Rocky Stone
Player #155B: John T. "Rocky" Stone. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1934-1938. 1,391 hits and 77 home runs in 11 MLB seasons. His career OBP was .376. he debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1928-1933. His most productive season may have been 1932 with Detroit as he posted a .361 OBP with 106 runs scored and 109 RBIs in 643 plate appearances. His best season in Washington was 1936 as he posted a .421 OBP with 95 runs scored and 90 RBIs in 500 plate appearances.
Back to Stone's SABR biography: Cronin’s departure (following the 1934 season) resulted in the return of Bucky Harris to Washington as skipper in 1935. Bucky was certainly well acquainted with Johnny from their days together in Detroit and immediately announced plans to utilize Stone as the Senators’ clean-up hitter for the upcoming season. Harris commented: “He’s got the power that a fourth-place hitter needs. I don’t mean home runs, but those frequent doubles and triples that roll off his bat.” Stone went on to hit .314 in 125 games.; however, Harris wasn’t pleased with either the team’s sixth place finish or the overall performance of Johnny Stone.
Harris unfairly assumed southern ballplayers had a lazy streak, a trait he referred to as the “Tennessee hookworm.” The Senators manager surmised Stone was simply not giving it his all, both offensively and defensively. Harris even speculated about the possibility of relegating Stone to part-time status, fueling rumors of a potential salary cut for the 1936 season.
Johnny ultimately signed, retaining his $7,500 salary, plus his clean-up spot in the batting order. Perhaps the motivational tactic worked; he went on to post a .341 average with 15 home runs and 90 RBIs as the Senators moved up to finish third with an 82-71 record.
Washington fell back to sixth place (73-80) in 1937, with Johnny posting a .330 average in 139 games. Sportswriter Al Costello described Stone: “He is as colorless as a newly whitewashed fence. Not one bit of showmanship or grandstanding is in his makeup as he goes along his business of fielding almost faultlessly and hitting often and hard. Ask any of the players in the American League what sort of a player Stone is and you’re sure to receive the answer that to a player is the acme of praise. They’ll tell you concisely the words that best explain a good ballplayer to another ballplayer when they explain: Stone is a ballplayer’s ballplayer.”
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