"Consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds, but
it can also make certain ballplayers nigh unto invisible. Indian Bob
Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up
and whistle. While phenoms came, collected their MVP trophies, and
faded, he just kept plodding along hitting .300, with a couple dozen
homers and a hundred ribbies year after year...like a guy punching a
time clock."- Bob Carroll in For the Hall of Fame : Twelve Good Men
"Indian Bob" Johnson was an outfielder for the Philadelphia Athletics, Washington Senators, and Boston Red Sox from 1933-1945, an era dominated by players such as Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, and Ted Williams and with devastating events such as the Great Depression and World War II. The Athletics during this time period had player greats such as Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Cochrane that both reached the Pantheon of baseball gods due to their offensive greatness with mammoth Home Run numbers and high Batting Averages, but one key attribute that is constantly overlooked by baseball writers (sheer consistency) becomes the strength that Bob Johnson has over his teammates and Hall of Famers of his day.
Background and first season.
Indian Bob started his baseball career at the old age of 27, mostly due to the fact that the Athletics already had three superstar outfielders: Al Simmons, Bing Miller, and Mule Haas. Following are the averages the three men had when on the team since Indian Bob joined professional baseball in 1929.
| Player (1929 – 1932) | BA | H | HRs | RBIs | R | OBP | SLG |
| Al Simmons | .362 | 210 | 32 | 150 | 129 | .406 | .630 |
| Bing Miller | .304 | 150 | 8 | 82 | 72 | .356 | .450 |
| Mule Haas | .309 | 163 | 8 | 68 | 95 | .363 | .444 |
| Total Outfield Avg. | .325 | 174 | 16 | 100 | 99 | .375 | .508 |
Out of the three outfielders Al Simmons was admitted into the Hall of Fame, but together they were an amazing combination. This is how Bob Johnson performed in the Minor Leagues from 1929-1932. There is a discrepancy in the stats due to the fact that statistics in the minors were not well kept, but for the most part it is to show what Bob could have contributed to the Athletics almost just as well as a few of their outfielders.
| Minor League Years | BA | H | Hrs | RBIs | R | OBP | SLG |
| Bob Johnson | .297 | 138 | 19 | N/A | N/A | N/A | .495 |
Keep in mind that in Bob Johnson's first season in the minors he only played 81 games, but as you can see Johnson was doing well in the Minor Leagues before he was brought up in 1933. If it wasn't for the talent of the outfield, he could have been brought up much sooner which could have extended his career by a few years. Defensively Mule Haas and Al Simmons were outstanding both with an average .982 fielding percentage which was amazing for that time period. The Athletics had won two World Series in 1929 and 1930 and lost in an appearance in 1931. By 1932, America hit its lowest point economically with a 25% unemployment rate. America voted in Franklin D. Roosevelt that fall and he started to work on his New Deal. Meanwhile Athletic's manager Connie Mack knew that Al Simmons would become too expensive for him to keep on the team that also had future Hall of Famers Jimmie Foxx and Mickey Cochrane. They were a team to beat in the east. Although the team was doing well, it was the most inopportune time. In 1933 after a deal that sent Al Simmons to the Chicago White Sox, Mack called up the 27 year old Bob, or "Indian Bob" for the fact that he was considered a quarter Cherokee to fill in for Simmons. He was tall around six feet and lean weighing in at 180 pounds. In 1932 on the Philadelphia Athletics AA minor league team he had a .330 BA and 29 HRs, making him the clear choice to replace Simmons.
In 1933, Johnson's first year in the majors, the Athletics ended the season third in the American League with a 79-72 record, the last winning record Johnson will have playing for the Athletics. Jimmie Foxx, the first baseman, batted a .356 BA, 48 HRs and 163 RBI as the catcher Mickey Cochrane batted a .322 BA with 106 BBs and only 22 SOs. These two men caught the eyes of eager spectators, but Indian Bob ended the season with a .290 BA, 21 HRs and 93 RBI and 103 Runs Scored, which compared to Foxx and Cochrane made him appear as an average player, but Johnson was only second in doubles with 44, seven more than Foxx's 37. He was also in the Top 10 within the Major Leagues in Runs Scored, Home Runs, Walks, Extra Base Hits, and OPS, placing him in the same list with greats such as Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Chuck Klein and even Jimmie Foxx himself. Defensively Johnson was in the Top 10 in assists with 16 and also Errors Committed, which may be considered a stat that makes Johnson look bad, but the rookie was in standing with future Hall of Famer Earl Averill in this category as well. In his rookie season, Indian Bob Johnson was 15th on the MVP voting list (tied with his Hall of Fame teammate Mickey Cochrane). Out of 39 Rookie Players that year outfielder Pete Fox from the Detroit Tigers was the only other player that had played enough games around (75% of the entire season) to be considered an equal to Johnson for Rookie of the Year. Pete Fox batted .288 with 13 Triples, 7 HRs, and 82 Runs scored. Johnson and Fox were considerably different players (Fox was more of a small ball outfielder as Johnson was more for power), but Johnson's higher batting average, HRs, doubles, BBs, OBP, SLG, and many other categories would have made him a sure candidate for Rookie of the Year if it was an award granted in 1933. Indian Bob Johnson came in strong and the wheels kept rotating into the rest of his career.
