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3fbrown · 02-01-2020, 01:53 AM

Fred “Shoemaker” Nicholson was a 25-year-old rookie outfielder on the 1920 Red Sox. He played part-time, getting only 291 PA, but hit .401! As far as I know, nobody in RL history had hit .400 in a short season like this before. He clearly did not qualify for the batting title, but it was noteworthy nonetheless.

Six years later, now age 31 and playing for the New York Giants, Nicholson did it again. He was still playing part-time, as his defense was pretty bad, but his hitting had never been anything but excellent. In 429 PA, Nicholson hit .408, now the second time he had hit over .400 in a season too brief to qualify for the batting title. Still, hitting over .400 in over 400 PA is nothing to sneeze at.

Nicholson played through the 1934 season, when he was 39, but mostly as a part-timer. He only played enough to qualify for the batting title twice, in 1928 and 1929. He hit .359 in 1928, and for his career hit .341 in about 4700 plate appearances. I am not sure why he never played more. It was partly because of the defense of course, but when you hit .341 for your career, weak defense can be forgiven. He may have also been platooned (he hit right-handed), and he definitely pinch hit frequently, as he always had over 100 games played, even when he had under 200 PA.

02-01-2020, 01:53 AM	#34
3fbrown Major Leagues Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 414	A different kind of honorable mention Fred “Shoemaker” Nicholson was a 25-year-old rookie outfielder on the 1920 Red Sox. He played part-time, getting only 291 PA, but hit .401! As far as I know, nobody in RL history had hit .400 in a short season like this before. He clearly did not qualify for the batting title, but it was noteworthy nonetheless. Six years later, now age 31 and playing for the New York Giants, Nicholson did it again. He was still playing part-time, as his defense was pretty bad, but his hitting had never been anything but excellent. In 429 PA, Nicholson hit .408, now the second time he had hit over .400 in a season too brief to qualify for the batting title. Still, hitting over .400 in over 400 PA is nothing to sneeze at. Nicholson played through the 1934 season, when he was 39, but mostly as a part-timer. He only played enough to qualify for the batting title twice, in 1928 and 1929. He hit .359 in 1928, and for his career hit .341 in about 4700 plate appearances. I am not sure why he never played more. It was partly because of the defense of course, but when you hit .341 for your career, weak defense can be forgiven. He may have also been platooned (he hit right-handed), and he definitely pinch hit frequently, as he always had over 100 games played, even when he had under 200 PA.