WHY I THINK BUCKY WALTERS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK BUCKY WALTERS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Bucky Walters was an absolutely dominant righthanded pitcher in a hitter friendly era. He had a lifetime total of almost 200 wins and over 40 shutouts, won the NL Triple Crown and MVP Award in 1939, won two ERA titles, and led the NL in wins three times. With his devastating sinkerball, he soon became a prolific winner on a lot of bad teams early in his career, and a prolific winner on some good teams later in his career. Walters, a converted third baseman, was also one of the finest hitting pitchers in the game, as he batted .243 lifetime with 99 doubles, 16 triples, and 23 home runs. He was a six time all-star and a World Series champion in 1940, when he went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and also batted .286 with a home run and a double against the Tigers. To top it all off, Walters even won a fielding title in 1944. Bucky Walters started his career with the Boston Braves in 1931, hitting .211 in nine games. He was seldom used until 1934, when he played 80 games at third base and made his debut on the mound. Walters won nine games with a pair of shutouts in 1935, but fell to 11-21 in 1936, albeit with a terrible team. After a 14-15 season Walters split his services in 1938 between the Phillies and the Reds, compiling a 15-14 record. Walters pulled it all together in 1939, when he went 27-11 with a 2.29 ERA and 137 strikeouts, leading the NL in nine pitching categories, and captured the MVP Award. Walters won 22 games with a NL low 2.48 ERA in 1940 and won 19 games in 1941. Walters had another career year in 1942 but slumped to 15-15 in 1943. Walters had one last big season in 1944 (23-8, 2.40 ERA) and pitched very well in 1945 and 1946 before age began to catch up with him. He pitched his final game in 1950. Bucky Walters was a great pitcher and a baseball player who did everything well. Seriously, has there ever been a pitcher with an MVP, two ERA titles, and a Triple Crown who has not been voted into the Hall of Fame other than Walters? 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games Pitched career: 428 season high: 40 in 1936 

Starts career: 398 season high: 36 in 1939 and 1940 led NL: 34 in 1937, 36 in 1939 

Complete Games career: 242 season high: 31 in 1939 led NL: 31 in 1939, 29 in 1940, 27 in 1941 

Shutouts career: 42 season high: 6 in 1944 led NL: 4 in 1936 

Games Finished career: 18 season high: 3 in 1936 and 1938 

Wins career: 198 season high: 27 in 1939 led NL: 27 in 1939, 22 in 1940, 23 in 1944 

Losses career: 160 season high: 21 in 1936 led NL: 21 in 1936 

Winning Percentage career: .553 season high: .742 in 1944 

ERA career: 3.30 season low: 2.29 in 1939 led NL: 2.29 in 1939, 2.48 in 1940 

WHIP career: 1.324 season low: 1.092 in 1940 led NL: 1.125 in 1939, 1.092 in 1940 

Innings Pitched career: 3,104 ⅔ season high: 319 in 1939 led NL: 319 in 1939, 305 in 1940, 302 in 1941 

Strikeouts career: 1,107 season high: 137 in 1939 led NL: 137 in 1939 

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 3.2 season high: 3.9 in 1939 and 1942 

Walks career: 1,121 (0 intentional) season high: 115 in 1936 

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 0.99 season high: 1.47 in 1941 

Saves career: 4 season high: 2 in 1941 

Fielding Percentage career: .960 season high: 1.000 in 1944 led NL P: 1.000 in 1944 

Double Plays career: 119 season high: 18 in 1934 

Putouts career: 364 season high: 107 in 1934 led NL P: 19 in 1943 

Assists career: 1,135 season high: 190 in 1934 led NL P: 96 in 1936 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-started the 1944 all-star game and had a career 2.00 ERA in nine career all-star innings 

-went 1-for-1 with a double and a run scored in the all-star game 

-allowed the fewest hits per nine innings in the NL in 1939 (7.1), 1940 (7.1) and 1944 (7.4) 

-led the NL in batters faced in 1939 (1,283) and 1940 (1,207) 

-finished third in the NL MVP Award voting in 1940, fifth in 1944, 28th in 1941 and 32nd in 1943 

-batted .325 with eight doubles in his 1939 MVP campaign 

-scored 227 runs and drove in 234 

-had a .515 career caught stealing percentage at pitcher 

-ranks 38th in career shutouts 

-also played 17 games at second base, six in the outfield, 72 as a pinch hitter and 14 as a pinch runner 

