Buck Ewing (
https://www.baseball-reference.com/play ... bu01.shtml) is in the Hall of Fame and has one card in ATG (
https://365.strat-o-matic.com/player/33 ... 292/462030). It has Ewing eligible at 1B only.
The problem is Ewing was primarily a catcher and one of the greatest. He was the New York Giants' regular catcher throughout the 1880s, was admitted to the HOF when it opened in 1939, and was cited as "baseball's best catcher and, according to his contemporaries, was unequaled as an all-around player in the 19th century." ("The Ballplayers," edited by Mike Shatzkin, William Morrow & Company, 1990). David Nemec, author of Ewing's SABR bio (
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Buck-Ewing/), states: "Connie Mack deemed the sinewy 5-foot-10-inch and 188-pound Ewing the greatest catcher of all-time. Francis Richter, editor of Sporting Life and the Reach Guide, was even more laudatory in 1919, listing Ewing with Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner as the game’s three top stars to that point.”
A lifetime .303 hitter whose career was almost a century and a half ago, Ewing still appears on Top 10 lists for seasonal offensive statistics a very surprising number of times. For example, in 1884 he hit 20 Triples, and in four other seasons he hit 15. They happen to be the top five all-time season totals for three-baggers among catchers.
Also, the all-time leader in Runs Scored in a single season among backstops is Mickey Cochrane with 118. But second on the list is Ewing with 117.
Finally, my favorite -- Ewing's name appears in 5 of the top 6 places on the list of most Stolen Bases in a season by a catcher, with totals of 53, 47, 42, 41, and 39. Roger Bresnahan's 1903 card has the only AA steal rating in the set for a player with catcher as his primary position. Take your pick of Ewing seasons for the next one.
You might be thinking, "oh, those are 19th century player statistics, for sure," and you'd be right. But Ewing also hit with enough authority to drive in 122 runs one season, which, at least according to one source, still is among the Top 10 all-time RBI seasons for a catcher. (source:
https://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/ ... asonld.htm)
Defensively, Ewing's stats seem to put him above or well above league averages in Fielding Pct. most seasons. According to his SABR bio (
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Buck-Ewing/), he innovated the "pillow mitt" for catchers. But I can't guess how his defense would translate to Strat-O-Matic ratings.
Ewing's problem in ATG might be that he seems to have distributed his big offensive numbers among different seasons, so it might be challenging to find the one season that represents adequately his undisputable greatness. But I think he makes his case that he deserves an improved card, this time as a catcher.
Mon May 09, 2022 7:54 pm