Dwight Evans had a .272 lifetime batting average.
There are at least 20 players in the Hall of Fame with a .272 lifetime batting average or less. Some notables from Evans' era were: Joe Morgan - .271, Carlton Fisk - .269, Mike Schmidt - .267, Ozzie Smith - .262 and Reggie Jackson - .262 to name a few.
Evans made three All-Star appearances.
There are several players elected to the Hall of Fame with less, Robin Yount and Fergie Jenkins, who played in Evans' era, each also had three appearances.
Evans never reached the 3000 hit milestone typically associated with HOF credentials.
Evans finished with 2446 hits, currently good for 109th all-time, placing Evans in less than the top half-percent (0.0064) of all major league hitters. Incredible, considering there's been at least 17,000 major league baseball players that have gone through MLB. There are several players elected to the Hall of Fame with less than 2500 hits. Some notables: Orlando Cepeda, Mike Schmidt and Harmon Killibrew, just to name a few.
Evans never won an MVP award.
Evans finished four-times in the top 10 for the MVP voting in a 10-year span. There have been many players inducted into the Hall of Fame that have never won an MVP award. Some notables and player similarities are: Eddie Mathews, Tony Perez and Billy Williams.
Evans never reached any of the common milestones typically associated with players elected to the Hall of Fame. Those milestones being: 3000 hits, 1500 RBI, 400+ HR and a greater than .272 batting average.
There are at least 12 players elected to the Hall of Fame that have never reached ANY and ALL of the milestones listed above. Some notables include: Ozzie Smith, Bill Mazeroski, Pee Wee Reese and Joe Gordon, just to name a few.
Evans was never the best player on his team.
Evans went underrated, and played in the shadow of Hall of Fame teammates Carl Yastrzemski, Jim Rice and Wade Boggs. Evans won the Thomas A. Yawkey Award (Red Sox team MVP) four-times within a 10-year span ('81, '82, '84, '87). Note: Yaz, Rice, Boggs and Fisk, all played on teams when Evans won this award. All players named have been elected to the Hall of Fame with the exception of Evans.
I can't recall Evans ever being a feared hitter.
Because Evans is most remembered for his excellent defense and phenomenal arm.
Note: Information gathered from mlb.com, baseball-reference.com, The Ultimate Red Sox Companion, A Complete Statistical and Reference Encyclopedia
Page last updated on November 29, 2012
Page last updated on November 29, 2012
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