Heart of the Athletics
The very next year in 1934, Connie Mack continued to disassemble his dynasty and his first candidate to leave was Mickey Cochrane who he sold to the Detroit Tigers before the 1934 season. This hurt the Athletics and even though they had the great talents of Jimmie Foxx, Doc Cramer, Pinky Higgins, and Indian Bob Johnson who hit 34 HRs that year they ended up with a 68-82 record landing 5th in the American League. That very year Indian Bob had a 26 game hitting streak that aided in a few of their victories, but their lack of pitching helped destroy the club. The Athletics only had one starting pitcher that had over a .500 winning percentage and the average ERA amongst the starters was a 4.63 which was high considering the league average was a 4.22. Times were tough for the Athletics, but Johnson persevered. He was within the Top 10 Rankings in the Major Leagues in Home Runs and Stolen Bases and Defensively in Assists and Double Plays turned.
Up until 1935, Bob Johnson would play with Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx who was becoming an increasingly popular player, rivaling the great Babe Ruth in his mammoth offensive numbers. In 1935, the Athletics went 58-91 finishing 8th in the American League. Their pitching improved slightly, but continued to be below average that hurt the ballclub's chances of making it to the World Series again. Although the Athletics did not do well as a whole, Johnson was voted into his first All-Star Team and actually the first All-Star Team ever in MLB history. After the 1935 season, Connie Mack sold Foxx to the Red Sox for $150,000 about $2.5 million in 2015. Foxx left the failing ballclub and prospered over in Boston, but this left Bob Johnson with a more arduous challenge in Philadelphia as all the walls around him appeared to be crumbling.
In 1936 the 30 year old Indian Bob had to become the leader of the outfield. He hit his career high 121 RBIs and was in the top 10 in triples with 14 as well as in Home Runs. The Athletics ended the 1936 season with a 53-100 record. Their pitching was yet another devastation and three of their starting pitchers had above a 5.00 ERA as well as below a .400 winning percentage. Johnson had 18% of the entire team's RBIs that season (Foxx's average from 1933-1935) and was the only one to have over 100. Johnson's power numbers made him stand out. Within the starting nine Johnson hit 37% of their Home Runs. If you don't think that is an impressive number the year Babe Ruth hit his 60 Home Runs in 1927 he had 40% of his starting nine's Home runs. Johnson was nearly as impressive a Home Run hitter on his team as Babe Ruth was on the Yankees.
The next year in 1937 the Athletics would go on to have a 54-97 record landing 7th in the American League. Bob Johnson continued to polish his craft as well as teammate Wally Moses. Bob would reach the Top 10 in OPS, On Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, and Walks. Yet again, Bob was the only one on the Athletics to have reached over 100 RBI. Moses and Johnson oddly had the same number of HRs (25) and the same number of Stolen bases (9) and Caught Steals (7), but Johnson beat Moses in On Base Percentage, RBIs, and Slugging Percentage and Johnson played 16 less games than Moses. Moses was voted into the 1937 All Star Team, his only appearance to do so in his career while Bob was excluded. The young Moses would soon fade out having 1937 be his best in his career.
1938 continued the Athletics' hardships, but Johnson's prowess. The team went 53-99 with not a single starting pitcher with a winning percentage at or above .500. Bob Johnson had 113 RBIs when the second highest on his team was Billy Werber with 69. Out of the starting nine he had 24% of their RBIs. Johnson had 30 Home Runs second highest was 17 and ending with over 30% of the entire team's Home Runs. He reached the Top 10 in the Majors in Home Runs and Total Bases and Lead the league in Outfield assists with 21, defeating Joe DiMaggio by 1. Johnson strove to help his team and on June 12, 1938 when the Athletics beat the St. Louis Browns 8–3, Johnson had driven in all eight runs with three home runs (one a grand slam, his second of the month) and a single. At the time the second to ever score all their teams runs in a win. Today Johnson is one of three to ever perform such a task. His contributions to the Athletics are transparent. He was voted as an All Star for the second time and was 17th in the MVP Voting List ahead of Pete Fox, his old teammate Doc Cramer, and future Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez.
