Last year, around Hall of Very Good induction time, I inaugurated the Hall of Average. It’s the place for the people who are not “of Fame” or “Very Good”, but just average. Of course, that still means they are better than 99.99% of everyone who has ever lived. For my methodology, check last year’s installment.
And now, our inductees:
LENNY GREEN: A career .267 hitter with 47 home runs, he was a good defensive outfielder with a knack for bad luck: from 1965 to 1967, the winner of the American League pennant was whatever team that had Lenny Green the year before. Even in 1968, when his hometown Tigers won the World Series, he hadn’t played for them in months and he ended up only getting $200 as a winner’s share, according to his SABR bio.
FRANK TORRE: The brother of Hall of Fame manager (and should have been as a player) Joe Torre, this first baseman played portions of seven season in the big leagues, ending his career with a wRC+ of 101, just above the average line. Although he finished his career with a .273 average and just 13 home runs (not exactly spectacular for a first baseman), he was a fine fielder and still is 90th all-time in fielding percentage at the position.
And our old-timer inductee for the year:
STEVE BRADY: Playing portions of six seasons in the 1870s and 1880s, Steve Brady is an enigma. We don’t know whether he hit or threw right-handed or left-handed, nor can I find out why he was out of the majors between his National Association stint in the 1870s and his American Association stint in the 1880s- an odd gap that lasted from the end of 1875 to the beginning of 1883. Whatever the reason, the outfielder and occasional first baseman was decidedly average, with a 99 wRC+ (just below the average line) and a career .261 BA.
And those are our Hall of Average inductees this year. Truly, an okay class! Come back next week for links!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
