WHY I THINK RIGGS STEPHENSON SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK RIGGS STEPHENSON SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Riggs Stephenson was one of the greatest hitters of all time, with his claim to fame being his robust .336 lifetime batting average, the 26th highest mark of all time. Everything about Stephenson’s offense was fantastic. He rarely ever struck out, collected extra-base hits with remarkable consistency, drew a lot of walks, produced a lot of runs, exhibited fine bunting skills, and was good for a .329 average at the age of 35. He was primarily an outfielder, but he also played second base and third base, finishing with an overall fielding percentage that was above the league average. In college, he was one of the greatest college football players in the country, but he suffered a shoulder injury that ended his career as a quarterback and limited his throwing abilities. Even with the injury, Stephenson led NL leftfielders in double plays and assists in 1927. Riggs Stephenson started his career with the Cleveland Indians in 1921 with a .330 mark in 65 games. Stephenson came to the Cubs in 1926 and became a regular in 1927. He had previously batted .338 across 414 career games, and was finally given a shot to hit every day. In his first full season, Stephenson batted .344 and led the NL with 46 doubles. From 1927 through 1930, Stephenson batted no less than .319 across a full season and topped the .360 mark twice. He displayed great power in 1929 with 17 home runs (compared with only 21 strikeouts) and 110 RBI’s. The Cubs made it to the World Series that season, but despite Stephenson’s .316 mark, they were beaten by the Philadelphia Athletics in five games. In 1931, his age 33 season, Stephenson broke his ankle in July, limiting what would have been a great season to only 80 games. He came back in 1932 with one last great season, finishing fifth in the NL MVP Award voting and helping the Cubs return to the World Series. They were beaten again, this time by the Yankees, but Stephenson batted a .444 with eight hits and four RBI’s in the four game Series. In 1933, Stephenson batted .329 across 97 games but ended his career on a bad note. He went 16-for-74 that season before he was released. Riggs Stephenson was one of the most consistent hitters of all time. I could praise his other skills for hours on end, but the bottom line is that he hit .336, and to keep a .336 lifetime hitter out of the Hall of Fame is always a very bad choice. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,310 season high: 152 in 1927 

At Bats career: 4,508 season high: 579 in 1927 

Hits career: 1,515 season high: 199 in 1927 

Doubles career: 321 season high: 49 in 1932 led NL: 46 in 1927 

Triples career: 54 season high: 9 in 1927 and 1928 

Home Runs career: 63 season high: 17 in 1929 

Runs career: 714 season high: 101 in 1927 

Runs Batted In career: 773 season high: 110 in 1929 

Stolen Bases career: 53 season high: 10 in 1929 

Walks career: 494 season high: 68 in 1928 

Strikeouts career: 247 season high: 29 in 1928 

Batting Average career: .336 season high (minimum of 100 games): .367 in 1930 

On Base Percentage career: .407 season high: .445 in 1929 

Slugging Percentage career: .473 season high: .562 in 1929 

Total Bases career: 2,133 season high: 284 in 1927 

Sacrifice Hits career: 91 season high: 18 in 1927 

Fielding Percentage career: .969 season high: .984 in 1929 and 1932 led NL LF: .985 in 1929 

Double Plays career: 137 season high: 49 in 1923 led AL LF: 5 in 1927 

Putouts career: 2,289 season high: 309 in 1927 led NL LF: 267 in 1928 

Assists career: 761 season high: 216 in 1923 led NL LF: 16 in 1927 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Old Hoss” and “Warhorse” 

-has the highest career batting average of any NL player who never won the NL batting title 

-went 2-for-4 with an RBI on his MLB debut 

-also finished 20th in the NL MVP Award voting in 1927 and 23rd in 1929 

-led the MLB with ten intentional walks in 1929 

-in 1929, he (110), Hack Wilson (159), and Kiki Cuyler (102) all drove in over 100 runs in 1929, marking the only time in NL history that a team had three outfielders do so 

-hit 20 or more doubles eight times, over 30 four times, and over 40 twice 

-hit three home runs off of Hall of Famer Jesse Haines and one each off of Dazzy Vance, Jack Quinn, Dolf Luque, Carl Mays, Carl Hubbell, Herb Pennock, Waite Hoyt, and Dizzy Dean 

-also ranks 47th in career on base percentage 

-among MLB leftfielders, ranks 44th in career double plays 

-was used as a pinch hitter 157 times and as a pinch runner eight times 

-was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1971 (he was born in Alabama) 

-has been described as “The greatest major league baseball player who is NOT in the Hall of Fame!”