An item about Matt Carpenter in a recent St. Louis Post-Dispatch article grabbed my attention. Rick Hummel reported that the combined regular-season and postseason plate appearances by Carpenter in 2013 were the most all-time for a Cardinals player.
Carpenter had 717 regular-season plate appearances and 76 postseason plate appearances for a total of 793 in 2013.
That got me wondering where Carpenter ranked among Cardinals in most regular-season plate appearances in a year.
What I learned stunned me: Carpenter didn’t make the top 10.
Another surprise: the Cardinals’ all-time leader in regular-season plate appearances for a year isn’t a noted leadoff batter such as Lou Brock or Vince Coleman.
It’s Taylor Douthit.
Blasingame rates over Musial
The Cardinals’ top 10 in regular-season plate appearances in a year, according to Baseball-reference.com:
1. Taylor Douthit, 752 in 1928.
2. Taylor Douthit, 748 in 1930.
3. Curt Flood, 739 in 1964.
4. Lou Brock, 729 in 1970.
5. Don Blasingame, 728 in 1957.
6. Lou Brock, 727 in 1973.
7. Bill White, 726 in 1963.
8. Lou Brock, 724 in 1967.
9. Stan Musial, 722 in 1949.
10. Lou Brock, 721 in 1971.
A player is credited with a plate appearance each time he completes a turn batting. Unlike an at-bat, a plate appearance may result in a walk, a hit by pitch, a sacrifice bunt or a sacrifice fly.
The all-time major-league leader in regular-season plate appearances in a year is Jimmy Rollins of the 2007 Phillies at 778.
Musial is the Cardinals’ career leader in regular-season plate appearances at 12,717.
Cardinals catalyst
Among Cardinals, no one was better at getting to the plate in a season than Douthit.
A right-handed batter, Douthit, 27, was the center fielder and leadoff batter for the 1928 National League champion Cardinals. He hit .295 with 191 hits, 35 doubles and 84 walks in 752 plate appearances in 1928. He batted leadoff in 153 games and 748 plate appearances. In the only game he wasn’t in the leadoff spot that season, he batted fifth in four plate appearances.
He also was a high-quality center fielder.
Despite his success, Douthit was the subject of trade speculation after the 1928 season.
In its Oct. 25, 1928, edition, The Sporting News wrote of Douthit, “He is one of the mysteries of baseball. He has been a great fielder for years, perhaps the best fly chaser in the game today … This year, he started out like a champion batter. He was the first hitter to collect 100 safeties. His fielding, as always, was brilliant. Then, in midseason, he slumped as a batter and stayed in the slump right through the World Series.”
At the end of July, Douthit had a season batting average of .347. But he hit .218 in August and .179 in September. In the 1928 World Series against the Yankees, Douthit was 1-for-11 (.091).
“If Douthit is traded,” The Sporting News reported, “he’ll make the Cards weep frequently … It will be difficult to remember his early-season hitting after the long late summer and fall when he was looked upon as the man who officially opened every game by making the first out.”
The Cardinals, though, kept Douthit. It was a good decision. He helped them win another National League pennant in 1930. Douthit hit .303 that season with 201 hits, 41 doubles and 60 walks in 748 plate appearances. He batted leadoff in 143 games and 694 plate appearances. In the 11 games he wasn’t in the leadoff spot, he batted third in 54 plate appearances.
Again, though, he had a miserable World Series, hitting .083 (2-for-24) against the Athletics.
In 1931, Douthit was challenged for the center field job by rookie Pepper Martin. On March 26, 1931, The Sporting News wrote, “There was much winter conversation about (Pepper) Martin … But that doesn’t make Douthit anybody’s snail. Taylor always has been a good hitter and a brilliant fielder and, unless he breaks a leg or an arm, he’ll play 154 games for the Redbirds in center field.”
That prediction didn’t pan out. The Cardinals wanted Martin in center field. Though Douthit was hitting .331, he was traded to the Reds on June 15, 1931, for outfielder Wally Roettger.
In nine seasons (1923-31) with the Cardinals, Douthit hit .300 and produced 1,006 hits. His on-base percentage with St. Louis was a sparkling .373.
Previously: Cardinals classic: Skip Schumaker bests Roy Halladay
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