Stats and Ranks
Some Interesting Stats and Facts
- .398 average, .465 OBP and 254 hits are the highest for a Phillies’ hitter since 1900
- His 254 hits are the 3rd most all-time (Ichiro, 2004 and Sisler, 1920)
- Only player in MLB history with a .450 OBP, 250 hits and 150 runs in a single season
- One of 5 players to hit .390 with the power to hit 30 HR and drive in 120 RBI. The others are Babe Ruth (1923), Ted Williams (1941), Rogers Hornsby (1922, 1925) and Babe Herman (1930).
Why He’s Here
O’Doul is the closest a Phillies’ player has come to hitting .400 since 1900, and had the 3rd most hits in MLB history. Unlike the man atop the all-time single season hits list, O’Doul didn’t do it with slap singles and drag bunts, he did it with power. When Ichiro broke the hits record in 2004, he had only 37 extra base hits the entire year. When O’Doul hit .398 in 1929, he had 73 extra base hits, including 32 home runs. He got walks as well, with 76 on the year, leading to his ridiculous .465 OBP. He was the total package, which showed in his 1.087 OPS, the 2nd highest in Phillies history.
So why isn’t O’Doul higher on the list? You could certainly make the argument based on the raw numbers. However, like Chuck Klein, O’Doul played 1929 in the Baker Bowl, a notorious hitter’s park. Add to this the 1929 NL was a hitter’s league (8 batters over 1.000 OPS) and you can see that his numbers were a bit inflated by his situation. This is shown in the stat Adjusted OPS+, which accounts for ball park and time frame. O’Doul’s was 160, tied for 19th all-time in Phillies history.
That being said, I don’t care if you played on the moon, .398/.465/.622 is no joke – and O’Doul certainly deserves a spot on this list with one of the most prolific offensive seasons in team history.
#14 – Brad Lidge, 2008
#15 – Chris Short, 1964
#16 – John Denny, 1983
#17 – Tug McGraw, 1980
#18 – Greg Luzinksi, 1977
#19 – Gavvy Cravath, 1913
#20 – Lenny Dykstra, 1993
Five pitchers that just missed (and criteria for rankings)
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Lefty was a relief pitcher whose arm went bad before learning to hit, and won 2 NL batting titles before it was over. Managed a long time in the minors after his career, including Joe DiMaggio. Helped popularize baseball in Japan, and was named to the Japanese Hall of Fame. 29 Phils finished 27 behind the Cubs. That’s with both Lefty and Chuck Klein. Incredible. Those factoids are all from Wikipedia.