Note: The #12 and #13 spot will be used to represent 2 tremendous seasons from the 1890′s: Ed Delahanty in 1895 and Billy Hamilton in 1894. I didn’t want to go prior to 1900 (due to the differences in the game), but these both changed my mind.
Stats and Ranks
Note: MLB and Phillies all-time Ranks are for players from 1890 on
Some Interesting Stats and Facts (all MLB all-time ranks are from 1890-2009)
- One of only 10 players in MLB history to have a .500 OBP for an entire season
- One of only 5 players in MLB history with a .400 BA and .500 OBP
- One of only 4 players in MLB history with a .400 BA, .500 OBP and .600 SLG
- 6th most single-season runs in Phillies history… in a 116-game season. On pace to score 208 runs in a 162 game season.
- One of 2 Phillies players with 140+ runs and 45+ SB in a season (Billy Hamilton)
- 2nd highest single-season OBP in Phillies history, 5th highest BA, 12th highest SLG%, 3rd highest OPS
- One of only 5 seasons in MLB history with a .400 BA, 100+ RBI and 45 SB
- Died falling down Niagara Falls (full story below)
Why He’s Here
This season would most definitely be in the top-5 if not for how differently the game was played prior to 1900. However, regardless of how is was played, there is little denying the fact that Ed Delahanty was the best offensive talent in all of baseball from 1890-1899. The hardest part about this post was picking which season I should use for Delahanty. All the previous seasons on this list had one standout, but as we move forward there will be several players with several to choose from. For Delahanty, he was undeniably the best player in baseball in 1893, 1895, 1896, 1898 and 1899. I settled on 1895 because of the uniqueness of his .500 OBP that season, but I could have easily picked ’93 or ’96 (when he led the majors in HR and RBI as well) or ’99 (when he had 55 doubles to go along with a league leading 137 RBI and .410 BA). You could make an argument for any of these seasons, but for me, the single most impressive number occurred in 1895, so I went with that.
It’s not strange to me that Delahanty doesn’t get more recognition in Philly (like a retired jersey, for instance) because of how long ago he played, but I feel like he should get more than he does. Consider this list of the best offensive players of each decade (up for debate of course, particularly the 60′s, 70′s and 80′s):
2000′s: Albert Pujols
1990′s: Barry Bonds
1980′s: Mike Schmidt
1970′s: Willie Stargell
1960′s: Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays
1950′s: Stan Musial
1940′s: Ted Williams
1930′s: Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig
1920′s: Babe Ruth
1910′s: Ty Cobb
1900′s: Honus Wagner
1890′s: Ed Delahanty
Every single one of those players is an iconic figure in their franchises history except Delahanty, who you will rarely hear mentioned. Here are Delahanty’s ranks among all players from 1890-1899:
Hits – 1st
Doubles – 1st (by 102)
SLG % – 1st
OPS – 1st
OPS+ – 1st
Extra-Base Hits – 1st (by 104)
Total Bases – 1st (by 184)
Triples – 2nd
Home Runs – 2nd
RBI – 2nd
Runs – 3rd
BA – 4th
Stolen Bases – 13th
OBP – 9th
One reason he might not have the long-term recognition is Philadelphia is that he was kind of a drunk and a gambler (though you’d think that might have endeared him to Philadelphia, but that’s another matter) who met one of the strangest demises in baseball history. Here are the facts as I can gather them (or as much as you can call something a “fact” when it happened 107 years ago and you are researching it on the internet).
In 1903, Delahanty was 35 and playing for Senators. He didn’t want to play baseball anymore (due to personal problems, including gambling debts so large he often threatened to kill himself). He hopped on a train from Detroit to New York, drank too much, and was kicked off somewhere in Canada after he tried to pull a sleeping woman out of her bed by the ankles. A watchmen found him wandering around a bridge near Niagara Falls awhile attempting to subdue him, the impaired Delahanty fell into the river. Guess where that river led? 7 days later, they found his body at the bottom of the Falls.
But we aren’t done yet, folks!
Ed’s brother, upon identifying the body, wondered how Ed’s tie and some of his clothes could remain unharmed, but his diamond tie clip and rings were missing. To add to the mystery, a local farmer washed ashore on the river near that same bridge, missing $1,500 he had been carrying. Did the watchmen take advantage of the drunk Delahanty, taking his valuables and dumping him in the river? They didn’t exactly have CSI back then to figure this stuff out, so while that was always the brother’s claim, nothing came of it.
So there you have it. Ed Delahanty: The greatest hitters of the 1890′s, and the 13th greatest individual season in Phillies history, met his demise by plummeting down Niagara Falls.
