Top Tigers: #95 Johnny Bassler
By Blake VandeBunte • Dec 12th, 2008 • Category: Johnny Bassler, Top 100 Tigers- Rank: 95
- Name: John Landis Bassler
- Tigers Tenure: 1921-1927
- Awards: Finished in the top seven of the MVP voting three times.
- Best Season: 1924. 1924 saw Landis hit his only career home run, seriously. Bassler posted an OPS+ of 124, the best of his career. What was so impressive about Bassler in 1924 was that he struck out only 11 times in 379 at bats. Bassler clearly didn’t have a lot of pop in his bat but kept himself in the lineup by being one of the best catchers in baseball. Also, his OBP in 1924 was a lofty .441, the man could get on base.
- Good Stuff: Bassler had an amazing eye at the plate. He walked frequently and very rarely struck out. In fact, the only American League players in the history of the game with a better K/BB ratio are Hall of Famers Joe Sewell and Tris Speaker. Certified baseball genius Bill James wrote, “if his major league career wasn’t so short he would rank among the top 20 catchers of all time.”
- Bad Stuff: He provided almost no power at all. He hit a grand total of one home run in 2,319 at bats. Only two players in baseball history have more at bats than Bassler and have one homer or fewer to show for their efforts. His Major League career was also far too brief. He played pro ball for nearly 25 years but only nine of them were in the bigs.
- Place In Tigers History: Bassler is clearly one of the top catchers in Tigers history and this is a franchise with a pretty nice history at the position. Bassler played on winning teams in every season he played with the Tigers except for one. None of those teams every reached the playoffs. Of all the players in the history of baseball with at least as many at bats as Bassler, only 19 have a higher career on base percentage. The only Tiger ahead of him on that list is Ty Cobb.
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Wow, a new old time Tiger players name for me. I had heard of Oscar Stanage, Charlie Schmidt, and Charlie Bennett as early days Tigers catchers. Nice job so far Blake.
I was wondering when you were going to chime in. Glad you’re enjoying it. I used your list a lot when putting mine together.
Very interesting series Blake. This whole process is very subjective but I personally would have put Rogell a little higher due to his defense and longevity.
Lee
I know what you mean Lee. I started the list with over 200 guys and had to narrow it all down. It’s tough to figure out a good way to get the order “perfect”. Rogell did stick around for a while, and I know he was a fine defensive player. I probably could have had him 6-8 spots higher on the list and been okay with it. Oh well.