Photo courtesy of TSN Archives/Icon SMI

I decided to profile Hall of Famer Jim Bottomley, who was enshrined by the Veteran’s Committee in 1974.


Photo courtesy of Icon SMI 

The Numbers
Played 1922-1937 (16 Seasons)
1991 Games
7471 At Bats
.310 Batting Average
1177 Runs 
2313 Hits
465 Doubles (72nd All-time)
151 Triples (49th All-time)
219 HRs
1422 RBI (64th All-time)
664 Walks
58 SBs

Eight .300 Seasons
Two 100+ Run Seasons
One 200+ Hit Seasons
Eleven 30+ Double Seasons
Nine 10+ Triple Seasons
Six 100+ RBI Seasons (Five 120+)

World Series:  2 Rings, 18 of 90 (.200), 8 Runs, 5 Doubles, 1 Triple, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 7 Walks

Awards
1928 MVP
MVP Votes in 6 Seasons

Top Ten Finishes
Batting Average - 3 Times
On-base % – 4 Times
Slugging % – 8 Times
OPS – 6 Times
Games - 3 Times (Led league in 1925)
At Bats – 3 Times
Runs - Twice
Hits - 4 Times (Led league in 1925)
Doubles - 5 Times (Led league in 1925 & 1926)
Triples - 9 Times (Led league in 1928)
Home Runs – 7 Times (Led league in 1928)
Total Bases - 7 Times (led league in 1926 & 1928)
Extra-base Hits - 7 Times (led league in 1926 & 1928)
RBI - 8 Times (led league in 1926 & 1928)
Walks – 3 Times
Hit by Pitch – Twice

Hall of Fame Yardsticks:
Black Ink: Batting – 21 (97) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting – 145 (99) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting – 42.0 (123) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting – 99.0 (151) (Likely HOFer > 100)  

Wow, Sunny Jim’s HOF yardsticks are just about the mark that gets you in.  Looking at his stats as a whole, there are a few areas that appear HOF worthy.  He hit for a great average with tons of Doubles and Triples. He also drove in a ton of runs.  He won an MVP award along with a couple of World Series titles.  He’s tied with Mark Whiten with the most RBI (12) in a game.  He had a eight-year stretch (1924-29) in which he averaged .325, 97 Runs, 182 Hits, 36 Doubles, 13 Triples, 20 HRs, and 118 RBI.  Those are Hall of Fame numbers to me.  Sunny Jim always wore a smile.  While his numbers don’t blow me away, I think he’s worthy of his HOF spot.  

References
Baseball-reference.com

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