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?
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?
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