Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Fame Shortstop and career Dodger Harold Peter Henry “Pee Wee” Reese. He is best remembered as one of the first players to embrace Jackie Robinson as his teammate.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1940-42;46-58):

.269 BA, 2,170 HITS, 126 HR, 885 RBI, 1,338 RUNS, .366 OBP

• 10x All-Star

• 1955 World Series Champion

Pee Wee Reese was that player you could always count on being in the lineup daily; besides the three years he missed due to WWII, Reese played 140 or more games almost every year. Over his sixteen-year career, he was mainly a leadoff hitter, averaging 166 Hits per year while drawing more walks than strikeouts. While he only stole 252 bases in his career, that was when stealing bases wasn’t integral to the game. However, career Reese averaged 100 Runs yearly on a 162-game pace. In the field, he had an excellent reputation as a great defensive Shortstop, leading NL shortstops in Putouts four times and is in the top-10 all-time in both putouts and double plays. The best part of his career was winning the 1955 World Series, in which he hit .296 in that series against the Yankees.

A couple of things to consider regarding Reese: First, he missed three years in his prime due to WWII. Second, historically, especially during his career, Shortstops leading the league in offensive categories or having cumulative statistics is rarer than other positions. Ultimately, being a great defensive Shortstop, Reese has excellent durability and is a great leadoff hitter who averages 100 Runs a year. It sounds like a great package to have.

References:

1. Pee Wee Reese Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/reesepe01.shtml

2. Pee Wee Reese via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pee_Wee_Reese#