Previous Top-20 Seasons
14. Curt Schilling, 1997
15. Lefty O’Doul, 1929
16. Brad Lidge, 2008
17. Chris Short, 1964
18. John Denny, 1983
19. Tug McGraw, 1980
20. Greg Luzinski, 1977
21. Gavvy Cravath, 1913
22. Lenny Dykstra, 1993
Five pitchers that just missed (and criteria for rankings)
Great story. He would have fit in great on the ’93 team- the missing piece they needed. Just would have worried about the Series games played in Toronto (only 1hrs from the Falls- was there last month.)
it seems like every old timey player has a crazy story about them. this is one of the “better” ones though.
Unbelievable! Thanks for sharing this brief recap of the rise and fall of the greatest Phillies player I’ve never heard of.
The first time I heard of Ed Delahanty, and the only reference prior to this, was when Schmidt hit 4 homers against the Cubs at Wrigley, matching Delahanty’s record. Maybe before that, but same 4 homer reference point. So it was quite interesting to read the story, and of course seemingly typical of the old time players to find their lives so troubled. Even in that troubled lane, an extreme way to go.
In reading more, I ran across this tidbit…
<<The 1894 Phillies outfield featuring Delahanty was probably the most amazing collection of hitters assembled, with all four players averaging over .400. That season, Delahanty hit .407, Sam Thompson batted .407, Billy Hamilton .404 and spare outfielder Tuck Turner finished second to Hugh Duffy in hitting at .416.>>
The Hall of Fame was started in 1936, and the first class, including Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, was selected by the BBWAA. Delahanty was elected in 1945, and that was by the Veteran’s Committee which considering his excellent record is intruiging. So when a guy like Robbie Alomar doen’t get in 1st ballot, there is a tremendous amount of precedence, although I can’t sit here and draw exact parallels between them all.
Not about th Phils, just a (lengthy) read on a character of the game.
I’ve always felt the 1 baseball record most likely never to be broken was Johnny Vandermeer’s 2 no hitters in a row.
Here’s another possibility.
http://prestonjg.wordpress.com/2010/01/13/forget-joe-dimaggios-hitting-streak-billy-parker-has-a-baseball-record-that-will-never-be-broken/
Pete are you a Red Sox fan ? Babe Ruth is maybe the best player in baseball for 2 decades and Ted Williams is the best player in baseball for 2 decades ? In the 50′s I’d think he’d have to share the crown
In the 1950′s Roy Campanella won the MVP 3 times. Yogi Berra 3 times, Ernie Banks 2x, Mickey Mantel 2x.
Ted Williams zero.
MD -
The MVP award was BS back in the day and RIDICULOUSLY bias towards Yankees. Williams LOST the MVP to DiMaggio in 1941 when he hit .406 AND led the league in HR AND led DiMaggio in EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY except DiMaggio had 5 more RBI.
From 1950-1959, Williams OPS was 1.098, 2nd best was Mantle, a full 104 points behind him. His HR and RBI stats were behind the rest because he missed 2 seasons with injury. His OBP was .476, 45 points higher than 2nd. And his SLG% was .622, 32 points higher than 2nd place, Willie Mays.
You could make the argument for other players based on the fact that they didn’t miss time, which is fine. But the best player, when he played, was undoubtedly Williams.
Here’s a potential problem with calling Teddy Ballgame the best players of the 1950s.
Games played…
1950 89
1952 6
1953 37
1955 98
1959 103
better, but still iffy
1954 117
1956 136
1957 132
1958 129
In 1951, he playd 148 games. Those are all out of a potential 154 per year.
So at most, he played 4 years in the 50s where he would not repel voters for having missed a good number of games.
The best player of the 1950s was Willie Mays. Power, speed, and defense.
Found a couple things of interest.
First, an article from Yahoo’s baseball blog, Big League Stew, dated Thursday, Jan 7th:
Don’t know why my previuos post formatted that way. Just to be clear, the italicized portions are taken directly from the articles I mentioned. The non-italicized print is my comments.
damnit – alright, I’m wrong on the Williams thing – didn’t realize he played so few games. But PER GAME, he was the best!
Possible best players for the 50′s: Mantle, Musial, Mays with Berra coming in 4th
Changed it to Musial – could have been Mantle or Mays though
bski-
they hate the DH? or they hate the rule change?
Pete,
I read it to mean that they hate the DH. I could see the owners and the GMs hating it, but most of the players? That surprises me. I hope it’s true, though. I also hope the wheels are in motion and it’s only a matter of when, not if, it will be eliminated.
speaking of DH’s, is anyone going to sign Jim Thome?
and speaking of Thome, here is the updated All-Time HR list, with known steroid/HGH users removed…
surprises me too on the players – no DH’s spots means less high-paying jobs.
