from 1915 to 1920. In 1921 Groh missed 40% of the season with an injury, his first major injury, so Frankie Frisch emerged as the best third baseman in baseball, for the New York Giants, but that winter the Giants traded for Groh and moved Frisch to second, Groh to third. For one year Jimmie Johnston ranks as the #1 guy, although he is just there on a somebody-has-to-rate-first basis:
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1915
|
1
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
3
|
50
|
.290
|
.354
|
.390
|
24.06
|
|
1915
|
2
|
Red
|
Smith
|
2
|
65
|
.264
|
.345
|
.352
|
21.85
|
|
1915
|
3
|
Wally
|
Schang
|
1
|
44
|
.248
|
.385
|
.343
|
18.90
|
|
1915
|
4
|
Eddie
|
Foster
|
0
|
52
|
.275
|
.329
|
.348
|
18.80
|
|
1915
|
5
|
Mike
|
Mowrey
|
1
|
49
|
.280
|
.367
|
.359
|
18.47
|
|
1915
|
6
|
Fritz
|
Maisel
|
4
|
46
|
.281
|
.342
|
.357
|
17.87
|
|
1915
|
7
|
Ossie
|
Vitt
|
1
|
48
|
.250
|
.348
|
.334
|
17.60
|
|
1915
|
8
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
1
|
55
|
.258
|
.327
|
.326
|
17.56
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1916
|
1
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
2
|
28
|
.269
|
.370
|
.374
|
26.67
|
|
1916
|
2
|
Rogers
|
Hornsby
|
6
|
65
|
.313
|
.369
|
.444
|
25.94
|
|
1916
|
3
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
10
|
52
|
.269
|
.344
|
.428
|
25.89
|
|
1916
|
4
|
Red
|
Smith
|
3
|
60
|
.259
|
.333
|
.348
|
20.99
|
|
1916
|
5
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
2
|
62
|
.308
|
.372
|
.387
|
20.14
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1917
|
1
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
1
|
53
|
.304
|
.385
|
.411
|
32.47
|
|
1917
|
2
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
6
|
71
|
.282
|
.345
|
.365
|
23.29
|
|
1917
|
3
|
Red
|
Smith
|
2
|
62
|
.295
|
.369
|
.392
|
21.78
|
|
1917
|
4
|
Heinie
|
Zimmerman
|
5
|
102
|
.297
|
.317
|
.391
|
21.75
|
|
1917
|
5
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
1
|
61
|
.265
|
.341
|
.345
|
20.35
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1918
|
1
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
1
|
37
|
.320
|
.395
|
.396
|
31.72
|
|
1918
|
2
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
6
|
62
|
.306
|
.357
|
.409
|
22.96
|
|
1918
|
3
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
1
|
52
|
.285
|
.346
|
.365
|
20.64
|
|
1918
|
4
|
Red
|
Smith
|
2
|
65
|
.298
|
.373
|
.373
|
19.40
|
|
1918
|
5
|
Milt
|
Stock
|
1
|
42
|
.274
|
.325
|
.314
|
18.90
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1919
|
1
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
5
|
63
|
.310
|
.392
|
.431
|
31.68
|
|
1919
|
2
|
Rogers
|
Hornsby
|
8
|
71
|
.318
|
.384
|
.430
|
30.60
|
|
1919
|
3
|
Buck
|
Weaver
|
3
|
75
|
.296
|
.315
|
.401
|
23.59
|
|
1919
|
4
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
2
|
79
|
.300
|
.352
|
.393
|
21.96
|
|
1919
|
5
|
Home Run
|
Baker
|
10
|
83
|
.293
|
.346
|
.388
|
20.27
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1920
|
1
