I know they are both dead, but
Nellie Fox played nearly every game at the same position for the same team for over a decade. He never struck out more than 18 times in any season.
Eddie Yost was hardly a feared hitter but led the league in walks six times and walked nearly 700 times more than he struck out over his career with an OBP of .394 despite hitting .254 with only 139 home runs in 18 years.
So Nellie never struck out and Eddie always walked. Where are these types of players today? They are hard to find. What factors in the game itself could be a factor?
Below I have abstracted data based on 6 seasons. Each season is roughly 20 years apart. Each line represents totals based on an average player with 600 Plate appearances for a given year. For the sake of this thread I have listed the names of the era (numbered) and the stat lines (lettered). I am asking you to match the eras by that number with the letter of the appropriate stat line. Thus you might answer 1D - 2A - 3E - 4F - 5C - 6B. You would be wrong, but this is just to show you how it works.
I think this demonstrates to some extent how the game has changed and how it hasn't. Comments on the thread question are also welcomed as well as comments on the factors that have influenced the changes you see.
Dead Ball Era (1)
Depression Era (2)
Willie, Mickey & The Duke Era (3)
Expansion Era (4)
Roids Era (5)
Modern Era (6)
The lines of stats are ordered as follows
Letter -- Runs -- Hits -- HR -- Walks -- Strike Outs
A -- 72 -- 152 -- 8 -- 42 --54
B -- 76 -- 143 -- 16 -- 53 -- 95
C -- 70 -- 140 -- 14 -- 56 -- 65
D -- 64 -- 135 -- 13 -- 46 -- 123
E -- 62 -- 133 -- 3 -- 47 -- 60
F -- 64 -- 136 -- 11 -- 52 -- 79
This isn't really too hard so please try it without searching databases, but if you who want to cheat, please identify which actual years are represented and send them to me via PM.
Finally I would ask stache to withhold his answer until post #20.
I will identify the correct answer but not right away so everyone can have a chance.
There may be a Frank Buck or two awarded for the first correct answer.