All of these players are well known singles hitters. But, among all power-starved batters to play their entire careers since 1901, what career accomplishment distinguishes these retired players?
Player ▴ |
---|
Burt Shotton |
Clyde Milan |
Donie Bush |
Eddie Foster |
Horace Clarke |
Johnny Evers |
Larry Bowa |
Luis Castillo |
Maury Wills |
Miller Huggins |
Otis Nixon |
Bonus: Who is the one active player on pace to join this group?
Howard got the bonus question, and Richard Chester was most of the way there with the solution. But they didn’t quite put all the pieces together. The solution is after the jump.
The quiz players are the only batters to play their entire careers since 1901 and compile 1500 total bases, with a Hit total exceeding 80% of total bases, and with more steals than doubles. More than half of these players played all or most of their careers in the dead ball era, and the remainder have played all or most of their careers in the past 50 years. It is indeed a rare breed of hitter who can make a significant career out of singles and stolen bases. Here are those careers, including Juan Pierre, the only active player currently in this group.
Rk | Player | TB ▾ | SB | 2B | H | From | To | Age | G | PA | AB | R | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | Pos | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Juan Pierre | 2714 | 614 | 255 | 2217 | 2000 | 2013 | 22-35 | 1994 | 8280 | 7525 | 1075 | 94 | 18 | 517 | 464 | 479 | .295 | .343 | .361 | .704 | *87H/D |
2 | Larry Bowa | 2696 | 318 | 262 | 2191 | 1970 | 1985 | 24-39 | 2247 | 9109 | 8418 | 987 | 99 | 15 | 525 | 474 | 569 | .260 | .300 | .320 | .620 | *6/H4 |
3 | Clyde Milan | 2601 | 495 | 240 | 2100 | 1907 | 1922 | 20-35 | 1982 | 8318 | 7359 | 1004 | 105 | 17 | 617 | 685 | 404 | .285 | .353 | .353 | .706 | *87/9H |
4 | Maury Wills | 2513 | 586 | 177 | 2134 | 1959 | 1972 | 26-39 | 1942 | 8306 | 7588 | 1067 | 71 | 20 | 458 | 552 | 684 | .281 | .330 | .331 | .661 | *65/H4 |
5 | Luis Castillo | 2285 | 370 | 194 | 1889 | 1996 | 2010 | 20-34 | 1720 | 7471 | 6510 | 1001 | 59 | 28 | 443 | 800 | 850 | .290 | .368 | .351 | .719 | *4/H |
6 | Donie Bush | 2165 | 406 | 186 | 1804 | 1908 | 1923 | 20-35 | 1948 | 8750 | 7210 | 1280 | 74 | 9 | 436 | 1158 | 630 | .250 | .356 | .300 | .656 | *6/54H |
7 | Johnny Evers | 2051 | 324 | 216 | 1659 | 1902 | 1929 | 20-47 | 1784 | 7210 | 6137 | 919 | 70 | 12 | 538 | 778 | 293 | .270 | .356 | .334 | .690 | *4/569 |
8 | Eddie Foster | 1841 | 195 | 191 | 1490 | 1910 | 1923 | 23-36 | 1500 | 6325 | 5652 | 732 | 71 | 6 | 451 | 528 | 316 | .264 | .329 | .326 | .655 | *54/H6 |
9 | Miller Huggins | 1747 | 324 | 146 | 1474 | 1904 | 1916 | 26-38 | 1586 | 6799 | 5558 | 948 | 50 | 9 | 318 | 1003 | 556 | .265 | .382 | .314 | .696 | *4/5 |
10 | Burt Shotton | 1649 | 293 | 154 | 1338 | 1909 | 1923 | 24-38 | 1387 | 5745 | 4945 | 747 | 65 | 9 | 290 | 713 | 530 | .271 | .365 | .333 | .698 | 87/H9 |
11 | Otis Nixon | 1608 | 620 | 142 | 1379 | 1983 | 1999 | 24-40 | 1709 | 5800 | 5115 | 878 | 27 | 11 | 318 | 585 | 694 | .270 | .343 | .314 | .658 | *87H/9D6 |
12 | Horace Clarke | 1507 | 151 | 150 | 1230 | 1965 | 1974 | 25-34 | 1272 | 5242 | 4813 | 548 | 23 | 27 | 304 | 365 | 362 | .256 | .308 | .313 | .621 | *4H/65D |