Wisdom and (no) Links: The Hall Of Average

By now you’ve seen stories of some of the new inductees into The Hall of Very Good. I’ve caught a preview…and it’s a fine group.

However, this installment of Wisdom and Links is not about that group. It’s not about The Hall of Very Good.

It’s about the merely average.

Now, sometimes people say “average” as if it’s a slight. But to me, the most “average” Major Leaguer is still better than about 50% of his peers and by extension probably 99.99-plus percent of the human population. And that is damn impressive.

Except… it’s really hard to figure out what an average MLB player is, especially across eras and over careers. After all, if you go by Baseball Reference as of July 25 and figure out stuff based on the number of players and statistics in its database, the all-time batting average for ballplayers throughout history is about .261, and the average ballplayer would, if all the stats were handed out equally, have had 773 ABs, 202 career hits, about 15 home runs and 16 stolen bases. Also, they’d have struck out about 110 times and walked about 71 times. This “average player” would likely have had about 850 career plate appearances.

Now, while the .261 might sound “about right”, remember that B-Ref’s database also includes pitchers, players who played in the dead ball era or other eras…and players who played in some leagues that are not universally called Major League. And a lot of statistics are missing from some of the more obscure players and eras.

So that doesn’t work to find the most “average” baseball players in history – it’s even more of a junk statistical study than most of my junk statistical studies (I was never very good at math once it got into algebra). However, I am curious if any ballplayer is close to the career statistics I linked to above (a quick go-through seems to suggest that nobody has exactly that, but that there are several that are close in at least a few categories).

Is all hope lost? NO! Because there is wRC+, or Weighted Runs Created Plus. It’s all very complicated and it can be read about on FanGraphs, but to very much simplify it, a wRC+ of 100 means that that player was basically the definition of an average hitter during the time he played and the stadiums, hitting environment, etc. he played in.

So, I took a look at players who were have career wRC+ between 99 and 101 and who had at least 1500 plate appearances, which would mean they played at least about the five to six years that is the average length of a MLB career. Now, this isn’t perfect, because an average catcher most definitely would not be expected to hit as well as, say, an outfielder. For example, Yadier Molina has a wRC+ of 100, but nobody would call him an “average” catcher. And Garret Anderson holds the record for most PAs with a wRC+ within my range- he was just so average for so long he basically was good overall. So, for the sake of the Hall of Average, I have imposed a bit of gut feeling to it, and I also have a ceiling: maximum number of plate appearances is 3500, or about just under 10 seasons worth of just enough playing time to qualify for the batting title in modern MLB. Arbitrary? Of course. Necessary? Maybe!

And so, let me introduce to you, the HALL OF AVERAGE:

John Coleman: Originally a truly woeful pitcher (12-48 for the Philadelphia Quakers in 1883 while giving up 772 hits and 291 ER, still all-time records for horridness), Coleman grew to become one of the most average and nondescript position players of the 19^th century, playing parts of eight seasons for various teams in Pennsylvania from 1883 to 1890, hitting .257 with a career wRC+ of exactly 100. Lucky for him the Hall of Average was not taking pitching into account because pitching is really complicated to figure out what is “average” for.

Randy Bush: A DH and outfielder for the Twins for parts of 12 seasons, Bush is most notable for leading the AL in pinch-hits in 1991 and being a member of Minnesota’s two title teams. A career .251 hitter who never hit more than 14 HR in a season, Bush’s wRC+ is 100 and he just barely qualifies for the Hall of Average under my criteria (3481 PAs).

Clyde Engle: “Hack” Engle played 8 years in MLB, including two years in the Federal League near the end of his career. A career .265 hitter with 12 career home runs, his most notable role in history- and perhaps the one thing keeping the utilityman from being forgotten forever- is the fact he hit the ball Fred Snodgrass misplayed in the 1912 World Series. Career wRC+ of 100.

Dick Sisler: Proving that you can make a difference despite being average, Dick Sisler is known for hitting a pennant-clinching home run for Phillies on the final day of the 1950 season, leading him to be mentioned in The Old Man and the Sea. In addition, he was the son of Hall-of-Famer George Sisler and even made the All-Star team in 1950. However, on the balance of his career, Dick Sisler was average, a journeyman outfielder and first-baseman with a career wRC+ of 101, ever-so-slightly above the statistical definition of average.

Hugh High: With a wRC+ of 100, High was, as that statistic suggests, an average outfielder from 1913 to 1918 for the Tigers and Yankees. He was one of the better defensive outfielders of the era, but ultimately the career .250 hitter is perhaps most notable for how fun his name is to say.

Dave Clark: Possessing a wRC+ of 99, over 13 years Dave Clark was a career .264 hitter, hit 62 career HRs, and played 905 games, primarily for the Pirates and Indians. A truly average career, although still way better than most regular humans could ever hope for. However, he is still notable…in that he was drafted by the Indians eight picks before Roger Clemens.

Gary Thomasson: Also having a wRC+ of 99, Thomasson played parts of nine years in the majors, mainly as an outfielder and occasional first-baseman. He hit a career .249 with 61 HRs. He was once traded by the San Francisco Giants as part of a package for Vida Blue and also hit 20 HRs in the 1981 season for the Yomiuri Giants in Japan…but also led the league in strikeouts. You win some, you lose some.

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So, that is a sampling of people who you would see if there was a Hall of Average. Come back next week for a double-dose of links!