Happy Birthday to the late and great, Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. Playing 21 seasons in the dead-ball era, mostly at Shortstop, Wagner established himself as the most outstanding player in his position, as well as one of the best players of his era and of all time. In the late 1800s, Wagner played for the former Louisville Colonels, and then from 1900, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the remainder of his career.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1897-1917):

.328 BA 3,420 HITS 101 HR 1,732 RBI 1,739 RUNS .391 OBP

  • 1909 World Series Champion

As a Hitter

For those who don’t understand the way guys played in the Dead Ball Era, you’d think only 101 home runs. Nonetheless, Wagner, as a hitter, was ideal for that era. Wagner at the plate was a great all-around hitter. He had sixteen seasons in which he batted .300 or higher, and he led the league in batting eight times. In terms of Hits, Wagner averaged 198 a year for a career. Besides leading the league in OBP four times, Wagner had an OBP above .400 ten times in his career. Wagner had great plate discipline in his arsenal, recording more career Walks (963), than Strikeouts (735). His excellent speed and baserunning helped him as a hitter, all of his Hits weren’t just Singles, he ranks tenth all-time in Doubles (643), leading the league seven times. His 252 Triples rank 3rd all-time, recording double-digit Triples in a season thirteen times. His excellence as a baserunner resulted in him having 723 career stolen bases, 10th all-time, and leading in stolen bases and runs, scoring multiple times. While Home Runs were scarce during his career, Wagner was one of the best sluggers of his time, leading the league in RBIs four times, as well as driving in 100 or more nine times.

As a Defender

Wagner had the athleticism to play Shortstop. Playing a total of 1,887 Games and 16,701 Innings, Wagner’s .940 Fielding Percentage was .13 above the league average throughout his career. He recorded 766 Double Plays, 6,041 Assists, and 4,576 Putouts, which is 4th all-time at his position. Also worthy of note, Wagner played over 1,000 Innings at First Base, Third Base, and in the Outfield.

Best Years

Wagner is one of those few players with more than eight years of what I’d consider “Hall of Fame Years.” Below are the eight best years of his career. Those years saw Wagner leading the league multiple times in Batting Average, RBIs, Doubles, Triples, and Stolen Bases. If I had to identify his best season, I would say his 1900 campaign was his best, having career highs in Hits, AVG, Doubles, Triples, and OBP.

Best Years

1899: .341 BA 196 HITS 7 HR 114 RBI 100 RUNS .395 OBP 45 2B 13 3B 37 SB (148 Games)

1900: .381 BA 201 HITS 4 HR 100 RBI 107 RUNS .434 OBP 45 2B 22 3B 38 SB (135 Games)

1901: .353 BA 194 HITS 6 HR 126 RBI 101 RUNS .417 OBP 37 2B 11 3B 49 SB (140 Games)

1903: .355 BA 182 HITS 5 HR 101 RBI 97 RUNS .414 OBP 30 2B 19 3B 46 SB (129 Games)

1904: .349 BA 171 HITS 4 HR 75 RBI 97 RUNS .423 OBP 44 2B 14 3B 53 SB (132 Games)

1905: .363 BA 199 HITS 6 HR 101 RBI 114 RUNS .427 OBP 32 2B 14 3B 61 SB (147 Games)

1908: .354 BA 201 HITS 10 HR 109 RBI 100 RUNS .415 OBP 39 2B 19 3B 53 SB (151 Games)

1909: .339 BA 168 HITS 5 HR 100 RBI  92 RUNS .420 OBP 39 2B 10 3B 35 SB (137 Games)

Legacy

To me, there are great ballplayers, but then there are IMMORTALS, which is where I would put Wagner. Not only did he get the job done defensively, but at Shortstop, he is by far the greatest offensive producer at his position. Wagner is top-10 all-time in Hits, Doubles, Triples, and Stolen Bases. It’s very likely that had Wagner played an easier defensive position; his offensive numbers would’ve been even more eye-popping. Obviously, Ty Cobb was the greatest player during the Dead Ball Era, but Wagner to me has gotta be behind Cobb, when you factor in that he put up all those numbers at Shortstop. The highlight of his career was in 1909, when he and the Pirates won their first championship. So there is no argument on who the greatest Shortstop of all-time is. In 1936, Wagner was among the first five to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with Ruth, Cobb, Johnson, and Matthewson. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Wagner #13 on their list of 100 Greatest Players.

References:

  1. Honus Wagner via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honus_Wagner#
  2. Honus Wagner Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wagneho01.shtml