Asked to choose their poison, COG voters had no qualms about going Big! Paul “Big Poison” Waner was the clear favorite in winning election in the 93rd round of COG balloting. A Pirate mainstay starting from his 1926 rookie season, Waner would author a 3000-hit career highlighted by numerous franchise records, many of which still stand today.
More on Waner after the jump.
Waner started his career with a bang, leading the majors with 22 triples in his rookie season. It would be the first of 5 straight seasons with 15 three-baggers, the longest ever streak of such seasons, matched only by Goose Goslin, Elmer Flick, Sam Crawford and, going way back, Jake Beckley and Roger Connor. That was followed by 5 more seasons with double-digit triples totals, a streak of 10 such seasons exceeded only by Crawford and Ty Cobb. Equally impressive were Waner’s doubles totals, only once dropping below 30 (with 29 in 1935) in his first 14 seasons. Included were three 50 double seasons, exceeded only by the 5 such seasons by all-time doubles king Tris Speaker. Putting his doubles and triples together, Waner compiled 11 seasons of 50 extra-base hits that never included more than 15 home runs, a total of such seasons surpassed only by Speaker and Cobb. Those two are also the only players to exceed Waner’s total of 7 qualified .300/.400/.500 seasons with 15 or fewer homers.
Waner’s major career milestones include 3000 hits, 600 doubles, 1500 runs, 1200 RBI and 1000 walks, markers of which only 9 other players can boast, none of whom were Waner’s contemporaries. Waner is also one of only 7 players to maintain a .400 OBP over a 10,000 PA career. Waner’s 8 seasons of 200 hits were tied with Willie Keeler for the NL record until surpassed by Pete Rose. Waner’s 13 consecutive 175 hit seasons have been exceeded only by Rose and Stan Musial.
Waner’s career total of 72.8 WAR ranks fourth all-time among outfielders with fewer than 150 home runs. Among outfielders who also had fewer than 150 stolen bases, Waner is the all-time WAR leader, far ahead of all challengers with 59% more career WAR than second place Heinie Manush. Among all players with fewer than 150 home runs and stolen bases, Waner is in a virtual tie in career WAR with Arky Vaughan with those two trailing only Wade Boggs‘ total of 91.1 WAR. However, both Boggs and, especially, Vaughan have their WAR totals buttressed by positive Rpos scores while Waner is docked more than 100 runs as an outfielder. Thus, Waner’s Rbat score is more than one-third higher than Vaughan’s and 12% more than Boggs’. Lacking home run power, speed and noteworthy defense, Waner can perhaps be criticized as a one-dimensional player. However, a credible case can be made that he excelled at that one dimension better than any comparable player.