The year 1939 can be considered Indian Bob's best as the Athletics continued to struggle to get in at least 60 wins. The average ERA for the starting pitching was a devastating 5.61 ERA as the league average was a 4.20 and it didn't seem to be hopeful for the 33 year old outfielder, but yet again he persevered landing in the Top 10 in the Major Leagues in Batting Average, Runs Scored, Total Bases, RBIs, Walks, On Base Percentage, and OPS (ahead of Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer) as well as in Outfield Assists (ahead of Joe DiMaggio). Johnson batted an incredible .338 with 23 HRs, 114 RBIs, and 115 Runs Scored granting him an 8th spot on the MVP Voting list ahead of Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg as well as a spot on the All Star Team. The end of the decade was good for Indian Bob.
1940 saw a change in baseball as WWII raged on in Europe and America had yet to decide if they were going to become directly involved. Businesses started to flourish due to the aid that America provided for Britain and the other Allies in the war, increasing employment and therefore crowds. The Athletics went 54-100 and ended dead last in the American League yet again. Johnson was yet again the only player on the team to achieve 100 RBIs, but a young outfielder Sam Chapman was a promising prospect to hopefully get the Athletics on track. Johnson would have a bad year or "off year" batting .268 with 31 HRs and 103 RBIs and 93 Runs Scored. He was only in the Top 10 for Home Runs and in Outfield Assists ahead of the other DiMaggio, Vince. He was voted into another All Star Team, making this his fourth appearance in his first 8 years in the majors.
In 1941 Johnson achieved a milestone. He was the fifth in MLB History to hit 20 or more HRs for nine consecutive seasons behind Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mel Ott and Jimmie Foxx. Sam Chapman also had a stellar year, giving Indian Bob some Run support with 106 RBIs only 1 less than Bob's 107. The Athletics also reached a goal with a 64-90 record. The first 60 win season in over five years. Things appeared to be looking up for the Athletics or so they did. In December America had just entered into WWII and yet again the Athletics were affected.
In 1942, the eager and young Sam Chapman joined the U.S. Navy and Wally Moses was traded to the Chicago White Sox, leaving Bob to have to fend off for himself yet again. The club did terribly, ending the season with a 54-99 record. Bob was the highest paid player, making about $10,000 that year or around $146,000 in 2015. Joe DiMaggio made $43,750 in 1942 or $638,656 in 2015. Bob felt greatly under-appreciated for his extreme efforts to help his team win games. He had 40% of his Team's Home Runs even though he had a dip with only 13 that year. The club that Bob had to play with was less than average and it was Bob's first season since 1934 in which he did not acquire 100 RBIs marking a low point in his career, but he was still voted an All-Star, his fifth appearance.
After the terrible ending to the 1942 season, Indian Bob wanted more money for the 1943 season that the Athletics were not willing to give him. He asked to be traded and was given to the Washington Senators for a ballplayer and some money. The 37 year old Indian Bob seemed to be on his way out of major league baseball, but he continued to make strives. He was truly the Heart of the Athletics and before he left he had amassed over 997 Runs Scored, surpassing Jimmie Foxx's number of 975. Bob's number became a franchise record for over 50 years until it was beaten by Rickey Henderson in 1993. Indian Bob Johnson tried to carry his below average team to the playoffs with incredible record performances. There is a modern statistic called Runs Created that takes into account all the opportunities the player gave his team to allow Bob to score runs. Throughout Bob Johnson's career on the Athletics the team amassed 7,612 runs created and Johnson alone amassed 1,162 roughly 15.26% of the teams runs created. Jimmie Foxx's percentage on his 11 year run on the Athletics was 13%. Connie Mack once said for his team to win many games, "{It} must get consistent hitting and combine it with good pitching." -Miami Daily News (May 9, 1924). He was able to achieve one half of this formula with the literally beating heart of the Athletics, Indian Bob Johnson, but the lack of the other half could have made him appear as a bad player.
Able Veteran
In 1943 Johnson joined the youthful team of the Washington Senators. The 37 year old veteran was on a team with the average age of 28. He was the oldest starting outfielder by 9 years. The team was in desperate need of leadership in the outfield in which Johnson provided, enabling the Senators to reach a 84-69 record, finishing 2nd in the American League. Bob didn't bat well in his first season in Griffith Stadium, in which, could have been contributed by the fact that the Athletic's home turf, Shibe Park was a hitter's park and Griffith was more of a pitcher's ballpark. World War II continued to wage on and take away many of the game's best players, but Johnson even though having low numbers, the worst in his career was 5th in the MVP voting list ahead of future Hall of Famers Bill Dickey, Lou Boudreau, and Bobby Doerr. He sadly didn't reach any Top 10s for 1943 in any categories, but this soon changed once a new deal was struck. The Boston Red Sox, seeing the possible remaining talent in Bob Johnson and how he would perform at Fenway purchased his contract from the Washington Senators in a deal that Senators owner Clark Griffith stated as the worst in his career.
