Rogers Hornsby - Legacy

Legacy

Baseball experts and sportswriters have considered Hornsby to be one of the greatest hitters of all time. His lifetime batting average of .358 is only exceeded by Ty Cobb's career mark of .367. He won seven batting titles in total, a feat tied or exceeded by only five players (Cobb (11 or 12, depending on the source), Tony Gwynn (8), Honus Wagner (8), Rod Carew (7), and Stan Musial (7)). Hornsby led the National League in slugging percentage nine times, a record that still stands. He also hit more home runs, drove in more runs, and had a higher batting average than any other National League player during the 1920s, which makes him one of four players in baseball history (along with Honus Wagner, Ted Williams, and Albert Pujols) to win a decade "triple crown". He hit a career total of 301 home runs and was the first National League player to hit 300. His 264 home runs as a second baseman was a major league record for that position until Joe Morgan surpassed him in 1984. Hornsby was also a very consistent hitter whether he was playing at home or on the road. His lifetime home batting average was .359, and his lifetime away batting average was .358. Ted Williams, who had the highest career batting average since Hornsby, said that Hornsby was the greatest hitter for power and average in baseball, and Frankie Frisch said of him, "He's the only guy I know who could hit .350 in the dark." Hornsby also holds second place on the unofficial major league record list of "consecutive games with two or more hits" with 13 games, first place honors going to Count Campau's 15-game streak. Hornsby is only the second right-handed batter in history to hit over .400 three times and is considered, according to the Los Angeles Times, to be the greatest right-handed hitter in history. He led the National League in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases every year from 1920 to 1925. He is one of only two players (the other being Ted Williams) to win the batting Triple Crown more than once, but only Hornsby batted .400 on both occasions.

Rogers Hornsby was so respected a hitter that once, when a rookie pitcher complained to umpire Bill Klem that he thought he had thrown Rogers a strike, Klem replied, "Son, when you pitch a strike, Mr. Hornsby will let you know."

H is for Hornsby;
When pitching to Rog,
The pitcher would pitch,
Then the pitcher would dodge.

Hornsby was also renowned for his speed, and was considered to be the fastest player in the National League in his prime. He did not try to steal very often but used his speed to take extra bases. Between 1916 and 1927 Hornsby had 30 inside-the-park home runs, and he led the league with 17 triples in 1917 and 18 triples in 1921; he had 20 triples in 1920.

However, Hornsby was often hard to get along with, a major reason he changed teams so frequently in the last decade of his career. He usually left due to falling out with the front office. Most of the players he managed did not like him due to his insistence that others follow his lifestyle, although some (like Woody English and Clint Courtney) did. Hornsby never played cards, but he did bet frequently on horse races, and he lost more than he won. His gambling was often a factor in his dismissal from a team. By most contemporary accounts, he was at least as mean and nasty as Cobb, who was known in his time for his aggressive attitude and dirty play. He never went to movies, convinced that it would harm a batter's eyesight, and he never smoked or drank.

Hornsby was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1942. In 1999, Hornsby was ranked ninth on The Sporting News list of Baseball's Greatest Players. Later that year, he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2001, writer Bill James ranked him as the 22nd-greatest player and the third-greatest second baseman in baseball history, while at the same time documenting his unpopularity and his difficult personality. He is also tied for eighth overall with Stan Musial in wins above replacement for position players. Hornsby has also been recognized on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.