On January 6th, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s selections for entry into the Hall of Fame will be announced, and inevitably they will screw it up. The BBWAA is a terribly flawed organization, their choices are more often based on feelings and flawed statistical analysis rather than how good a player actually was. This has lead to former Indian greats like Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton being overlooked by the Association for incomprehensible reasons. If you followed the collection of pieces we wrote last year around the same time, you are familiar with the premise of this year’s collection. We’ll be analyzing a new collection of former greats and putting forth the argument for why they should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. We begin with the first great third basemen in Indians’ history.
Bill Bradley may be not only the best third basemen in Indians’ history that no one has ever heard of, but also the best player in Indians’ franchise history that no one has ever heard of. If you are reading this and are thinking about the former U.S. Senator and New York Knick forward, you are proving my point. At one point in his career, Bradley was considered to be the American League’s best players. While his career was very successful, it was derailed by injuries and ailments that may have prevented him from achieving the Hall of Fame career that his teammates Nap Lajoie, Elmer Flick, and Addie Joss had.
Bradley was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up on the city’s east side. After touring various semi-pro leagues, he finally caught on with the Chicago Cubs, or the Orphans as they were known, in 1899 at the age of 21. He played for Chicago for two seasons, with solid results, particularly in 1900 when he slashed .282/.330/.399, which wasn’t bad considering the Deadball Era in which he was playing.
After a contract dispute left his status with the Orphans in limbo, Bradley returned to his hometown to play for the city’s first American League team, which at that time was known as the Cleveland Blues. Immediately Bradley became one of the best players on the team, and one of the best sluggers in the newly formed league. In 1902, Bradley took his game to even bigger heights with his best season to date. Bradley slashed .340/.375/.515 that season, to go along with 11 home runs, 12 triples, and 39 doubles. His .340 batting average was 5th in the league, his 11 home runs finished 2nd in the league, he finished 3rd in the league in doubles, and 6th in triples. For the more modern minded, this was a 6.7 bWAR season for Bradley, he was officially one of the best hitters in the American League.
In 1903, Bradley was even better than the previous season. 313/.348/.496 with 6 home runs, 36 doubles, and 22 triples. He finished in the top 5 in the league in batting average, slugging percentage, doubles, and triples. Despite just hitting 6 home runs, he still finished tied for 6th most in the league. This season also topped the previous year’s WAR by posting a 7.1 bWAR. His number tapered off a bit in 1904, but he still finished in the top 5 in doubles (32), home runs (6), batting average (.300), and hits (183). His 6.6 bWAR that year was equally impressive. Unfortunately this was the final year that Bradley would be at the top of nearly every major hitting statistic. 1905 was a bit of a down year for Bradley, although he still posted am impressive 4.9 bWAR. Before the year began he was diagnosed with “autotoxicity,” a stomach ailment that reduced his effectiveness for the remainder of his career.
As 1906 arrived, the Naps (as they became known) were poised to be one of the best teams in all of baseball, and quite possibly the best Cleveland team to never win the pennant. Bradley’s season would be cut short due to injuries and ailments, playing in just 82 games that season. Had he been healthy, the Naps very well could have won the pennant and possibly the World Series. Still, in those 82 games he managed to put up a 3.0 bWAR season, considered to be around All-Star level. After the worst season of his career in 1907, Bradley had a bit of a resurgence in 1908 when he put up another 3.0 bWAR season. He played 2 more injury shortened seasons in 1909 and 1910 before his career came to a close at just the age of 32.
When examined against the hitters of the early 1900’s, Bradley is undoubtedly one of the very best of his time, and quite possibly the best third baseman in the game. When examined against the best third basemen in baseball history, Bradley is still one of the best. But Bradley was known for more than just his bat. He was also considered to be one of the best defensive players in the game. An aspect of his game that held true throughout his career even though his offensive numbers dwindled.
For his career, Bradley posted 37.1 WAR over just 12 seasons, some of them injury shortened. The average career war for all Hall of Fame third basemen is 67.4. When examining his 7-year peak, Bradley put up 34.8 WAR, good for the 30th best total for all third basemen in baseball history. Definitive proof that at his peak, Bradley was not only one of the best of his day, but also one of the best in all of baseball history. This total is higher than current Hall of Famers George Kell, Freddie Lindstrom, and Pie Traynor.
Unfortunately, there are just 13 third basemen in the Hall of Fame right now and many of the former players in front of Bradley are arguably more deserving than him. However, something that separates Bradley from others is his status as a pioneer of the American League. He was one of the very best the moment the League was created. He was a slugger in an age when not many others were. He was also a tremendous fielder and base runner, had it not been for injuries it’s quite possible that he would be enshrined in Cooperstown today. The Veteran’s Committee already met to discuss electing members of the Pre-Integration era, which consists of players who played before 1947, and failed to elect anyone. In reality, it’s unlikely Bradley would be elected though I do feel he is certainly worth a closer look by the Veteran’s Committee when they review Pre-Integration era players again in three years.
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