WHY I THINK STAN HACK SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN
By- Damien
Stan Hack was the best leadoff hitter of his time and the greatest defensive third baseman of the 1930’s and 1940’s. He batted .301 for his career with a .394 on base percentage and had a career fielding percentage ten points above the league average. Most of all, he was known as a good sport and a cheerful man who was nicknamed “Smiling Stan” and was the crowd’s favorite. Career long Chicago Cub Stan Hack started his career in 1932 for 72 games, batting a lowly .236. He batted a resounding .350 in 20 games the following season and was a regular by 1934. Hack enjoyed his first .300 season at .311 in 1935 but stayed a hair under the mark in each of the next two seasons. Not satisfied with this, he batted .320 in 1938 and began an eight year streak in which he captured MVP votes. Hack was both an all-star and the NL leader in stolen bases in 1938 and 1939, and led the NL in hits in the next two years. In 1942 he batted .300 again and finished the season with the highest fielding percentage among all NL third basemen. Hack batted .289 in 1943 and was limited to just 98 games in 1944, coming out of a temporary retirement, but came back in 1945 with the finest season of his career. That year Hack batted .323, won his second fielding title, and scored over 100 runs for the seventh time in his career. He played in 92 games in 1946 and 76 in 1947, hitting well enough to prove that he was still a highly valuable player as he aged, but was released from the club on September 24, 1947. To put Hack’s value into perspective, the Cubs went 98-56 (.636) in 1945, but went 64-90 (.416) in 1948, their first year without him. Stan Hack was a fantastic hitter, a patient batter, a good baserunner, and a fine hitter whose immense talents in so many different phases of the game make him an easy Hall of Famer to me.
LIFETIME STATISTICS
Games career: 1,938 season high: 156 in 1939 led NL: 152 in 1938
At Bats career: 7,278 season high: 641 in 1939
Hits career: 2,193 season high: 195 in 1938 led NL: 191 in 1940, 186 in 1941
Doubles career: 363 season high: 38 in 1940
Triples career: 81 season high: 11 in 1938
Home Runs career: 57 season high: 8 in 1939 and 1940
Runs career: 1,239 season high: 112 in 1939
Runs Batted In career: 642 season high: 67 in 1938
Stolen Bases career: 165 season high: 21 in 1940 led NL: 16 in 1938, 17 in 1939
Walks career: 1,092 season high: 99 in 1941 and 1945
Strikeouts career: 466 season high: 42 in 1934 and 1937
Batting Average career: .301 season high: .323 in 1945
On Base Percentage career: .394 season high: .420 in 1945
Slugging Percentage career: .397 season high: .439 in 1940
Total Bases career: 2,889 season high: 265 in 1940
Sacrifice Hits career: 115 season high: 15 in 1939 and 1943
Fielding Percentage career: .959 season high: .975 in 1945 led NL 3B: .965 in 1942, .975 in 1945
Double Plays career: 298 season high: 29 in 1945 led NL 3B: 25 in 1937, 26 in 1938, 27 in 1940
Putouts career: 2,311 season high: 233 in 1945 led NL 3B: 151 in 1937, 178 in 1938, 177 in 1939, 175 in 1940, 195 in 1945
Assists career: 3,527 season high: 314 in 1945 led NL 3B: 247 in 1937, 302 in 1940
DID YOU KNOW?
-batted lefthanded and threw righthanded
-set a record in 1945 by playing 54 consecutive errorless games at third base
-was a five time all-star
-his 1,092 career walks are the Cubs’ all time record and were the record for a third baseman at the time of his retirement
-led the NL in plate appearances in 1938 (707), 1939 (724), and 1941 (694)
-finished seventh in the NL MVP Award voting in 1938, eighth in 1940, 11th in 1945, 12th in 1941, 15th in 1939, 19th in 1943, 20th in 1942, and 26th in 1944
-batted .348/.408/.449 with 24 hits in 18 career World Series games
-collected three hits and drove in every Cub run in Game 1 of the 1938 World Series
-in Game 6 of the 1945 World Series, he became the first Cub ever to have four hits in a World Series game (he also drew two walks in the game)
-his .471 average in the 1938 World Series led all batters that year
-led the NL twice in singles and three times in times on base
-led NL third basemen in games in 1937 (150), 1938 (152), 1939 (156), 1940 (148), and 1941 (150)
-also played 47 games at first base, 58 as a pinch hitter, and nine as a pinch runner
-among MLB third basemen, ranks 20th in career games, 50th in double plays, 15th in putouts, and 25th in assists
-went 199-272 (.423) as a manager
Stan Hack would be an OK hall of famer. But he was obviously not worth 34 wins year. To even suggest that is kind of strange . I mean, you probably weren't actually saying he was worth 34 wins, but it could be taken that way, and that would be an absurd statement.
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't really what I was trying to imply with the statement. I know that teams go up and down throughout the years, but to go down that dramatically is statistically, you know, amazing. If Hack had stayed around a bit longer and still produced, it may have saved a couple games a year, but not 34 of them. I'll try to be more clear in the future. This week my history teacher also got on me for the same reason.
DeleteFirst I sound like your mother, now I sound like your history teacher. Sorry, that's not exactly what I'm going for.
DeleteDifferences between the 1945 Cubs and 1948 Cubs:
- Phil Cavaretta's batting average went from .355 to .278
-The batting averages of their double-play combinations went from .302/.239 to .261/.216
-Overall, the OPS+ of the batters went from 109 to 98
Actually, the big reason for the decline was that the Cubs' starting rotation went from very good to below average .In 1945, Hank Wyse won 22 games with a 2.68 ERA, Claude Passeau won 17 games with a 2.46 ERA, Paul Derringer won 16 games with a 3.45 ERA, Ray Prim won 13 games with a 2.40 ERA, and Hank Borowy was 11-2 with a 2.13 ERA.
Whereas in 1948, Johnny Schmitz did win 18 games with a 2.64 ERA, but then Russ Meyer (10-10, 3.66), Dutch McCall (4-13, 4.82), Ralph Hamner (5-9, 4.69), and Doyle Lade (5-6, 4.02).
Actually the departure of Hack probably didn't make any difference to the team. Though Hack was indeed very good, and hit .323 in 1945, Andy Pafko filled in and did just as well at 3rd in 1948, hitting .312 with 26 homers and 101 RBIs. Do your research, Damien :)
I have a few things to clear up. First of all, didn't I just get through saying that Hack wasn't worth 34 games per season? At any rate, Hack was indeed better in 1945 than Pafko was in 1948. I have two big reasons for saying so. First of all, Hack had a .420 OBP in 1945, which is significantly higher than Pafko's (still good) .375 mark three years later. Secondly, Hack fielded .975 in 1945, whereas Pafko fielded a lousy .938. That's a big difference! I know that this is not just on account of Hack's better season, but the 1945 Cubs, as a whole, fielded eight points better and had an OBP 27 points higher than they did in 1948. I also do not appreciate your last statement at all. I encourage you not to say stuff like that next time you comment. You know, you are not the only one who reads this blog. While this is frustrating, I hope that there are no hard feelings between us. Also, what does :) mean?
DeleteSorry-I guess I was just interested in breaking it down.
DeleteThere certainly aren't hard feelings on my part, now I'm just feeling a little embarrassed.
I apologize for not being very respectful. I think I'm still not used to arguing with someone who actually knows a lot too, after years of just arguing with my dad. So anyhow, sorry.
Pafko might not have been quite as good, but they were comparable in those seasons at least.