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Prince Fielder’s Rare Season Ending Walk

Posted by Steve Lombardi on October 1, 2011

Prince Fielder became the first player in the last 25 years, batting .299 in his final at-bat of the season, to talk take a walk.

Jon Wertheim has the story. (H/T to BBTF.)

Here are the players to qualify for the batting title, since 1901, and finish with a BA of .299 -

Rk Player Year BA Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB IBB SO HBP SH SF GDP SB CS OBP SLG OPS Pos
1 Albert Pujols 2011 .299 31 STL NL 147 651 579 105 173 29 0 37 99 61 15 58 4 0 7 29 9 1 .366 .541 .906 *3/5
2 Jhonny Peralta 2011 .299 29 DET AL 146 576 525 68 157 25 3 21 86 40 2 95 2 0 9 17 0 2 .345 .478 .824 *6/3
3 Prince Fielder 2011 .299 27 MIL NL 162 692 569 95 170 36 1 38 120 107 32 106 10 0 6 17 1 1 .415 .566 .981 *3/D
4 Yunel Escobar 2009 .299 26 ATL NL 141 604 528 89 158 26 2 14 76 57 3 62 10 7 2 21 5 4 .377 .436 .812 *6
5 Prince Fielder 2009 .299 25 MIL NL 162 719 591 103 177 35 3 46 141 110 21 138 9 0 9 14 2 3 .412 .602 1.014 *3
6 Torii Hunter 2009 .299 33 LAA AL 119 506 451 74 135 26 1 22 90 47 4 92 3 0 5 9 18 4 .366 .508 .873 *8/D
7 Ryan Ludwick 2008 .299 29 STL NL 152 617 538 104 161 40 3 37 113 62 3 146 8 1 8 8 4 4 .375 .591 .966 *978
8 Alfonso Soriano 2007 .299 31 CHC NL 135 617 579 97 173 42 5 33 70 31 4 130 4 0 3 9 19 6 .337 .560 .897 *78/4
9 Lew Ford 2004 .299 27 MIN AL 154 658 569 89 170 31 4 15 72 67 3 75 13 2 7 15 20 2 .381 .446 .827 *78D9
10 Frank Catalanotto 2003 .299 29 TOR AL 133 535 489 83 146 34 6 13 59 35 1 62 6 2 3 9 2 2 .351 .472 .823 79D/3
11 Brian Giles 2003 .299 32 TOT NL 134 609 492 93 147 34 6 20 88 105 12 58 8 0 4 12 4 3 .427 .514 .941 *78
12 Todd Walker 2002 .299 29 CIN NL 155 675 612 79 183 42 3 11 64 50 7 81 3 7 3 9 8 5 .353 .431 .785 *4
13 Mark McGwire 1998 .299 34 STL NL 155 681 509 130 152 21 0 70 147 162 28 155 6 0 4 8 1 0 .470 .752 1.222 *3
14 Bobby Higginson 1997 .299 26 DET AL 146 623 546 94 163 30 5 27 101 70 2 85 3 0 4 10 12 7 .379 .520 .899 *79/8D
15 Darin Erstad 1997 .299 23 ANA AL 139 605 539 99 161 34 4 16 77 51 4 86 4 5 6 5 23 8 .360 .466 .826 *3/D8
16 Harold Baines 1995 .299 36 BAL AL 127 459 385 60 115 19 1 24 63 70 13 45 0 0 4 17 0 2 .403 .540 .943 *D
17 Chris James 1990 .299 27 CLE AL 140 569 528 62 158 32 4 12 70 31 4 71 4 3 3 11 4 3 .341 .443 .784 *D7/89
18 Jerry Browne 1989 .299 23 CLE AL 153 685 598 83 179 31 4 5 45 68 10 64 1 14 4 9 14 6 .370 .390 .759 *4/D
19 Greg Brock 1987 .299 30 MIL AL 141 602 532 81 159 29 3 13 85 57 4 63 6 4 3 9 5 4 .371 .438 .809 *3
20 Bill Buckner 1985 .299 35 BOS AL 162 718 673 89 201 46 3 16 110 30 5 36 2 2 11 16 18 4 .325 .447 .773 *3
21 Andre Dawson 1983 .299 28 MON NL 159 698 633 104 189 36 10 32 113 38 12 81 9 0 18 14 25 11 .338 .539 .877 *8
22 Fred Lynn 1982 .299 30 CAL AL 138 545 472 89 141 38 1 21 86 58 4 72 3 5 7 9 7 8 .374 .517 .891 *8
23 Keith Hernandez 1982 .299 28 STL NL 160 694 579 79 173 33 6 7 94 100 19 67 2 1 12 10 19 11 .397 .413 .810 *3/79
24 Buddy Bell 1979 .299 27 TEX AL 162 720 670 89 200 42 3 18 101 30 4 45 3 7 10 16 5 4 .327 .451 .778 *56
25 Jose Cruz 1977 .299 29 HOU NL 157 661 579 87 173 31 10 17 87 69 13 67 0 3 10 4 44 23 .368 .475 .843 *9/8
26 Steve Ontiveros 1977 .299 25 CHC NL 156 636 546 54 163 32 3 10 68 81 4 69 3 2 4 15 3 3 .390 .423 .813 *5
27 Rusty Staub 1976 .299 32 DET AL 161 690 589 73 176 28 3 15 96 83 11 49 7 0 11 23 3 1 .386 .433 .818 *9D