A Strong Finish
In 1944, the 38 year old Indian Bob played his first season with the Boston Red Sox. Oddly enough his competition from his rookie year, Pete Fox, was his teammate. The outfield was a mixture of old and young players. Johnson, 38, Fox, 35, and George Metkovich, 23. The Red Sox were in a desperate search for good players since they lost Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio to involvement in the war. The team did alright ending with an absolute .500 winning percentage with a 77-77 record finishing 4th in the American League, but Bob Johnson continued to show his worth. Although a lot of statisticians say that ballplayers stats were inflated during these years due to the lack of talent, this proves that Johnson and these players are above an average player due to the fact that their stats do rise in one of the game's lowest talented times. Bob Johnson not only had great offensive numbers that granted him the Top 10 spot in Runs Scored, Total Bases, RBIs, Walks, On Base Percentage (3rd), OPS, and Extra Base Hits, as well as in Outfield Assists (4th) with an astonishing 23. He was voted into his seventh and last All Star Game and was 10th in MVP Voting. His stats were considerably better than his teammates such as future Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr and Pete Fox. This year marked the last he was able to acquire over 100 RBIs making this the eighth season he was able to do so in his career.
1945 was a remarkable year as it ended two conflicts, the European and Pacific theaters of World War II. There was a travel ban within the United States in 1945 which highly affected Major League Baseball, in which for the first time since the inaugural All-Star game in 1933 there was not an All-Star team. The Boston Red Sox went 71-83 finishing 7th in the American League. A spot to which Bob was accustomed. Although the 39 year old Bob was the oldest member of the team he still lead his own team in RBIs, HRs, Hits, Triples, and Games Played. He was also in the Top 10 in the Major Leagues in Outfield Assists. Indian Bob was 23rd on the MVP voting list, but although he still continued to show potential Indian Bob retired after the 1945 season.
At the time Indian Bob retired he was 8th in Career Home Runs, 16th in Career Walks, 35th in Career OBP, 19th in Career OPS, 29th in Career RBIs, 20th in Career Slugging, 37th in Total Bases, as well as 3rd in games played in Left Field, 10th in Career Putouts, and 8th in Career Outfield Assists. Keep in mind he only played 13 seasons and held these rankings. He was a seven time all star and was in the voting for MVP six times. He had nine consecutive 20 or more HR seasons and on top of that seven of them were combined with 100 or more RBIs. He lead his team in RBIs for nine seasons. His contemporary fans seemed to see the greatness in Indian Bob through the support he received in MVP and All-Star voting in even his off seasons. He played in an age when America was at its lowest to when it was growing into one of the world's superpowers and in the chaos of these years, one thing remained constant and that was Indian Bob Johnson.
Sizing up his contemporaries
One argument a baseball historian and statistician can make is that Indian Bob doesn't deserve to be in the Hall of Fame because he possibly couldn't compare to the greats of his time. Although the sheer numbers of these Hall of Famers look great, when you look deeper Johnson's consistency allows him to surpass some of the greats of his day.
One Hall of Famer would be Chuck Klein from the Philadelphia Phillies. Chuck was brought into the Hall of Fame after a schoolteacher petitioned for his admission in 1980 by the Veterans Committee. Chuck was one year older than Bob and started his career at age 23. Chuck came into the game strong and confident. He was a predominant rightfielder and was one of the greatest hitters of the 1930s. What I have done is take into consideration just how consistency matters to a team as well as to a player's induction into the Hall of Fame. I created two tables each one showing how Chuck Klein and Bob Johnson performed in the first six years of their careers compared to the second six years of their careers.
Chuck Klein
| Years | BA | Hits | Hrs | RBIs | Runs |
| 1928-1933 | .359 | 202 | 32 | 121 | 116 |
| 1934-1939 | .293 | 130 | 17 | 72 | 70 |
| % Decrease | 19% | 36% | 47% | 40% | 40% |
Bob Johnson
| Years | BA | Hits | HRs | RBIs | Runs |
| 1933-1938 | .301 | 164 | 27 | 106 | 102 |
| 1939-1944 | .294 | 153 | 19 | 96 | 92 |
| % Decrease | 2.4% | 7% | 30% | 10% | 10% |
As the astute observer can see Chuck Klein's numbers drop dramatically compared to Bob Johnson's numbers. Klein's previewed numbers dropped at an average of 36.4% from the first six years to his second six years. Bob Johnson's average drop was 11.8%. This goes to prove as Chuck Klein's career plummeted Bob Johnson's gradually declined. Another thing to consider is that Chuck Klein in 1939 was 34 years old as Indian Bob was 38 in 1944, displaying the fact that Johnson was playing at an older age.
