Ed Delahanty....2-part, Tues Nite Trivia Quiz....and, show us your Delahanty stuff

[FrankWakefield]

I first thought 'free-swinging' would have referred to the strike out peaks of 60, 50, and 36 in a season....

But I think it refers to his first 3 seasons.

Absent those... he would have hit .300 or higher every season, and have a lifetime batting average pretty close to Rogers Hornsby's. Both would be about the best right handed hitters for average, lifetime.

The Sowell book about his death, is about so much more about the formative years of what we consider baseball... the leagues, the contracts, and all.
Sowell, July 2, 1903. It should be required reading here.

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by FrankWakefield

I first thought 'free-swinging' would have referred to the strike out peaks of 60, 50, and 36 in a season....

But I think it refers to his first 3 seasons.

Absent those... he would have hit .300 or higher every season, and have a lifetime batting average pretty close to Rogers Hornsby's. Both would be about the best right handed hitters for average, lifetime.

The Sowell book about his death, is about so much more about the formative years of what we consider baseball... the leagues, the contracts, and all.
Sowell, July 2, 1903. It should be required reading here.

Hi Frank,
You are on the right track. Two years into his career, Big Ed had matured and started using his mind more so than his brawn. He was mainly a pull-hitter; however, when the opportunity
arose, he would often slice the ball to the opposite field for a Hit. A practice that I wished Ted Williams would have done, which would have resulted in Ted achieving a .400 career BA.

Calculating Big Ed's BA for his best 13 years results within a Point (or two) of equaling Cobb's .366 BA.

I did the math in a hurry....so, I will go and double-check my numbers.

Thanks for suggesting the Sowell book....I will chek-it-out.


TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[tedzan]

I will award the Trivia King trophy to Frank W.

Frank W's response is just shy of the answer I was expecting. Once Ed Delahanty combined his mind with his physical skills to play the game, he was a
tremendous ballplayer.

For Big Ed's best 13 seasons of his 16-year career his Batting Average was .364 (only 2-points shy of Ty Cobb's .366 BA). And both of them batted 400+
three times.


The Brothers Delahanty......


Tom….1894, 1896-1897





Joe…… 1907-1909




Jim…… 1901-1902, 1904-1912, 1914-1915
x
.




Frank…... 1905-1908, 1914-1915
.



TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Did I not mention Cobb specifically? LOL

[tedzan]

Peter

You alluded to it.

Frank elaborated more regarding Delahanty's hitting performance.

Furthermore, Frank also responded to the 2nd part of this quiz.


Anyhow, you get awarded the runner-up Trophy.



TED Z

T206 Reference
.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by tedzan

Peter

You alluded to it.

Frank elaborated more regarding Delahanty's hitting performance.

Furthermore, Frank also responded to the 2nd part of this quiz.


Anyhow, you get awarded the runner-up Trophy.



TED Z

T206 Reference
.

In a field of two, I am honored.

[tedzan]

Ed Delahanty was a 20 year old rookie in 1888 when he joined the Philadelphia Phillies. His first 5 years he averaged only .270 BA.

Then in 1893, he hit for a .368 BA. For the following 10 years of his career, Big Ed consistently hit well above .300 (including .400+
in 3 of 11 seasons).

I calculated his Batting Average for these 11 years, and it is an amazing .373



TED Z

T206 Reference
.