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
0
|
49
|
.298
|
.375
|
.393
|
27.23
|
|
1920
|
2
|
Buck
|
Weaver
|
2
|
74
|
.331
|
.365
|
.420
|
22.32
|
|
1920
|
3
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
3
|
118
|
.310
|
.367
|
.414
|
21.61
|
|
1920
|
4
|
Milt
|
Stock
|
0
|
76
|
.319
|
.360
|
.382
|
20.12
|
|
1920
|
5
|
Jimmy
|
Johnston
|
1
|
52
|
.291
|
.338
|
.361
|
18.15
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1921
|
1
|
Frankie
|
Frisch
|
8
|
100
|
.341
|
.384
|
.485
|
25.98
|
|
1921
|
2
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
0
|
48
|
.331
|
.398
|
.417
|
21.40
|
|
1921
|
3
|
Larry
|
Gardner
|
3
|
115
|
.319
|
.391
|
.437
|
20.86
|
|
1921
|
4
|
Jimmy
|
Johnston
|
5
|
56
|
.325
|
.372
|
.460
|
20.31
|
|
1921
|
5
|
Milt
|
Stock
|
3
|
84
|
.307
|
.360
|
.388
|
20.03
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1922
|
1
|
Jimmy
|
Johnston
|
4
|
49
|
.319
|
.364
|
.400
|
19.27
|
|
1922
|
2
|
Milt
|
Stock
|
5
|
79
|
.305
|
.352
|
.418
|
18.48
|
|
1922
|
3
|
Joe
|
Dugan
|
6
|
63
|
.287
|
.318
|
.383
|
17.79
|
|
1922
|
4
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
3
|
51
|
.265
|
.353
|
.350
|
17.74
|
|
1922
|
5
|
Tony
|
Boeckel
|
6
|
47
|
.289
|
.349
|
.410
|
16.50
|
Groh was a great player, and in my view he could be a Hall of Famer, although he isn’t.
82. The Pie Traynor Era
We talk about Pie Traynor a lot here. I’ve never questioned that Traynor was a legitimate Hall of Famer; he was the best third baseman in baseball, basically, for ten years. That’s a long, long time to be the top dog.
Most of the baseball books I read in the early 1960s were written between 1945 and 1960. In that era basically everybody who wrote about the issue wrote that Pie Traynor was the greatest third baseman of all time. My only real point was that he wasn’t all that. He wasn’t as great a player at his best as Home Run Baker was, although he stayed on top longer, and he doesn’t match up well against the 1950s/1960s third basemen like Eddie Mathews, Ken Boyer, Brooks Robinson, Ron Santo and others. His peak seasons are not the equal of Jimmy Collins, Bill Bradley or Heinie Groh. He wasn’t really fast (his stolen base percentages are not good, and he grounded into quite a few double plays). He didn’t walk, hit only 58 homers in his career, did not have a particularly long career (less than 2,000 games). He was a .320 hitter and an exceptional fielder; it’s a good player. Forbes Field helped his batting average; he was a career .332 hitter at home, .308 on the road. He wasn’t a dominant player, but he held a value in the 23-24 range for a long time, and there just wasn’t anybody in that era who was better. I think most people now understand that. Fred Lindstrom had a couple of exceptional years, and follows the usual rule that the #2 players of this era have made the Hall of Fame, while the #2 players of the 1900s, 1910s, 1940s and 1950s mostly did NOT make the Hall of Fame. The other top third basemen of the era were Willie Kamm, Jimmie Dykes, Joe Dugan, Marty McManus and (later) Pinky Whitney.