-went 81-123-2 (.397) as a manager 

-coached with the Braves and the Giants from 1950 through 1957 

-was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1958 

WHY I THINK MORT COOPER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK MORT COOPER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Mort Cooper was the dominant National League pitcher of his time. Cooper didn’t usually overpower his opponents. He simply outsmarted them. He was the NL MVP and ERA leader in 1942, led the NL in wins twice and finished second in 1944, pitched over 200 innings five times and 199 once, and put fear into the hearts of opposing batters with his blazing fastball and devastating breaking balls. At the end of his career Cooper also developed marvelous control.  Mort Cooper was teammates with his brother, Walker Cooper, and with other great players like Stan Musial, Enos Slaughter and Marty Marion. The great Cardinals team of the 1940s won four pennants and three World Series titles. Cooper was on three of those pennant winners and had a career World Series ERA of 3.00 (with a 1.13 mark in 1944) despite a 2-3 record. Cooper began his career with a 2-1 record, a 3.04 ERA and a save in four games in 1938. He was used as both a starter and a reliever in 1939 and had 12 wins (three of them shutouts) and five saves on a 3.25 ERA in 45 appearances (26 starts). Cooper was used primarily as a starter after that as he won 11 games in 29 starts in the next season. Cooper went 13-9 in 1941 and then he then established himself as a force to be reckoned with in 1942 as he went 22-7 with a league leading 1.78 ERA and 10 shutouts. He went 21-8 on a second place 2.30 ERA in 1943. In 1944, he copied his 1942 record of 22-7 and led in shutouts with seven, which helped him to an ERA of 2.46. After that year, Cooper had a slump that never went away. He did have a really good season in 1945 at 9-4 with a 2.92 ERA, but was shipped back to the bullpen. Cooper went 13-11 in 1946 but slipped badly to 3-10 in 1947. He came back for one game in 1949. It would be the last game he would ever pitch. Even with the rough finish Mort Cooper was the toughest pitcher of his day and deserving of a Hall of Fame selection, even if he pitched in a very hitter-friendly era.

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 295 season high: 45 in 1939

Starts career: 239 season high: 35 in 1942 

Complete Games career: 128 season high: 24 in 1943

Shutouts career: 33 season high: 10 in 1942 led NL: 10 in 1942, 7 in 1944

Games Finished career: 39 season high: 12 in 1939

Wins career: 128 season high: 22 in 1942 and 1944 led NL: 22 in 1942, 21 in 1943

Losses career: 75 season high: 12 in 1940

Winning Percentage career: .631 season high: .759 in 1942 and 1944

ERA career: 2.97 season low: 1.78 in 1942 led NL: 1.78 in 1942

WHIP career: 1.215 season low: 0.987 in 1942 led NL: 0.987 in 1942, 1.106 in 1946

Innings Pitched career: 1,840 ⅔ season high: 278 ⅔ in 1942

Strikeouts career: 913 season high: 152 in 1942

Strikeouts Per Nine Innings career: 4.5 season high: 5.7 in 1941 led NL: 5.6 in 1939

Walks career: 571 (0 intentional) season high: 97 in 1939

Strikeouts Per Walk career: 1.60 season high: 2.24 in 1942 led NL: 2.24 in 1942, 2.13 in 1946

Saves career: 15 season high: 5 in 1939

Fielding Percentage career: .952 season high: 1.000 in 1944 led NL: 1.000 in 1944

Double Plays career: 20 season high: 3 in 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1945 and 1946

Putouts career: 50 season high: 7 in 1939 and 1943

Assists career: 270 season high: 46 in 1943

DID YOU KNOW?

-won his MLB debut (9 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits)

-was a four time all-star

-was one of the best hitting pitchers (batted .250 in 1945 and hit a pair of home runs in 1939)

-pitched 250 plus innings three times 

-pitched a shutout in the 1944 World Series 

-threw consecutive one-hitters in 1943 

-faced 1,000 or more batters three times and struck out 100 plus four times 

-was fifth in the 1943 NL MVP voting, ninth in 1944 and 24th in 1941 

-led the NL in fewest hits per nine innings in 1942, fewest homers in 1939, fewest walks in 1945 and most strikeouts per win in 1942 and 1946

