gold star for USAHOF

1. Honus Wagner

1. Honus Wagner
  1. General
  2. Awards
  3. Career Stats
  • Born: February 24, 1874 in Chartiers, PA USA
  • Weight: 200 lbs.
  • Height: 5'11"
  • Bats: R
  • Throws: R
  • Debut: July 19, 1897
  • Final Game: September 17, 1917
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1908
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1908
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1909
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1909
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1910
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1910
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1911
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1911
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1912
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1912
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1913
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1913
  • MVP - 1911
  • MVP - 1912
  • MVP - 1913
 
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Honus Wagner is not just the man on the most elusive and most valuable baseball card in history; he is also the best player in Pittsburgh Pirates history.

Playing his first three years with the Louisville Colonels, Wagner was dealt to Pittsburgh as part of the firesale that saw the end of the Colonel's existence.  Wagner would play for 17 years in Pittsburgh, and the case can be made that he was the top man in the first decade of the 1900s.

Wagner won the National League Batting Title in 1900, and he set the tone for the decade, leading the NL in Batting Average seven more times, which is a record that he still holds today.  “The Flying Dutchman” did everything, and history is even kinder with a look through sabermetric eyes.   Wagner led the NL in bWAR 11 times, and from 1900 to 1912, he never finished lower than third.  

The 1900s were in the heart of the deadball era, but Wagner was a top slugger in the decade, leading the NL in Slugging Percentage six times and OPS eight times in his career.  Wagner was also an excellent baserunner, leading the NL in Stolen Bases five times, and is tenth all-time in that stat (723).  Defensively, Wagner was incredible and would have been a multi-time Gold Glove winner had that award existed.  

Wagner was also a champion, leading the Pirates to a World Series win in 1909, the first in franchise history.  He played until 1917, and is the all-time team leader in bWAR (120.1), Runs Scored (1,521), and Triples (232).

Wagner entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936 as part of the first-ever class, and the Pirates retired his number 55 in 1956

The Bullet Points

  • Position: First Base, Short Stop, Outfield
  • Acquired: Traded from the Louisville Cardinals with Fred Clarke, Bert Cunningham, Mike Kelly, Tacks Latimer, Tommy Leach, Tom Messitt, Deacon Phillippe, Claude Ritchey, Rube Waddell, Jack Wadsworth, and Charles Zimmer for Jack Chesbro, George Fox, Art Madison, John O’Brien and $25,000 12/8/99.
  • Departed:

    Retired after the 1917 Season.

  • Games Played: 2,433
  • Notable Statistics:

    1,521 Runs Scored
    2,967 Hits
    551 Doubles
    232 Triples                     
    82 Home Runs
    1,474 RBI
    630 Stolen Bases
    .328/.394/.468 Slash Line
    130.8 bWAR                   

    15 Playoff Games
    6 Runs Scored
    14 Hits
    3 Doubles
    1 Triple                          
    0 Home Runs
    9 RBI
    9 Stolen Bases
    .275/.393/.373 Slash Line

  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    World Series Champion (1909)
    Highest bWAR for Position Players (1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911 & 1912)
    Highest Offensive bWAR (1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908 & 1909)
    Highest Defensive bWAR (1912)
    Highest Batting Average (1900, 1903, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909 & 1911)
    Highest On Base Percentage (1904, 1907, 1908 & 1909)
    Highest Slugging Percentage (1900, 1902, 1904, 1907, 1908 & 1909)
    Highest OPS (1900, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909 & 1911)
    Highest OPS+ (1900, 1902, 1904, 1907, 1908 & 1909)
    Most Runs Scored (1902 & 1906)
    Most Hits (1908 & 1910)
    Most Total Bases (1900, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908 & 1909)
    Most Doubles (1900, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908 & 1909)
    Most Triples (1900, 1903 & 1908)
    Most Runs Batted In (1901, 1902, 1908 & 1909)
    Most Stolen Bases (1901, 1902, 1904, 1907 & 1908)
    Most Extra Base Hits (1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1907, 1908 & 1909)
    Most Times Hit By Pitch (1902)
    Highest Power-Speed # (1908)
    Most Putouts by a Shortstop (1908 & 1910)
    Most Double Plays Turned by a Shortstop (1903, 1906, 1909 & 1912)
    Highest Range Factor per Game by a Shortstop (1903, 1905, 1909 & 1913)
    Highest Fielding Percentage by a Shortstop (1912, 1913, 1914 & 1915)

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