Career numbers show some astonishing revelations.
| Career Totals | BA | Hits | HRs | RBIs | Runs | OBP | Total Bases |
| Chuck Klein | .320 | 2076 | 300 | 1201 | 1168 | .379 | 3522 |
| Bob Johnson | .296 | 2051 | 288 | 1283 | 1239 | .393 | 3501 |
Chuck Klein has Indian Bob defeated in BA, H, and HRs, but Bob Johnson has Klein beat in RBIs, Runs Scored, and On Base Percentage. Keep in mind that Chuck Klein played 4 more seasons than Bob Johnson and only had 25 more hits and 12 more Home Runs as well as 21 more Total Bases. The average per season for their entire careers: Chuck Klein (103 Games played, 122 Hits, 18 HRs, 71 RBIs, 69 Runs Scored), Bob Johnson (143 Games Played, 158 Hits, 22 HRs, 99 RBIs, 95 Runs Scored). If you added four more years to Bob Johnson's career, he would appear clearly the better player. Chuck Klein just wouldn't compare. Career-wise Bob Johnson was the better offensive player.
| 4 more years | BA | H | HRs | RBIs | Runs | Total Bases |
| Bob Johnson | .296 | 2683 | 376 | 1679 | 1619 | 4577 |
Let's look at defensive numbers for their careers. Chuck Klein had 194 assists in the outfield. Bob Johnson had 208 assists in the outfield. Chuck Klein's fielding percentage .962 compared to Bob's .968. Chuck Klein had 3,250 Putouts compared to Bob's 4,003. Comparatively Bob Johnson was a better fielder and all together a better hitter. It definitely begs the question then, Why is he not in the Hall of Fame? Why did a schoolteacher from Washington or the Midwest not petition for his involvement? What gives Chuck Klein an advantage?
Chuck Klein was on two All-Star Teams compared to Bob Johnson's seven. Chuck won 1 MVP award and was in the voting four times. Bob didn't win a MVP award and was in the voting six times. Chuck has 8 consecutive 20 or more HR seasons compared to Johnson's 9 and has 5 consecutive 100 or more RBI seasons compared to Johnson's 7. Clearly Johnson was more consistent and effective.
"In baseball, my theory is to strive for consistency, not to worry about the numbers. If you dwell on statistics you get shortsighted, if you aim for consistency, the numbers will be there at the end." - Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver.
As one can see in the comparison of Klein and Johnson that Seaver is correct. Clearly Johnson needs someone to petition for involvement because if Klein is in the Hall of Fame clearly Johnson needs to be there. Consistency can triumph over anything. Just look at one of Aesop's most beloved fables the Tortoise and the Hare and its simple message of slow and steady wins the race. Klein and Johnson are perfect examples of this situation. Klein the eager and steadfast Hare, impulsively jumping from the starting line, but tiring out halfway through as the steady and consistent Johnson walked right passed him. I think its fair to say that the Hare doesn't win that race, but why is the Hare in the Hall of Fame and not the Tortoise. Is it because the Hare exhibited great skill at the beginning and had a higher top speed per mile in the first half of the race than the Tortoise? How is that a fair judgment of skill? Even the simple, but remarkable message of a children's tale can be overlooked just like Indian Bob Johnson.
Now its not fair to just compare Bob Johnson to ONE of his contemporaries who was voted in later one by a passionate Phillies . How about Joe DiMaggio? Joe DiMaggio also played only 13 seasons all of them with the New York Yankees. He lost his prime years to the war effort, but was still able to be placed in the Hall of Fame. DiMaggio's Yankees were the complete opposite to Johnson's Athletics. The Yankees were well over .500 every season DiMaggio was on the team and had more than one player who hit over 100 RBIs. Joltin Joe had offensive as well as defensive support with all star pitching. Johnson had 15.26% of his team's runs created as DiMaggio had 14.5%. DiMaggio ended with 1,560 Runs Created as Johnson ended with 1,364. DiMaggio's Yankees created over 10,000 runs when he was on their team as Johnson's Athletics only had about 7,000 runs created to display how much support Johnson really had. On average Johnson's Athletics won 59.3 games a season in his ten year career with them as the Yankees were well over 90 wins a season. An interesting modern statistic is Win Shares, which calculates with an intense formula how many wins a player contributed to his team with his batting and fielding.