28 Jose Cardenal 1976 .299 32 CHC NL 136 560 521 64 156 25 2 8 47 32 0 39 1 3 3 5 23 14 .339 .401 .740 *7/9
29 Willie Stargell 1973 .299 33 PIT NL 148 609 522 106 156 43 3 44 119 80 22 129 3 0 4 6 0 0 .392 .646 1.038 *7
30 Ralph Garr 1973 .299 27 ATL NL 148 698 668 94 200 32 6 11 55 22 5 64 2 4 2 12 35 11 .323 .415 .737 *97
31 Lou Brock 1967 .299 28 STL NL 159 724 689 113 206 32 12 21 76 24 6 109 6 2 3 6 52 18 .327 .472 .799 *7
32 Gene Alley 1966 .299 25 PIT NL 147 634 579 88 173 28 10 7 43 27 0 83 5 20 3 8 8 8 .334 .418 .752 *6
33 Donn Clendenon 1966 .299 30 PIT NL 155 629 571 80 171 22 10 28 98 52 7 142 2 1 3 14 8 7 .358 .520 .878 *3
34 Jim Ray Hart 1965 .299 23 SFG NL 160 649 591 91 177 30 6 23 96 47 3 75 2 2 7 15 6 4 .349 .487 .837 *57/9
35 Maury Wills 1962 .299 29 LAD NL 165 759 695 130 208 13 10 6 48 51 1 57 2 7 4 7 104 13 .347 .373 .720 *6
36 John Romano 1961 .299 26 CLE AL 142 580 509 76 152 29 1 21 80 61 3 60 5 1 4 10 0 0 .377 .483 .860 *2
37 Wally Moon 1960 .299 30 LAD NL 138 547 469 74 140 21 6 13 69 67 4 53 1 4 6 21 6 10 .383 .452 .835 *79
38 Gil Hodges 1957 .299 33 BRO NL 150 654 579 94 173 28 7 27 98 63 6 91 2 4 6 11 5 3 .366 .511 .877 *3/54
39 Dave Philley 1955 .299 35 TOT AL 126 465 415 65 124 17 5 8 50 46 4 48 0 2 2 14 1 4 .367 .422 .789 *97/85
40 Granny Hamner 1954 .299 27 PHI NL 152 660 596 83 178 39 11 13 89 53 0 44 0 2 9 13 1 2 .351 .466 .818 *4/6
41 Gus Bell 1954 .299 25 CIN NL 153 684 619 104 185 38 7 17 101 48 0 58 4 5 8 13 5 3 .349 .465 .814 *8
42 Sid Gordon 1948 .299 30 NYG NL 142 605 521 100 156 26 4 30 107 74 0 39 3 7 0 18 8 0 .390 .537 .927 *57/9
43 Bobby Estalella 1945 .299 34 PHA AL 126 527 451 45 135 25 6 8 52 74 0 46 1 1 0 15 1 6 .399 .435 .834 *8/7
44 Mickey Vernon 1941 .299 23 WSH AL 138 581 531 73 159 27 11 9 93 43 0 51 0 7 0 12 9 3 .352 .443 .794 *3
45 Ernie Koy 1938 .299 28 BRO NL 142 574 521 78 156 29 13 11 76 38 0 76 4 11 0 11 15 0 .352 .468 .820 879/5
46 Earl Averill 1937 .299 35 CLE AL 156 702 609 121 182 33 11 21 92 88 0 65 0 5 0 0 5 4 .387 .493 .880 *8
47 Jake Powell 1936 .299 27 TOT AL 140 595 538 102 161 24 8 8 78 51 0 51 2 4 0 0 26 11 .362 .418 .780 *87
48 Pepper Martin 1935 .299 31 STL NL 135 575 539 121 161 41 6 9 54 33 0 58 2 1 0 7 20 0 .341 .447 .789 *59/87
49 Bob Johnson 1935 .299 29 PHA AL 147 664 582 103 174 29 5 28 109 78 0 76 2 2 0 0 2 4 .384 .510 .894 *7/9
50 Danny Taylor 1934 .299 33 BRO NL 120 476 405 62 121 24 6 7 57 63 0 47 2 6 0 11 12 0 .396 .440 .835 *78
51 Moose Solters 1934 .299 28 BOS AL 101 384 365 61 109 25 4 7 58 18 0 50 1 0 0 0 9 4 .333 .447 .780 *89/7
52 Gabby Hartnett 1934 .299 33 CHC NL 130 487 438 58 131 21 1 22 90 37 0 46 3 9 0 15 0 0 .358 .502 .860 *2
53 Ben Chapman 1932 .299 23 NYY AL 151 662 581 101 174 41 15 10 107 71 0 55 5 5 0 0 38 18 .381 .473 .854 *9*7
54 Johnny Frederick 1932 .299 30 BRO NL 118 414 384 54 115 28 2 16 56 25 0 35 4 1 0 0 1 0 .349 .508 .856 89/7
55 Goose Goslin 1932 .299 31 SLB AL 150 667 572 88 171 28 9 17 104 92 0 35 2 1 0 0 12 9 .398 .469 .866 *7/5
56 Mule Haas 1930 .299 26 PHA AL 132 609 532 91 159 33 7 2 68 43 0 33 1 33 0 0 2 2 .352 .398 .751 *8
57 Rube Bressler 1930 .299 35 BRO NL 109 399 335 53 100 12 8 3 52 51 0 19 2 11 0 0 4 0 .394 .409 .803 *7/3
58 Doug Taitt 1928 .299 25 BOS AL 143 537 482 51 144 28 14 3 61 36 0 32 2 17 0 0 13 6 .350 .434 .784 *9/781
59 Woody English 1928 .299 22 CHC NL 116 522 475 68 142 22 4 2 34 30 0 28 2 15 0 0 4 0 .343 .375 .718 *6/5