-finished second in the NL in shutouts (six) in 1943 and had four in 1946

-drove in two runs and scored one in two games in the 1942 World Series

-was used as a pinch runner twice in 1939

WHY I THINK GIL HODGES SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK GIL HODGES SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Gil Hodges was one of the top sluggers of his era and one of the best defensive first basemen who ever lived. On those famous “Boys of Summer” Brooklyn Dodgers teams of the 1940s and 1950s, Hodges was both a superstar and a beloved hero. He started his big league career in 1943 for one game, going hitless but drawing a walk and stealing his first career base. Hodges spent the next two seasons in Military Service, winning a bronze star medal, and took the 1946 season off entirely. He played in only 28 games (24 as the catcher) in 1947, the year that teammate Jackie Robinson first came up, and finally earned regular status in 1948. Hodges caught 38 games that season but with his emergent power and fine defense at first he was planted there for good. He had his breakout season in 1949, with 23 homers and 115 RBI’s, and was an all-star and 100-RBI man for the next seven seasons. He earned the love of all of Brooklyn during that streak of consistent excellence, with five straight 30 homer seasons out of six overall and two with over 40. The Dodgers faced the Yankees in the World Series on six occasions since Hodges came up, losing every time, until 1956 when, to the joy of all in Brooklyn, they beat them for their first title ever. Hodges batted .304 with a homer and eight RBI’s during the Series. He had another fine season in 1957, earning his eighth all-star selection with 27 homers and 98 RBI’s, before the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. He was one of the few Dodgers to have a good offensive season in 1958, connecting for 22 longballs in the oddly shaped Los Angeles Coliseum. Hodges had one more good season in 1959, picking up 25 homers and a second World Series ring (he batted .391 with a home run in the Series), before slumping in his next two seasons. He had nine homers for the Mets in 54 games in 1962 and retired after eleven games in 1963. After his retirement as a player, Hodges managed two clubs, including the Miracle Mets of 1969, before his death of a heart attack on April 2, 1972, one day before his 48th birthday. Gil Hodges was one of the greatest first basemen in the history of the game with one of the most amazing peaks of any player ever. For all of his home runs and his place in Brooklyn Dodgers lore, he really should have been a first ballot Hall of Famer. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 2,071 season high: 158 in 1951 led NL: 158 in 1951, 154 in 1954 

At Bats career: 7,030 season high: 596 in 1949 

Hits career: 1,921 season high: 176 in 1954 

Doubles career: 295 season high: 29 in 1956 

Triples career: 48 season high: 7 in 1957 

Home Runs career: 370 season high: 42 in 1954 

Runs career: 1,105 season high: 118 in 1951 

Runs Batted In career: 1,274 season high: 130 in 1954 

Stolen Bases career: 63 season high: 10 in 1949 

Walks career: 943 season high: 107 in 1952 

Strikeouts career: 1,137 season high: 99 in 1951 led NL: 99 in 1951 

Batting Average career: .273 season high: .304 in 1954 

On Base Percentage career: .359 season high: .393 in 1953 

Slugging Percentage career: .487 season high: .579 in 1954 

Total Bases career: 3,422 season high: 335 in 1954 

Sacrifice Hits career: 56 season high: 11 in 1950 

Fielding Percentage career: .992 season high: .998 in 1961 led NL 1B: .995 in 1949, .994 in 1950, .992 in 1959 

Double Plays career: 1,632 season high: 171 in 1951 led NL 1B: 142 in 1949, 159 in 1950, 171 in 1951, 134 in 1958 

Putouts career: 15,722 season high: 1,381 in 1954 led NL 1B: 1,336 in 1949, 1,381 in 1954, 1,317 in 1957 

Assists career: 1,365 season high: 132 in 1954 led NL 1B: 126 in 1951, 116 in 1952, 132 in 1954 

Games Managed career: 1,414 season high: 163 in 1968 

Wins career: 660 season high: 100 in 1969 

Losses career: 753 season high: 100 in 1964 

Ties career: 1 season high: 1 in 1968 

Winning Percentage career: .467 season high: .617 in 1969 

Ejections career: 7 season high: 2 in 1966, 1970, and 1971 

Pennants 1969 NL 

World Series 1969 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-won the first three NL Gold Glove awards at first base 

-won the 1959 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 

-was the first Dodger ever to hit 40 home runs in a single season, and also knocked in the last run in Brooklyn Dodgers history 

-hit the first home run in New York Mets history 

-drove in a run in his final MLB game 

-knocked in the only two runs for the Dodgers in Game 7 of the 1955 World Series 

-knocked in the Dodgers’ only run in their 1-0 win in Game 2 of the 1949 World Series, which was their only Series win that year 

-twice led the NL in sacrifice flies, setting a still standing season record in 1954 (19)

-hit for the cycle on June 25, 1949 

-hit a record four home runs in one game on August 31, 1950, and additionally had a single 

-finished seventh in the NL MVP Award voting in 1957, eighth in 1950, tenth in 1954, 11th in 1949, 14th in 1953, 16th in 1951, 18th in 1959, 19th in 1952, and 30th in 1948 

-batted .364 in the 1953 World Series and hit homers in five different Series 

-had a .571 career caught stealing percentage in 64 games as a catcher 

-led NL first basemen in games in 1949 (156), 1951 (158), 1954 (154), and 1956 (138) 

-his 171 double plays as a first baseman in 1951 are the seventh most of all time, and his 159 in 1950 rank 15th, and in both years he set the NL record 

-ranks 39th in career putouts and 17th in grand slams (14) 

-among MLB first basemen, ranks 28th in career games, 14th in double plays, 42nd in putouts, and 26th in assists 

-also played one game at second base, 32 at third base, 80 in the outfield, 94 as a pinch hitter, and four as a pinch runner 

-was the 1969 NL Sporting News Manager of the Year 

-was inducted into the Indiana Sports Hall of Fame in 1979, the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, and the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1982

-his uniform number 14 is retired by the Mets