WHY I THINK JAKE DAUBERT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK JAKE DAUBERT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Jake Daubert was one of the greatest all around players of his era. He was a great defensive first baseman who led his league in fielding percentage three times, but most of his dominance came at the bat. Daubert had a lifetime batting average of .303, batted over .300 ten times, was the 1913 NL MVP, won two batting titles, and won a 1919 World Series ring with the Reds. He also stole over 250 career bases and set the record for NL first basemen for the most triples in a season (since 1900) with 22 in 1922. His 392 career sacrifice hits are the second most in MLB history, trailing only Hall of Famer Eddie Collins. Jake Daubert started his career with the Brooklyn Superbas in 1910 and batted .264. He hit .307 in 1911 and topped the .300 mark every year until 1917, and won his two batting titles in 1913 (.350) and 1914 (.329). Daubert batted only .261 in 1917 but got back on track in 1918 with a .308 mark and a league-leading fifteen triples in only 108 games. He was still traded to Cincinnati for the 1919 season after he tried to sue the club for lowering his salary, and he batted .276 that season and led the Reds to a (tainted) World Series title over the White Sox. As the live-ball era kicked in, Daubert was still superb, as he batted over .300 three more times, with a .336 mark in 1922. He batted .292 and .281 after that before the end of his career. Late in the 1924 season, during a road trip to New York, he caught ill but decided to finish out the season. His decision to play resulted in his need for surgery performed by the Reds’ team doctor. He died a week later. Jake Daubert, despite his early and untimely death, still was an incredible hitter and a fine defender who really should have been in the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 2,014 season high: 156 in 1922 led NL: 140 in 1919, 156 in 1922 

At Bats career: 7,673 season high: 610 in 1922 

Hits career: 2,326 season high: 205 in 1922 

Doubles career: 250 season high: 28 in 1920 

Triples career: 165 season high: 22 in 1922 led NL: 15 in 1918, 22 in 1922 

Home Runs career: 56 season high: 12 in 1922 

Runs career: 1,117 season high: 114 in 1922 

Runs Batted In career: 722 season high: 66 in 1912 and 1922 

Stolen Bases career: 251 season high: 32 in 1911 

Walks career: 623 season high: 57 in 1915 

Strikeouts career: 489 season high: 56 in 1911 

Batting Average career: .303 season high: .350 in 1913 led NL: .350 in 1913, .329 in 1914 

On Base Percentage career: .360 season high: .405 in 1913 

Slugging Percentage career: .401 season high: .492 in 1922 

Total Bases career: 3,074 season high: 300 in 1922 

Sacrifice Hits career: 392 season high: 39 in 1919 led NL: 39 in 1919 

Fielding Percentage career: .991 season high: .994 in 1922 led NL 1B: .993 in 1912 and 1916, .994 in 1922 

Double Plays career: 1,201 season high: 127 in 1922 led NL 1B: 91 in 1911 and 1913, 127 in 1922 

Putouts career: 19,634 season high: 1,652 in 1922 led NL 1B: 1,652 in 1922 

Assists career: 1,128 season high: 102 in 1915 led NL 1B: 102 in 1915 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-went 2-for-5 with an RBI in his final MLB game 

-holds the NL record for career sacrifice hits 

-got over 1,000 putouts in every season that he played, including 21 on May 6, 1910, one short of the MLB record 

-his 1,652 putouts in 1922 rank as the 13th highest total of all time 

-finished eighth in the NL MVP voting in 1912, ninth in 1911 and 16th in 1914 

-scored four runs in the 1919 World Series 

-was used as a pinch hitter 13 times 

-finished second in the 1916 NL batting race to Hal Chase (.339) 

-ranks 29th in career triples, 20th in games played at first base, eighth in putouts and 35th in assists by a first baseman