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1923
|
1
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
12
|
101
|
.338
|
.377
|
.489
|
22.58
|
|
1923
|
2
|
Jimmy
|
Johnston
|
4
|
60
|
.325
|
.378
|
.426
|
18.70
|
|
1923
|
3
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
4
|
48
|
.290
|
.379
|
.385
|
18.13
|
|
1923
|
4
|
Joe
|
Dugan
|
7
|
67
|
.283
|
.311
|
.384
|
17.86
|
|
1923
|
5
|
Bernie
|
Friberg
|
12
|
88
|
.318
|
.372
|
.473
|
17.43
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1924
|
1
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
5
|
82
|
.294
|
.340
|
.417
|
20.98
|
|
1924
|
2
|
Andy
|
High
|
6
|
61
|
.328
|
.390
|
.448
|
17.69
|
|
1924
|
3
|
Joe
|
Dugan
|
3
|
56
|
.302
|
.341
|
.390
|
16.96
|
|
1924
|
4
|
Heine
|
Groh
|
2
|
46
|
.281
|
.354
|
.360
|
16.87
|
|
1924
|
5
|
Willie
|
Kamm
|
6
|
93
|
.254
|
.337
|
.364
|
16.59
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1925
|
1
|
Frankie
|
Frisch
|
11
|
48
|
.331
|
.374
|
.472
|
25.73
|
|
1925
|
2
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
6
|
106
|
.320
|
.377
|
.464
|
24.39
|
|
1925
|
3
|
Jimmy
|
Dykes
|
5
|
55
|
.323
|
.393
|
.471
|
18.52
|
|
1925
|
4
|
Willie
|
Kamm
|
6
|
83
|
.279
|
.391
|
.393
|
17.63
|
|
1925
|
5
|
Les
|
Bell
|
11
|
88
|
.285
|
.334
|
.422
|
17.16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1926
|
1
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
3
|
92
|
.317
|
.361
|
.436
|
23.25
|
|
1926
|
2
|
Les
|
Bell
|
17
|
100
|
.325
|
.383
|
.518
|
21.59
|
|
1926
|
3
|
Marty
|
McManus
|
9
|
68
|
.284
|
.350
|
.424
|
20.72
|
|
1926
|
4
|
Freddy
|
Lindstrom
|
9
|
76
|
.302
|
.351
|
.420
|
19.69
|
|
1926
|
5
|
Willie
|
Kamm
|
0
|
62
|
.294
|
.396
|
.385
|
18.02
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1927
|
1
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
5
|
106
|
.342
|
.370
|
.455
|
24.81
|
|
1927
|
2
|
Freddy
|
Lindstrom
|
7
|
58
|
.306
|
.354
|
.436
|
22.19
|
|
1927
|
3
|
Les
|
Bell
|
9
|
65
|
.259
|
.320
|
.426
|
18.59
|
|
1927
|
4
|
Sammy
|
Hale
|
5
|
81
|
.313
|
.358
|
.423
|
17.74
|
|
1927
|
5
|
Willie
|
Kamm
|
0
|
59
|
.270
|
.354
|
.378
|
17.73
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1928
|
1
|
Freddy
|
Lindstrom
|
14
|
107
|
.358
|
.383
|
.511
|
26.96
|
|
1928
|
2
|
Jimmie
|
Foxx
|
13
|
79
|
.327
|
.416
|
.547
|
24.36
|
|
1928
|
3
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
3
|
124
|
.337
|
.370
|
.462
|
23.45
|
|
1928
|
4
|
Marty
|
McManus
|
8
|
73
|
.288
|
.355
|
.430
|
19.77
|
|
1928
|
5
|
Pinky
|
Whitney
|
10
|
103
|
.301
|
.342
|
.426
|
18.60
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1929
|
1
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
4
|
108
|
.356
|
.393
|
.472
|
23.10
|
|
1929
|
2
|
Freddy
|
Lindstrom
|
15
|
91
|
.319
|
.354
|
.464
|
22.64
|
|
1929
|
3
|
Pinky
|
Whitney
|
8
|
115
|
.327
|
.390
|
.482
|
20.65
|
|
1929
|
4
|
Jimmy
|
Dykes
|
13
|
79
|
.327
|
.412
|
.539
|
20.30
|
|
1929
|
5
|
Marty
|
McManus
|
18
|
90
|
.280
|
.347
|
.451
|
19.95