| Team Wins throughout career | Win Shares | Percentage of Wins Shared | |
| Bob Johnson | 828 | 287 | 34.6% |
| Joe Dimaggio | 1272 | 387 | 30.4% |
As you can see Joe DiMaggio's Yankees had about 1.5 times the number of wins Johnson's teams were able to amount, but Johnson ended with contributing a higher percentage of his team's wins. This displays the fact that Johnson's skill was integral to his team's ability to win. He averaged about 22 Win Shares per season when some years his team only amounted 54 or 58 wins. That means in those years Johnson could have contributed to nearly half of his team's wins, which is astounding. When Joe DiMaggio averaged about 29 Win Shares a season when his team mostly had 90 or so win seasons contributing about a third of his team's wins per season. This needs to be considered before moving on to comparing these two stellar players. This is not going to be an argument as to why Joe DiMaggio should not be in the Hall of Fame, but of how Bob Johnson is overlooked when compared to one of the game's greatest players.
At first glance, DiMaggio beats Johnson in nearly every offensive category with a close margin in OBP. DiMaggio's career OBP was .398 as Johnson's was .393. DiMaggio averaged 74 walks for every 162 games as compared to Johnson's 96. Johnson played more career games than the injury prone DiMaggio, and ended up with nearly 300 more walks in his career. This gave Indian Bob's team 300 more chances to bring him to home plate yet not many did.
A Sabremetric approach would show that Johnson and DiMaggio were closer than what met the eye. The Secondary Average statistic shows something interesting. Secondary Average is a baseball statistic that measures the sum of extra bases gained on hits, walks, and stolen bases (less times caught stealing) depicted per at bat. This shows the overall offensive effectiveness of a ballplayer. DiMaggio's career number at .373 is compared to Johnson's .370. According to Secondary Average, Johnson is relatively just as effective as DiMaggio. The career batting averages of DiMaggio and Johnson show something different .295 (Johnson) and .325 (DiMaggio), which to the Baseball Writers gives DiMaggio a clear advantage. Comparing Johnson to DiMaggio may seem ridiculous, but consistency still prevails over anything else and the one thing that DiMaggio failed at consistency was his fielding arm.
Joe DiMaggio had a .978 career fielding percentage considered great for the 30s and 40s while Johnson had a .968 fielding percentage considered slightly below average. DiMaggio ended with 153 assists in the outfield with his career high with 22 assists in his rookie season. Johnson ended his career with 208 assists with his career high at 23 at the age of 38 his second to last year in the majors. Johnson's single season low in assists is 11 averaging about 16 a season. DiMaggio's low is 1 in 76 games in the outfield. In 1947 DiMaggio had only 2 assists in 139 games in the outfield exposing great inconsistency. Now outfield assists can be determined on the pitching, opposing hitting, and the size of the home ballpark, but Johnson's assist numbers are oddly consistent considering he played in three different ballparks as DiMaggio's fluctuated greatly within only one home ballpark. DiMaggio is the definite better fielder, but Johnson's arm was better than Joltin' Joe's and more consistent. Taking consistency into this situation, Johnson was just as incredibly consistent offensively as he was defensively. I am not trying to state that Johnson was as good as DiMaggio overall, but the fact that Johnson prevailed in areas that DiMaggio failed. It is to humanize what many people may consider a god in sports and that even a silent ballplayer like Johnson in certain areas of the game is better or just as good.
In 1944 Johnson was on the Boston Red Sox with future Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr. Johnson was 38 and Doerr was 26. The two had tremendous seasons. Doerr ended with a .325 BA with 15 HRs and 81 RBI combined with 95 Runs scored and a .927 OPS. Johnson ended with a .324 BA with 17 HRs and 106 RBI combined with 106 Runs and a .959 OPS. Johnson played 20 more games than Doerr did that year, but was 12 years older than him. If Doerr played the same amount of games he may have had stats identical to Johnson. This shows that Johnson brought his consistency to his later years in the majors and made him a force to be reckoned with his younger counterparts.
Doerr's defensive capabilities were impressive that gave him a ticket to the Hall of Fame, but his offensive numbers are another story. Doerr's offensive numbers are lower than Johnson's and he played 14 seasons in the majors ranging from 19 years old to 33 years old. Doerr and Johnson's career numbers are also very close, but Johnson ended with a higher career BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, RS, RBI, BBs, SBs, and Hits. Doerr only played two more games than Johnson did in his career, but Johnson averaged about 143 games played per season and Doerr excluding his first year which he only played 55 games averaged 139 a season. Johnson played more games and played at the older half of a career as Doerr played at the younger half. Doerr was a second baseman that was exceptional at fielding which was a rarity for his time period, but Johnson was better than Doerr in nearly every offensive category. If Johnson can be compared to Hall of Famers in this light, then why is he not in the Hall of Fame?
