Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby. In a career that lasted twenty-three seasons, Hornsby suited up for the St Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, and the St Louis Browns. Throughout his career, Hornsby established himself as not only one of the greatest Second Basemen of all time but perhaps as the greatest right-handed hitter of all time.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1915-1937)

.358 BA 2,930 HITS 301 HR 1,584 RBI .434 OBP 1,579 RUNS

  • 2x NL MVP (1925 & 1929)

As a Hitter

The prime years of his career started at the perfect time in which the Dead Ball Era was officially in the rearview mirror as the balls were changed. At the plate, Hornsby was an all-around hitter. Hornsby batted .300 or higher in a season 15 times, seven of which he won the Batting Title, and three of which he batted .400 or higher. Hornsby provided power at the plate, having multiple seasons leading the league in HR and RBI. Patience was also part of Hornsby’s approach, drawing more Walks in his career than Strikeouts by 300-plus. With the ability to hit for contact, power, and patience, Hornsby had ten seasons in which he recorded a .400 or higher OBP, leading the league nine times.

When it came to getting on base and running, Hornsby didn’t steal for a high number of bases. However, he was still a very good base runner. Besides leading the league in Runs scored multiple times, Hornsby had nine seasons in which he hit for Triples in the double digits, and for eleven years between 1916-27, Hornsby hit 30 Home Runs inside the ballpark.

As a Fielder

Early in his career, Hornsby was a Shortstop and played a bit of Third Base. He would go on to make an appearance at every fielding position except for Pitcher and Catcher at some point in his career. However, Second Base was where Hornsby would play for most of his career. After spending 13,642 Innings and 1,561 Games at Second, Hornsby compiled an above-average .965 Fielding Percentage. It is very likely that had Hornsby not played over 500 games between Shortstop and Third Base; he would have finished in the top 5 in Fielding categories like Putouts, Assists, and Double Plays at his position.

Best Years

Oh boy! Look at those years Hornsby had. Below are his eight best seasons.

1920: .370 BA 218 HITS   9 HR  94 RBI .431 OBP  96 RUNS (149 Games)

1921: .397 BA 235 HITS 21 HR 126 RBI .458 OBP 131 RUNS (154 Games)

1922: .401 BA 250 HITS 42 HR 152 RBI .459 OBP 141 RUNS (154 Games)

1924: .424 BA 227 HITS 25 HR 94 RBI .507 OBP 121 RUNS (143 Games)

1925: .403 BA 203 HITS 39 HR 143 RBI .489 OBP 133 RUNS (138 Games)

1927: .361 BA 205 HITS 26 HR 125 RBI .448 OBP 133 RUNS (155 Games)

1928: .387 BA 188 HITS 21 HR 94 RBI  .498 OBP  99 RUNS (140 Games)

1929: .380 BA 229 HITS 39 HR 149 RBI .459 OBP 156 RUNS (156 Games)

In all of those years, Hornsby hit no lower than .361; that’s just wild. He won the Triple Crown in 1922 and 1925; well, you can also say that he won the unofficial Quadruple Crown in 1922 as he also led the league in Hits. While his two MVP seasons were in 1925 and 1929, I would say his 1922 campaign was his best individual season. However, in 1924, he had career highs in Batting Average (.424) and On Base Percentage (.507), so if you want to make that his career year, go ahead.

Legacy

There’s no debate on who the greatest Second Baseman and Right Handed Hitter of all time is; it’s Mr. Hornsby. Between the Offensive Statistical categories: Runs, Hits, Doubles, Triples, Home Runs, Runs Batted In, Walks, Average, and On Base Percentage, Hornsby has 40 Black-Bold Face type on the back of his baseball card, which he led the league. Among Right-Handed Hitters, even if you don’t consider him the best, besides Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, or Jimmie Foxx, I don’t think there is another Right-Handed Hitter on the same level as Hornsby. 

Rogers Hornsby received Hall of Fame Induction in 1942, five years after his retirement as a player. Most of his prime years occurred with the St Louis Cardinals as he is in the team’s Hall of Fame. As he won an MVP and had good years with the Chicago Cubs, Hornsby is also in the Cubs Hall of Fame. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Hornsby #9 on their 100 Greatest Players list.

References:

  1. Rogers Hornsby Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hornsro01.shtml