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1930
|
1
|
Freddy
|
Lindstrom
|
22
|
106
|
.379
|
.425
|
.575
|
23.97
|
|
1930
|
2
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
9
|
119
|
.366
|
.423
|
.509
|
22.86
|
|
1930
|
3
|
Marty
|
McManus
|
9
|
89
|
.320
|
.396
|
.475
|
19.91
|
|
1930
|
4
|
Pinky
|
Whitney
|
8
|
117
|
.342
|
.383
|
.465
|
18.96
|
|
1930
|
5
|
Jimmy
|
Dykes
|
6
|
73
|
.301
|
.414
|
.425
|
18.93
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1931
|
1
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
2
|
103
|
.298
|
.354
|
.416
|
21.20
|
|
1931
|
2
|
Pinky
|
Whitney
|
9
|
74
|
.287
|
.331
|
.433
|
19.20
|
|
1931
|
3
|
Jimmy
|
Dykes
|
3
|
46
|
.273
|
.371
|
.389
|
16.99
|
|
1931
|
4
|
Willie
|
Kamm
|
0
|
75
|
.290
|
.384
|
.386
|
16.94
|
|
1931
|
5
|
Pepper
|
Martin
|
7
|
75
|
.300
|
.351
|
.467
|
16.52
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1932
|
1
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
2
|
68
|
.329
|
.373
|
.433
|
20.93
|
|
1932
|
2
|
Pinky
|
Whitney
|
13
|
124
|
.298
|
.335
|
.449
|
20.09
|
|
1932
|
3
|
Joe
|
Stripp
|
6
|
64
|
.303
|
.350
|
.438
|
18.12
|
|
1932
|
4
|
Willie
|
Kamm
|
3
|
83
|
.286
|
.379
|
.403
|
17.24
|
|
1932
|
5
|
Joe
|
Sewell
|
11
|
68
|
.272
|
.349
|
.392
|
16.80
|
83. The Stan Hack Era
For ten years after Traynor started to fail there isn’t a Hall of Fame third baseman, although there were Hall of Famers who played third base for a year or two. Sluggers were beginning to filter in to third base—Pinky Higgins, Harlond Clift, Mel Ott for a year, Jimmie Foxx for 141 games over the years, Odell Hale, Ken Keltner. Stan Hack wasn’t a slugger; he was kind of like Pie Traynor, except that he wasn’t as brilliant as Traynor at third base, but got on base much more. I might guess that Hack was a greater player than Traynor. If you have to say "Who was the best third baseman of this era?", it’s Stan Hack, although he wasn’t as high-impact as Clift.
|
YEAR
|
Rank
|
First
|
Last
|
HR
|
RBI
|
Avg
|
OBA
|
SPct
|
Value
|
|
1933
|
1
|
Pepper
|
Martin
|
8
|
57
|
.316
|
.387
|
.456
|
22.27
|
|
1933
|
2
|
Mike
|
Higgins
|
13
|
99
|
.314
|
.383
|
.483
|
21.79
|
|
1933
|
3
|
Pie
|
Traynor
|
1
|
82
|
.304
|
.342
|
.372
|
18.41
|
|
1933
|
4
|
Pinky
|
Whitney
|
11
|
68
|
.250
|
.299
|
.366
|
16.53
|
|
1933
|
5
|
Joe
|
Stripp
|
1
|
51
|
.277
|
.312
|
.346
|
15.71
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1934
|
1
|
Mike
|
Higgins
|
16
|
90
|
.330
|
.392
|
.508
|
21.98
|
|
1934
|
2
|
Pepper
|
Martin
|
5
|
49
|
.289
|
.337
|
.425
|
20.14
|
|
1934
|
3
|
Marv
|
Owen
|
8
|
96
|
.317
|
.385
|
.451
|
17.84
|
|
1934
|
4
|
Harlond
|
Clift
|
14
|
56
|
.260
|
.357
|
.421
|
17.16
|
|
1934
|
5
|
Stan
|
Hack
|
1
|
21
|
.289
|
.363
|
.366
|
15.55
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1935
|
1
|
Mike
|
Higgins
|
23
|
94
|
.296
|
.350
|
.504
|
21.50
|
|
1935
|
2
|
Stan
|
Hack
|
4
|
64
|
.311
|
.406
|
.436
|
21.33
|
|
1935
|
3
|
Pepper
|
Martin
|
9
|
54
|
.299
|
.341
|
.447
|
21.30
|
|
1935
|
4
|