60 Heinie Sand 1927 .299 29 PHI NL 141 622 535 87 160 22 8 1 49 58 0 59 1 28 0 0 5 0 .369 .376 .744 *65
61 Earl Sheely 1926 .299 33 CHW AL 145 627 525 77 157 40 2 6 89 75 0 13 7 20 0 0 3 1 .394 .417 .811 *3
62 Muddy Ruel 1926 .299 30 WSH AL 117 444 368 42 110 22 4 1 53 61 0 14 2 13 0 0 7 6 .401 .389 .790 *2
63 Charlie Jamieson 1926 .299 33 CLE AL 143 628 555 89 166 33 7 2 45 53 0 22 1 19 0 0 9 7 .361 .395 .756 *7
64 Baby Doll Jacobson 1926 .299 35 TOT AL 148 635 576 62 172 51 2 8 90 31 0 36 2 26 0 0 5 3 .337 .436 .772 *89/7
65 Earle Combs 1926 .299 27 NYY AL 145 670 606 113 181 31 12 8 55 47 0 23 3 14 0 0 8 6 .352 .429 .781 *8/9
66 Jim Bottomley 1926 .299 26 STL NL 154 684 603 98 180 40 14 19 120 58 0 52 4 19 0 0 4 0 .364 .506 .870 *3
67 Howard Freigau 1925 .299 22 TOT NL 126 551 502 79 150 22 10 8 71 32 0 32 1 16 0 0 10 6 .342 .430 .772 *56/34
68 Johnny Mostil 1925 .299 29 CHW AL 153 716 605 135 181 36 16 2 50 90 0 52 12 9 0 0 43 20 .400 .421 .822 *8
69 Curt Walker 1924 .299 27 TOT NL 133 532 468 66 140 27 11 5 54 51 0 19 1 12 0 0 7 6 .369 .436 .805 *98/7
70 Jack Tobin 1924 .299 32 SLB AL 136 629 569 87 170 30 8 2 48 50 0 12 2 8 0 0 6 10 .357 .390 .748 *9
71 Gabby Hartnett 1924 .299 23 CHC NL 111 407 354 56 106 17 7 16 67 39 0 37 5 9 0 0 10 2 .377 .523 .899 *2
72 Denver Grigsby 1924 .299 23 CHC NL 124 460 411 58 123 18 2 3 48 31 0 47 6 12 0 0 10 19 .357 .375 .732 *79/8
73 Bing Miller 1923 .299 28 PHA AL 123 505 458 68 137 25 4 12 64 27 0 34 4 16 0 0 9 3 .344 .450 .793 *79/8
74 Carson Bigbee 1923 .299 28 PIT NL 123 555 499 79 149 18 7 0 54 43 0 15 1 12 0 0 10 9 .355 .363 .718 *7
75 Joe Sewell 1922 .299 23 CLE AL 153 656 558 80 167 28 7 2 83 73 0 20 6 19 0 0 10 12 .386 .385 .771 *64
76 Ralph Young 1921 .299 32 DET AL 107 486 401 70 120 8 3 0 29 69 0 23 3 13 0 0 11 9 .406 .334 .740 *4
77 Cotton Tierney 1921 .299 27 PIT NL 117 486 442 49 132 22 8 3 52 24 0 31 2 18 0 0 4 6 .338 .405 .743 *45/96
78 Ed Konetchy 1921 .299 35 TOT NL 127 519 465 63 139 23 9 11 82 40 0 38 5 9 0 0 6 3 .361 .458 .819 *3
79 George Burns 1921 .299 31 NYG NL 149 698 605 111 181 28 9 4 61 80 0 24 6 7 0 0 19 20 .386 .395 .781 *78/5
80 Dave Bancroft 1920 .299 29 TOT NL 150 673 613 102 183 36 9 0 36 42 0 44 2 16 0 0 8 12 .346 .387 .732 *6
81 Sam Crawford 1915 .299 35 DET AL 156 694 612 81 183 31 19 4 112 66 0 29 0 16 0 0 24 14 .367 .431 .799 *9
82 Fred Merkle 1915 .299 26 NYG NL 140 557 505 52 151 25 3 4 62 36 0 39 2 14 0 0 20 15 .348 .384 .732 *38/9
83 Gavvy Cravath 1914 .299 33 PHI NL 149 604 499 76 149 27 8 19 100 83 0 72 3 19 0 0 14 0 .402 .499 .901 *9/7
84 Nap Lajoie 1907 .299 32 CLE AL 137 558 509 53 152 30 6 2 63 30 0 26 6 13 0 0 24 0 .345 .393 .738 *4/3
85 Art Devlin 1906 .299 26 NYG NL 148 591 498 76 149 23 8 2 65 74 0 48 6 13 0 0 54 0 .396 .390 .786 *5
86 Fred Clarke 1905 .299 32 PIT NL 141 604 525 95 157 18 15 2 51 55 0 42 2 22 0 0 24 0 .368 .402 .770 *7
87 Sherry Magee 1905 .299 20 PHI NL 155 669 603 100 180 24 17 5 98 44 0 57 8 14 0 0 48 0 .354 .420 .774 *7
88 Dan McGann 1905 .299 33 NYG NL 136 584 491 88 147 23 14 5 75 55 0 31 19 19 0 0 22 0 .391 .434 .825 *3
89 Socks Seybold 1903 .299 32 PHA AL 137 569 522 76 156 45 8 8 84 38 0 43 6 3 0 0 5 0 .353 .462 .815 *93/8
90 John Dobbs 1902 .299 27 TOT NL 122 555 491 70 147 15 5 1 51 37 0 29 1 26 0 0 10 0 .350 .356 .706 *78
91 George Davis 1902 .299 31 CHW AL 132 566 485 76 145 27 7 3 93 65 0 23 4 12 0 0 31 0 .386 .402 .788 *6/3
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/1/2011.