Eddie Murray. Who is more consistent?
Johnson's late entry into MLB makes it hard to find a good age comparison, but one ballplayer that can be matched to Bob Johnson for their sheer consistency is Eddie Murray. Bill James stated in his historic baseball Abstract (2000) that nearly every year in Murray's career was his best due to his consistency. They were both outfielders and infielders with considerable speed with a few differences being that Murray was a switch hitter and played a good percentage of his career as a DH playing mostly into the 1980s while Johnson only batted right handed and was thrown all around the outfield and played forty years before Murray.
In Johnson's 13 year career he ended with a .296 batting average, 288 home runs, 1283 Runs batted in, and 96 stolen bases. Murray's stats within the same timeline (Age 27-39) are a .287 batting average, 314 home runs, 1234 Runs batted in, and 73 stolen bases. This is shown that even though they played in completely different eras around the same age they were very similar players. Murray had been playing in the MLB since he was 21 years old allowing him to progress and mature as a ballplayer and the time period difference can't give us an accurate match-up so we will have to rely on just how consistent are the numbers and not their quality. Johnson was a 7 time All Star when Murray was an 8 time all star, but how did they perform when they were not deemed all-stars. Now let's do a comparison of all star and non all star years.
| Bob Johnson | BA | H | HRs | RBIs | R |
| All Star | .300 | 160 | 21 | 98 | 96 |
| Non All Star | .292 | 156 | 23 | 99 | 94 |
| Percent Difference | 3% | 2.5% | 8% | 1.1% | 2% |
| Eddie Murray | BA | H | HRs | RBIs | R |
| All Star | .295 | 166 | 26 | 105 | 91 |
| Non All Star | .283 | 155 | 23 | 89 | 74 |
| Percent Difference | 4% | 7% | 12% | 15% | 19% |
Now this comparison is not the actual statistics themselves, but to mostly focus on the percent difference in the numbers. This a consistency test. Murray averaged about a 11.4% difference in his numbers from his All Star to his non All Star years. Johnson averaged about 3.2% difference in his numbers. ONLY 3.2% difference that is astonishing! Although Murray was an incredibly consistent player offensively, Bob Johnson throughout his career was more consistent. He was nearly as good in his non all star years as he was in his all star years. Giving an all star performance throughout his entire career. This begs to ask that defining question in this argument, Why is he not in the Hall of Fame?
Johnson and Murray - Hall of Fame comparison
The two distinct baseball eras of the 1930s and 40s and the 1970s and 80s make it nearly impossible to truly compare Johnson and Murray, but how did they compare to Hall of Famers in their own eras? One thing that should be noted is that Johnson played during the entirety of World War II. During this period most of the country's best players including, DiMaggio, Williams, Musial, Feller, and many others left to fight in Europe, leaving Johnson to play against lower level talent. During WWII, above average ballplayer's experienced an inflation in their numbers, and without surprise Johnson's numbers spiked during this time.
On the following graph that I have provided you can see Johnson's and Murray's batting averages compared to the league average throughout their careers.
As one can see Johnson's batting average only dipped down once toward the league average throughout his career. The dip in the league's batting average during WWII 1941-1945, but the greatest difference in the averages occurred in 1939 before America's direct involvement in the war. With Murray's graph which takes place in the same age timeline (ages 27 - 39) you can see that at two points, Murray's batting average went below the league's average and appears more inconsistent. The two men within their own time periods, Johnson appears to be the better and more consistent hitter, but you can't solely base their abilities on just batting average.
The Golden Arm
Bob Johnson was an incredible left fielder and recent statistical compilation completed by baseball-reference.com has posted that Bob Johnson has the most all-time career assists in Left Field with 184. An interesting thing to note is that he had played fewer seasons than all of the players in the top ten of that list, including Carl Yaztremski with 23 seasons, Barry Bonds with 22 seasons, and Zach Wheat with 19 seasons. In All-Time assists in the outfield, Johnson is 44th with 23 Hall of Famers placed ahead of him and at least 14 behind him including Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Babe Ruth, Richie Ashburn, and Carl Yaztremski. If he played 18 seasons (the same as Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente) with his average 16 assists a season he would have had 288 assists placing him 11th on the list in career outfield assists.
