A Look Back at Dom DiMaggio
The Couch Potato Chronicles again offered me inspiration for a post. Thanks TCP.
Image courtesy of TSN/Icon SMI
Dom DiMaggio passed away this week at 92. He was overshadowed by his famous brother Joe and egendary teammate Ted Williams. He didn’t have the hitting streak or Marilyn Monroe, but he was an exceptional player nonetheless. He was named to seven All-Star teams in his eleven seasons with Boston. Here’s a look at the Little Professor’s career numbers:
1399 Games
5640 At Bats
.298 Batting Average
1400 Runs
1680 Hits
308 Doubles
57 Triples
87 HRs
618 RBIs
750 Walks
100 SBs
Solid numbers, which are even better when you consider he missed three seasons due to military service during World War II. It is conceivable that he would have been a Hall of Famer if it weren’t for the War.
In 1941 & 1942 he averaged 113 Runs, which were the years prior to his service. When he returned he averaged 80 Runs for two season before averaging 124 in a four year span from ’48 to ’51. It is not a reach to suggest that if he (and Ted Williams) did not miss that time he could have scored 1500 career Runs, which is virtually a lock for the Hall of Fame. Dom averaged 121 Runs from ’41-’41 & ’48 to ’51. If you subtract the 160 Runs he scored in ’46 & ’47 and replace those Run totals, along with the years he missed, with 121 Runs per year and he would score 1491 Runs. Considering he we missed some prime years when he was 26-28, perhaps that number would have been higher. He also an All-Star every year but his first two and in 1947. He very likely would have been named to three more. 1500 Runs and ten All-Star appearances make for a pretty compelling case for Hall of Fame acceptance.
Here’s a look at his top ten finishes:
Batting Average – 3 Times
On-Base Percentage – 3 Times
Slugging Percentage- Once
OPS – Once
Games - Twice (Led league in 1948)
At Bat – 6 Times (Led league in 1948 & 1951)
Runs – 7 Times (Led league in 1950 & 1951)
Hits – 7 Times
Doubles – 6 Times
Triples - Once (Led league in 1950)
HRs – Once
Total Bases – 3 Times
Extra-Base Hits – Twice
Walks – 3 Times
SBs – 7 Times (Led league in 1950)
Hit by Pitch – 3 Times (Led league in 1941)
Hall of Fame Yardsticks
| Black Ink | Batting – 12 (193), Average HOFer ≈ 27 |
| Gray Ink | Batting – 102 (215), Average HOFer ≈ 144 |
| Hall of Fame Monitor | Batting – 62 (299), Likely HOFer ≈ 100 |
| Hall of Fame Standards | Batting – 27 (337), Average HOFer ≈ 50 |
While the overall numbers aren’t there for the Hall of Fame, it is without question that he left his mark on baseball and those who knew him. He will be missed.
Statistics from Baseball-Reference.com
Image from Museum of the City of San Francisco
