Chris, assuming Appling played every game in 1945 (the Sox played 149 in total, and Appling missed all but 18), as well as the entire 154 games from the 1944 season, he missed 285 games in total due to service in the military during WW II.
I sampled statistics from the period of 1940 to 1943. During that span, he averaged 150 games per season. I took his 150 game average, and a multiplier of 1.9 to hit 285 games. So, by taking his statistical averages from the 40-43 seasons, and multiplied by a factor of 1.9, I arrived at his projected figures. Yes, he surpassed the 3,000 hit club, and quite easily, I may add.
Here are his career numbers adjusted for military service which cost him 285 games in the Major Leagues:
He's truly one of the best two or three players the White Sox have ever had, and while it's not a shame that he served his country (I think I speak on behalf of everybody reading this thread when I say we greatly appreciate the sacrifices these men made in defense of our freedom), it is too bad that Appling was not allowed his chance at the 3,000 hit club.
He didn't really have any power to speak of, with only 45 career home runs. When you take that into consideration, though, a career OPS that's a hair under .800--as a shortstop in the 30s and 40s--is quite impressive. He was truly a model of consistency. He first hit .300 in what was really his second full season, 1933 (.322). He was 26 years old. He last hit .300 in 1949 at age 42 (.301). He hit .300 fifteen times, winning two batting titles in a career that saw him hit .310. He hit .388 in 1936, which is pretty much unheard of in the modern era, especially for a shortstop. He was the MVP runner up to Lou Gehrig, who hit .354 with 49 HR and 152 RBI. Gehrig got 73 voting points to Appling's 65. And as great as he was offensively, he was incredible defensively, too. He has the lowest career fielding percentage of any player appearing in 1,900 or more games due to his 643 career errors. But his range was spectacular, and he made plays other shortstops couldn't have dreamed of. When he retired, he held the Major League record for double plays by a shortstop, and held the American League record for assists and putouts by a shortstop.
Appling is, in my opinion, one of the best pure hitters of his time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by veleno45
I think Luke Appling finished his career just over 200 hits short of 3000, yet I think he lost almost 2 years to the war. If your numbers puts him over 3k hits, I think you have to petition for him to be an honorary 3k hit club member.
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