Bill James stated that the best outfield arm in the 1940s could have belonged to Vince DiMaggio or Indian Bob Johnson in his historical baseball abstract (2000). From 1940-1945 Bob Johnson averaged a .977 fielding percentage with 16 assists per season. Vince DiMaggio averaged a .981 fielding percentage with 12 assists per season. It is very close to say as Vince was a better fielder as Bob Johnson had a better arm. One thing to note is that Johnson retired in 1945 and was from the ages of 34-39 all the years passed his prime.
Now to return to Eddie Murray during his career he had to compete with Hall of Famers such as Mike Schmidt, George Brett, Wade Boggs, and his teammate Cal Ripken Jr. Compared to Cal Ripken Jr. from 1981- 1989 Murray stands as the more dominant player. Murray had a higher batting average, On Base Percentage, and Slugging Percentage. He had more hits, home runs, RBIs, Stolen Bases, walks, and games played. The Iron Man surpassed Murray in Runs Scored with about 40 more than Murray. Ripken Jr. was a shortstop throughout most of his career and won 2 Gold Gloves for his fielding prowess. Murray had 3 Gold Gloves at first base.
When you look at his competition from other clubs Murray appears a bit lower. Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt was leading the back half of his career from 1981-1989, but still stayed on pace to keep up with a young Murray. Schmidt is used as a comparison as a corner infielder.
| 1981-1989 | BA | H | HRs | RBIs | R | OBP | SLG |
| Eddie Murray | .292 | 162 | 27 | 98 | 84 | .377 | .495 |
| Mike Schmidt | .276 | 126 | 29 | 90 | 81 | .386 | .529 |
Schmidt also had 10 Gold Gloves at third base compared to Murray's 3, and you can say that Murray could have have more if he wasn't placed as designated hitter. Schmidt retired in 1989 at the age of 39 which accounts for the lower numbers in his stats and only averaged around 130 games a season when Murray averaged around 149. If Schmidt played the same amount of games at the same pace he was going during those ten years, he would have had 60 more HRs, 55 more RBI, and many more walks. Now if you place them how they were at the same age range (25 -33) Murray was from 1981- 1989 the comparison changes.
| Ages 25-33 | BA | H | HRs | RBIs | R | OBP | SLG |
| Eddie Murray | .292 | 162 | 27 | 98 | 84 | .377 | .495 |
| Mike Schmidt | .268 | 140 | 37 | 100 | 102 | .387 | .548 |
Although the averages look very close, Schmidt outweighs his opponent. He had more HRs, RBIs, over 100 Runs Scored, Walks, less Grounded into Double Plays, and more Hit by Pitches. Murray has him outclassed in batting average and hits. Schmidt also surprisingly had more stolen bases and triples than Murray. Using sabremetrics within the same age timeline such as Secondary Average Schmidt had a .489 compared to Murray's .349. Here the players seem nearly impossible to compare. Mike Schmidt had 467 career Win Shares as Eddie Murray had 437 Win Shares. This may seem close, but Mike Schmidt played 3 fewer seasons than Murray. So if you take the average per season and subtract three years from Murray's total it would look more like 467 - Schmidt and 374 - Murray. Nearly a 100 point difference, which was the difference between Johnson and DiMaggio.
Some Miscellaneous Differences with Eddie Murray and Conclusion
The last stat to include is the recent Wins Above Replacement player stat which takes into account a league average player and how many wins Johnson and Murray had over a league average player in their own time. Within his career Johnson ended with 53.2 Wins above replacement as Murray in the same years 27-39 ended with 43.2 wins above replacement. Johnson was in the Top 10 twice in his career placing 5th in 1939 and 4th in 1944. Murray was in the Top 10 once placing 5th in 1984. Although Johnson did not end with a high Career WAR, his average per season ranked higher than a well seasoned hall of fame worthy Murray in the same time span. This stat is considered the tool to use in order as the true measure of a ballplayer. Johnson rates higher than Murray in both of their league averages clearly making Johnson a better player within his own time period than Murray.
Indian Bob Johnson played in a time of legends and war. Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, the Waner Brothers, Jimmie Foxx, and Mickey Cochrane distracted the baseball fan population from a truly talented ballplayer. Johnson was oddly consistent playing just as good when he was elected an All-Star and when he wasn't and compared with a similar offensive player from a different time, Eddie Murray, is oddly more consistent and better overall. One may look at Bob Johnson and see an average player, but he was a player that made it to 7 All-Star Games and was placed into the voting for MVP six times and has the most career assists in Left Field. To be placed in the Hall of Fame a player must have at least played ten years in Major League Baseball. 7 out of those possible 10 years Johnson was an All-Star giving his team 20 HR, 100 RBI seasons. Taking in account all the factors discussed "Indian Bob" Johnson is an obvious choice for selection into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
