Cooperstown Chronicles - Bid McPhee

Photo courtesy of TSN Archives/Icon SMI

I have decided to profile Hall of Famer Bid McPhee, who was enshrined by the Veteran’s Committee in 2000.

The Numbers
Played 1882-1899 (18 Years)
2135 Games
8291 At Bats
.271 Batting Average
2250 Hits
1678 Runs (26th All-Time)
303 Doubles
188 Triples (11th All-time)
53 Home Runs
3088 Total Bases
1067 RBI
568 Stolen Bases (23rd All-time)
981 Walks

Ten 100 Run Seasons
Nine 10+ Triple Seasons
Seven 40+ SB Seasons

Awards

Top Ten Finishes
Games—4 Times (Led league in 1884)
At Bats—Once
Slugging %—Once
Runs—4 Times
Hits—Once
Total Bases —Once
Triples—5 Times (Led league in 1887)
Home Runs—Twice (Led league in 1886)
RBI—Twice
Walks—6 Times
Stolen Bases—4 Times
Extra-base Hits—Twice
Hit by Pitch—Once

Hall of Fame Yardsticks:
Black Ink: Batting - 6 (334) (Average HOFer ≈ 27)
Gray Ink: Batting - 64 (378) (Average HOFer ≈ 144)
HOF Standards: Batting - 40.9 (136) (Average HOFer ≈ 50)
HOF Monitor: Batting - 74.0 (238) (Likely HOFer > 100)

Bid McPhee scored a ton of runs, hit a ton of triples, and stole a ton of bases. Besides those three “speed” categories, his offensive numbers don’t quite register as a Hall of Famer.

Obviously being a second baseman consists of more than what you do with the stick. However, Bid played the majority of his career without the use of a glove.

Imagine that for a second. Amond second basemen McPhee ranks 5th for games played, 2nd for career putouts, and 2nd for chances.

He also recorded the most putouts—529—in a season in 1886. He has led his league in double plays and fielding average, 11 times and 9 times respectively.

I applaud the Veteran's Committee for remembering Bid. I agree that he is worthy of Cooperstown as he was clearly one of the best at his position of his era.

However, after researching Mr. McPhee I come away with two questions.

If Bid is worthy of the HOF, how come some of the other Dead Ball Players I listed have not received the same honor?

And, what took the Cincinnati Reds so long—until 2002—to add him to their Hall of Fame? Nothing like waiting over 100 years to honor one of the founding fathers of your franchise.

References
Baseball-reference.com
The Ballplayers

Past Chronicles
Roberto Alomar
Harold Baines
Albert Belle
Pete Browning
Bert Byleven
Joe Carter
Orlando Cepeda*
Rocky Colavito
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Larry Corcoran
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Andre Dawson
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Steve Finley
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Shoeless Joe Jackson
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Dennis Martinez
Edgar Martinez
Bobby Matthews
Don Mattingly
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Bill Mazeroski*
Fred McGriff
Mark McGwire
Paul Molitor*
Jack Morris
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Graig Nettles
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Al Oliver
Buck O’Neill & Minnie Minoso
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Wes Parker
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Boog Powell
Tim Raines
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Jim Rice
Phil Rizzuto*
Brooks Robinson*
Pete Ro$e
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Lee Smith
Rusty Staub
Dave Stieb
Harry Stovey
Alan Trammell
George Van Haltren
Mo Vaughn
Bobby Veach
Frank Viola
Lou Whitaker
Bernie Williams
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* Signifies actual Hall of Famer

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