WHY I THINK WALLY BERGER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK WALLY BERGER SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Wally Berger was one of the best hitters of his time, far better than many Hall of Famers. Berger had four seasons over .300, drove in over 100 runs in a season four times, and hit over 30 home runs three times and over 20 six times. Berger could also play left and center very well, recording a career fielding mark above the league average. Wally Berger started his career with the Boston Braves in 1930 with a bang, batting .310 and establishing the MLB record for home runs by a rookie with 38. He came back in 1931 to hit .323 with 19 home runs. After a .307 season Berger started a streak of three straight seasons with 100 plus RBI’s. He batted as high as .313 during that span and led the NL in homers and RBI’s in 1935. Berger batted .288 with 25 home runs in 1936 before being limited to 89 games and 17 home runs in 1937, having been traded midseason to the New York Giants. After batting only .188 across 16 games with the Giants in 1938 he was traded to the Reds, where he settled down and hit .307 for the rest of the season. Berger fell to .258 in 97 games in 1939 and was traded in the middle of the 1940 season to the Phillies. He hit .317 in 20 games for the Phils in 1940 before calling it quits. Wally Berger was a great, .300 hitting slugger who could field, throw, and figure out pitchers as well as any of his contemporaries. He belongs in the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,350 season high: 156 in 1931 led NL: 156 in 1931 

At Bats career: 5,163 season high: 617 in 1931 

Hits career: 1,550 season high: 199 in 1931 

Doubles career: 299 season high: 44 in 1931 

Triples career: 59 season high: 14 in 1930 

Home Runs career: 242 season high: 38 in 1930 led NL: 34 in 1935 

Runs career: 809 season high: 98 in 1930 

Runs Batted In career: 898 season high: 130 in 1935 led NL: 130 in 1935 

Stolen Bases career: 36 season high: 13 in 1931 

Walks career: 435 season high: 55 in 1931 

Strikeouts career: 693 season high: 84 in 1936 led NL: 77 in 1933 

Batting Average career: .300 season high: .323 in 1931 

On Base Percentage career: .359 season high: .380 in 1931 

Slugging Percentage career: .522 season high: .614 in 1930 

Total Bases career: 2,693 season high: 341 in 1930 

Sacrifice Hits career: 27 season high: 12 in 1930 

Fielding Percentage career: .975 season high: .994 in 1932 led NL CF: .992 in 1932 

Double Plays career: 28 season high: 10 in 1932 led NL LF: 4 in 1930 led NL CF: 5 in 1931, 4 in 1933 

Putouts career: 3,430 season high: 498 in 1932 led NL LF: 308 in 1930 led NL CF: 411 in 1935, 361 in 1936 

Assists career: 91 season high: 16 in 1931 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-was a four time all-star 

-was the starting centerfielder in the first ever all-star game in 1933 

-finished third in the NL MVP Award voting in 1933, sixth in 1935, 12th in 1934, 13th in 1932, and 16th in 1936 

-led the NL in home run percentage in both 1933 (4.6) and 1935 (5.8) 

-led NL leftfielders in games in 1930 (145) and led NL centerfielders in 1931 (156), 1932 (134), and 1934 (150) 

-also hit 39 doubles in 1935, 37 in 1933, 35 in 1934, and 34 in 1932 

-set the NL rookie record with his 119 RBI’s in 1930 

-was only the seventh player in NL history to reach 200 career home runs 

-hit three home runs each off of Hall of Famers Jesse Haines, Waite Hoyt, and Dazzy Vance, and one off of Burleigh Grimes, plus five off of Lon Warneke and one off of Bucky Walters 

-his 38 homers in 1930 set the Braves franchise record and stood until 1953, and the entire team hit only 68 home runs that year 

-still holds the MLB record for the fewest games in a season to reach 20 home runs (51) 

-also played 13 games at first base, 11 in rightfield, 49 as a pinch hitter, and one as a pinch runner