WHY I THINK GENE TENACE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK GENE TENACE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Even though I title each of my articles this way, I do not believe that every player who I advocate positively belongs in the Hall of Fame. For example, I wrote this article at the request of a friend. While I wouldn’t vote for him to be in, I can see that he was a very impressive player. I would classify him as a catcher, but he played 627 games at first base, compared with 893 behind the plate, and never caught more than 126 in a season. He was a solid defensive catcher with a rather peculiar slash line of .241/.388/.429, as he wasn’t a consistent hitter but he had power and walked a lot. He was a vital part of the World Champion A‘s of 1972-74 and of the Cardinals in 1982. Gene Tenace began his career with the A’s in the summer of 1969, for a 16 game trial. He played no more than 82 games in a season until 1973. That season Tenace hit 24 homers and walked 101 times and established himself as an everyday player in the Oakland lineup. In 1974, Tenace batted just .211, but his 26 homers and league leading 110 walks helped him to a healthy .778 OPS. In 1975, Tenace made his only AL all-star team as a first baseman. He was dealt to the Padres before the 1977 season and he was immediately appreciated in San Diego, as he led the Majors in walks (125) and hit by pitch (13) for an OBP of .415, a career high. Tenace had perhaps his best season in 1979, when he batted .263/.403/.445 with 20 homers and 67 RBI’s. He played two years with the Cardinals and one with the Pirates, working as a utilityman and pinch hitter for them in 1983. Gene Tenace was a good hitter, an important part of many postseason teams and World Series Champs, and an interesting baseball card (six seasons with 100+ hits and six with 100+ walks). I couldn’t vote for him on account of his low batting average and counting statistics, but he certainly was a valuable player in his prime. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,555 season high: 160 in 1973 

At Bats career: 4,390 season high: 510 in 1973 

Hits career: 1,060 season high: 132 in 1973 

Doubles career: 179 season high: 24 in 1977 

Triples career: 20 season high: 4 in 1977, 1978, and 1979 

Home Runs career: 201 season high: 29 in 1975 

Runs career: 653 season high: 83 in 1973 and 1975 

Runs Batted In career: 674 season high: 87 in 1975 

Stolen Bases career: 36 season high: 7 in 1975 

Walks career: 984 season high: 125 in 1977 led AL: 110 in 1974 led NL: 125 in 1977 

Strikeouts career: 998 season high: 127 in 1975 

Batting Average career: .241 season high: .263 in 1979 

On Base Percentage career: .388 season high: .415 in 1977 

Slugging Percentage career: .429 season high: .464 in 1975 

Total Bases career: 1,882 season high: 231 in 1975 

Sacrifice Hits career: 21 season high: 8 in 1973 

Fielding Percentage career: .989 season high: .993 in 1979 led NL C: .998 in 1979 

Double Plays career: 489 season high: 108 in 1973 

Putouts career: 8,731 season high: 1,218 in 1973 

Assists career: 743 season high: 112 in 1977 

Caught Stealing Percentage career: .360 season high: .475 in 1979 

Pickoffs career: 13 season high: 3 in 1972 and 1981 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Steamboat” 

-was the MVP of the 1972 World Series (.348 average, a record four homers, nine RBI’s), and his .913 slugging percentage set the record for a seven game Series 

-tied Babe Ruth’s record of 11 walks in the 1973 World Series 

-won the 1972 Babe Ruth Award 

-finished 18th in the AL MVP Award voting in both 1975 and 1976 

-was the AL Player of the month in September 1975 

-won two career Player of the Week awards 

-was the first player ever to homer in his first two World Series at bats 

-hit the last home run in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium 

-caught Vida Blue’s no-hitter on September 21, 1970 

-also played five games at second base, 17 at third base, 11 in the outfield, six as a DH, and eight as a pinch runner