Chick Hafey
The Cardinals outfielder who won the closest batting race in National League history deserves more recognition than he gets. Hafey edged out Bill Terry and Jim Bottomley for the 1931 batting crown by hitting .3489 to Terry's .3486 — a margin so slim it required carrying averages to four decimal places to determine the winner.
What made Hafey special wasn't just that .317 career average, but his ability to drive in runs when it mattered. He knocked in 833 runs across just 1,283 games, a remarkable ratio that speaks to his clutch hitting. Playing in an era of offensive explosion, he stood out even among the game's premier hitters.
His career was cut short by sinus problems that affected his vision, robbing baseball of what could have been even greater numbers. The Veterans Committee recognized his peak excellence in 1971, inducting a player whose brief but brilliant prime exemplified the high-octane Cardinals teams of the early 1930s.
Career · Batting
13 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | STL | 24 | 91 | 2 | 22 | .253 | — | — |
| 1925 | STL | 93 | 358 | 5 | 57 | .302 | — | — |
| 1926 | STL | 78 | 225 | 4 | 38 | .271 | — | — |
| 1927 | STL | 103 | 346 | 18 | 63 | .329 | — | — |
| 1928 | STL | 138 | 520 | 27 | 111 | .337 | — | — |
| 1929 | STL | 134 | 517 | 29 | 125 | .338 | — | — |
| 1930 | STL | 120 | 446 | 26 | 107 | .336 | — | — |
| 1931 | STL | 122 | 450 | 16 | 95 | .349 | — | — |
| 1932 | CIN | 83 | 253 | 2 | 36 | .344 | — | — |
| 1933 | CIN | 144 | 568 | 7 | 62 | .303 | — | — |
| 1934 | CIN | 140 | 535 | 18 | 67 | .293 | — | — |
| 1935 | CIN | 15 | 59 | 1 | 9 | .339 | — | — |
| 1937 | CIN | 89 | 257 | 9 | 41 | .261 | — | — |
| Career | 1283 | 4625 | 164 | 833 | .317 | — | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.