David Murphy posted this a couple hours ago (I just found it):
Early in the offseason, the Phillies did not anticipate Brad Lidge needing surgery on right knee, which bothered him early last season and forced him to spend some time in the disabled list. That apparently changed, as Lidge underwent arthroscopic surgery on the (right) knee yesterday, according to a press release issued by the team.
The surgery is Lidge’s second of the offseason, although team trainer Scott Sheridan said in a statement that the procedure was unrelated to any previous ones that the closer has undergone. Lidge had arthroscopic surgery to remove bone fragments from his right elbow earlier this offseason. Prior to the 2008 season, he had two arthroscopic procedures on his knee.
In yesterday’s surgery, Lidge had loose bodies removed from the knee and a portion of his meniscus removed (“debridement,” in medical terms).
The Phillies said that Lidge is expected to begin a throwing program in 10 days. He could miss Opening Day, but Sheridan said he isn’t expected to be sidelined much longer than that.
At this point, it looks like the Phillies face the very real possibility of entering the regular season without Lidge or left-handed set-up man J.C. Romero. Romero is expected to miss at least the first week or two of the season, but should by back with the team by the start of May.
As expected, I was concerned about this development. Then I read this from Matt Gelb (filling in for Andy Martino), which was posted about an hour ago:
Just got off the phone with Rex Gary, who represents Phillies closer Brad Lidge, and he said Lidge is feeling “great” after arthroscopic knee surgery on Wednesday.
“There’s every reason to expect this procedure took care of what was bothering him in his knee,” Gary said. “It was relatively minor.”
Gary said the pain in the right knee, which caused Lidge to spend a stint on the disabled list during the season, only became a problem again in recent weeks during Lidge’s offseason workouts.
“It flared up on him this offseason,” Gary said. “It was increasingly affecting his workouts to a point where he, along with the Phillies, decided it should get checked out. It was increasing discomfort. They brought him in quickly, took a look at him, and the procedure was relatively simple and relatively minor. They cleaned it out a little bit. There were some fragments causing his discomfort. The end result is that everyone is pretty upbeat.”
Gary said Lidge will resume throwing in a week or two. Whether or not Lidge is healthy enough for Opening Day remains to be seen, but Gary said it wouldn’t be the end of the world. The last time Lidge missed Opening Day, in 2008, he had one of the greatest seasons for a relief pitcher ever.
“Ideally, in a perfect world, he’s ready for Opening Day,” Gary said. “But he had a pretty good season two years ago when his season started a few weeks late.”
Even though the only time Lidge has problems is when he is throwing, I think I’m supposed to be relieved that this was discovered, and corrected, now. I’m think I’m also supposed to believe that Lidge will be at 100% and ready to perform at his 2008 level. Problem is, I’m not and I don’t.
Quite the contrary. Couple this with Romero, who should be back by the beginning of May (and then what ?!?), and my concern continues to grow.
Pete:
First off, great write-up on Delahanty.
Secondly, bski sharing his concern with the Phils made me want to share mine: the San Francisco Giants.
We know about their pitching. Here’s their projected lineup for 2010:
Rowand
DeRosa
Freddy Sanchez
Sandoval
Aubrey Huff
Renteria
Nate Schierholtz
Buster Posey
Do you think that’s enough to get into the playoffs? It seems like they’re the most improved of the NL West teams and what they’ve done might just be enough. They’re gangbusters at home. And with Lincecum and Cain, no team has a better 1-2 except for maybe Seattle. Any thoughts? Who are your early postseason favorites?
Todd Zolecki has some additional info on Lidge’s surgery, which is Ruben Amaro’s point of view:
Here is what Ruben Amaro Jr. said before he hopped on a plane this afternoon: “He was working out this offseason, continuing his rehab on his elbow. His elbow is doing extremely well. We’re very encouraged by that. He had some discomfort in his right knee during the course of those workouts, so we decided to take a look at it.”
Lidge had a MRI. Amaro said the Phillies decided to do “expoloratory surgery on the knee.” He said Ciccotti found nothing dramatic inside it. He said he trimmed some cartilage and took out a loose body or two.
“It was not a particularly invasive procedure,” Amaro said. “We think
the recovery time is two to three weeks. He should be throwing a baseball shortly. For us it really doesn’t dramatically change the start time on his clock. We’re not sure if he’ll be ready by Opening Day. Again, if it’s just after Opening Day that’s fine. As long as he’s 100 percent healthy that’s the goal. But if he’s not available by Opening Day, he’ll be available soon thereafter.”
