Stan Hack played his entire 16-season career with the Chicago Cubs. He was one of the Cubbies most popular players as “Smilin” Stan’s sunny disposition made him a fan favorite among players, fans, and journalists alike. It also didn’t hurt that he was one hell of a hitter.
Hack hit over 2,100 hits batting first for Chicago, but like any true good leadoff hitter, he found a way to get on base. Hack knew how to draw the free pass and was constantly among league leaders in On Base Percentage. Once on the base paths, Hack was an intelligent base runner, making few mistakes. He made even fewer mistakes at third, where he would have likely won multiple Gold Gloves had they been implemented at the time.
Hack had no significant slugging numbers, but that was not what he was paid to do. His main goals were to get on base and defend the hot corner, and he did both very well. He did accumulate some of his numbers during a weakened league (during World War II), but he was a consistent performer who should have gotten more Hall of Fame votes than he did.
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