Spud Davis

[Cowtipper]

Catcher Spud Davis spent 16 years in the big leagues, hitting .308 with 1,312 hits, 386 walks to only 326 strikeouts and a .369 on-base percentage. He hit over .320 five times and over .340 twice and four times he posted an OBP over .390. He received Hall of Fame support in 1948 and 1949, though he never earned more than 0.8% of the vote.

Though he wasn't an All-Star in real life (which doesn't help his case much considering he spent 11 of his 16 years in the All-Star era), he was an "All-Star" three times according to the Retrospective All-Star project.

In 1931, he led the league in games at catcher, catcher assists and runners caught stealing, while in 1935 and 1939 he paced the loop in catcher fielding percentage. He frequently appeared in the top-five in the latter category and also the stolen bases allowed category. In 1933, he was second in batting average to Chuck Klein.

Statistically, he is similar to Don Slaught, Smoky Burgess, Jack Clements, Sandy Alomar, Hank Severeid, Jimmy Wilson, Darrin Fletcher, Terry Kennedy, Bengie Molina and Gus Mancuso. Through age 31, he was most similar to Hall of Famer Ernie Lombardi.

What do you think about Spud Davis? Should he be in the Hall of Fame? Did he have Hall of Fame potential?

[TomBodet]

He makes me think of Shanty Hogan for some reason....not a Hof but worthy of re-considering. Had a nice career.

[The Commissioner]

He certainly had a fine career, and perhaps did have Hall of Fame potential. The problem is that with less than 5000 career plate appearances, and only three seasons with 120+ games played, it's difficult to make a legit case for him. Had he not platooned so often or been stuck as the second stringer behind so many other Hall of Famers, he perhaps could have been one of the elite catchers ever. Sadly, we'll never know.

[PVNICK]

He makes me think of Shanty Hogan for some reason....not a Hof but worthy of re-considering. Had a nice career.

hahaha When I used to make lists and compare players by position season by season those two always got mixed up in my mind.

I have to assume he was sub-par defensively. Perhaps today he falls in line somewhere between or around a Jorge Posada-Mike Stanley-Chris Hoiles continuum.

[Cowtipper]

For what it's worth, only five catchers in major league history have at least 1,300 career hits and a BA of .300 or better: Mickey Cochrane, Bill Dickey, Ernie Lombardi, Mike Piazza and Spud Davis.

[jjpm74]

Spud Davis had a couple of good years during one of the most offense heavy eras in baseball history. No.