This makes me feel a little better about the whole thing, but still…….. Even though medical advances continue to make all these orthopedic procedures less invasive, less damaging, more successful, more routine, etc…I just can’t make myself view them as many do, like it’s not much more than having your toenails trimmed. That’s especially true for a guy like Lidge, for whom the surgeries are mounting (as are the years).
bski-
forget where I heard this quote, but I liked it: “minor surgery is surgery that’s not happening to you.”
Zach:
Oh man – don’t tempt me. Once I get started on my preseason predictions, I pretty much shut down completely.
Right now? Just perusing the depth charts, here is how I would predict the playoffs….
NL East: Phillies
NL Central: Brewers
NL West: D-Backs
Wild Card: Rockies
AL East: Red Sox
AL Central: Twins
AL West: Mariners
Wild Card: Yankees
The only teams on there I can Guarantee I won’t change are PHI, BOS and NYY. Obviously the DBacks and Brewers are somewhat surprising.
Reason why I didn’t pick the Giants (though I might later): They strike me as a team who is expected to make a huge jump, when they probably should only be expected to make a slight jump. They made some OK acquisitions, but their only big threat in that line-up is still Kung-Fu Panda, and they lack bullpen depth and a good closer.
I’m sure I’ll reconsider as the season gets closer, anyone but San Diego could win that division.
I picked the D-Backs, cause their top 2 (Haren and Webb) could be just as good, if not better than the Giants duo. They also got Edwin Jackson as their #3 now, and their offense has the potential to be greatly improved (potential break-out of Justin Upton, Conor Jackson returns, Adam LaRoche signed, Chris Young HAS to be better). They also improved their bullpen with Howry and Heilman.
Baseball talk is heating up, judging by the number of posts popping up. And they said Ed Delahanty was dead. Look at the life he has brought to the board.
Just to chime in on the spectrum of subjects covered in no particular order…
I think Zack is on a good track with the Giants, but I don’t believe they are the faves in that division. I agree with Pete on the Diamondbacks. The addition of Edwin Jackson, potential return to an effective level of Brandon Webb, and presence of Dan Haren makes for what figures more likely than not to be an excellent front of the rotation. It will be interesting to see what 3B Mark Reynolds does this year. Mike Schmidt struck out a lot early on, Reynolds is a helluva hitter if he can master it to supplement his power. As far as Lincecum and Cain being unmatched except by Seattle, that sounds a little prejudicial pro Cliff Lee to me. Carpenter and Wainright, Halladay and Hamels, CC and Burnett, Beckett and Lackey or Bucholz are all 1-2 combos that are worthy competition. Not to mention the Dback tandem of Webb and Haren. Now if I had to pick one, I’m okay with the Felix-Cliff choice, but they are not a lock. Let’s not forget, Cliff has had some inconsistencies during most of his standout years, including the end of the regular season last year.
No rush, Pete, but I’ll look forward to why the Brewers are the pick over the Cards in the coming weeks.
The 2 places I have heard mentioned for Thome are the A’s and White Sox. Not real hot rumors though.
On Japan. I’m most intruiged by Bski’s saying when the dh is eliminated. Man, the union is going to be sold something extraordinarily sweet to give that up. It is surprising to read tht most players hate it, but John Heyman is a good reporter.
Now. Best of the 50s. We didn’t include the Flamingos, Harptones, or Jive 5 in there, but Pete is right that on a per game basis, Teddy Ballgame is a great choice. The problem with thinking Musial is you stay on the same track. Offense. And its not like Stan was a bad defender, but when you consider the whole package, speed and defense, ain’t no say like the say hey kid. And I might add that Hank Aaron is never ever in discussions of the greatest. That’s what happens when you only hit 40 per year. You just total out as the best, but nothing superlative negates the headlines of a Willie basket catch.
Just some general reactions.
Good news.
The Tigers inked Jose Valverde. His name was thrown around early on when the discussion was bullpen improvement. The good news is that although he was way out of the Cardinal price range, thank you Matt Holliday, there were still some rumblings of him going there.
Its good news because it puts pressure on Ryan Franklin to pitch like he did until September for the Redbirds.
And we’re not playing the Tigers in October. Maybe the Hiroshima Tigers in November some year, but not the Motown Tigers this one.
Granted their is not solid enough career #’s & he only played on 2 teams that finished better than .500 but Von Hayes 1986 season has to be mentioned.Don’t make excuses for Schilling’s masterpiece in ’97 suffering for being on a bad team…if he wouldn’t have gotten ch rings in 2 other places besides TCOBL would he be on the list?
I had heard of Delahanty, his great batting average, his mysterious death in 1903. However, I never realized he played for Philadelphia. You’re right– he’d have fit in perfectly on the ’93 team. As it stands, he’s one of the few hitters from before the Modern Era I take seriously.