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Related posts:

    Ryan Howard’s season-ending walk-off torn Achilles (not ACL)
    Complete-game losses ending on a walk-off homer
    American League left fielders are terrible so far
    Game-Ending Triple Plays and Walk-Off Double Plays
    Clutch 2-Out Game Ending Post-Season RBI

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 1st, 2011 at 10:40 am and is filed under Season Finders. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

14 Responses to “Prince Fielder’s Rare Season Ending Walk”

  1. Don Mattingly's Disembodied Moustache Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 11:47 am

    Hey Steve...I've been told to "walk the talk," but how do you "talk a walk"? Is it a new strategy that ballplayers can use to facilitate a walk? Something like..."Hey walk, come here. I need you. You're not doing anything besides standing there."

  2. Dr. Doom Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 11:56 am

    Fielder and Gabby Hartnett are the only two to appear twice on the above list.

  3. John Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 12:37 pm

    I'm sorry, but that SI piece is awful.

    How many players have entered their final plate appearance batting .299, in the last 25 years? The article doesn't provide the answer.

    This is important because "first time in 25 years" doesn't mean anything if we don't have a frame of reference. If we presume, for example, that the number of players entering their final plate appearance at .299 is roughly the same as the number who ended the season at .299, we can see from Steve's list that about 19 players may have been in Fielder's situation. 1 out of 19 is about 5.3%. The league average of walks per plate appearance, over those 25 years, is about 8.7%. This isn't a significant difference. Slightly less, but then, we've also made an estimate to get to this point.

    Then, the article presses on with analyses from economists and philosophical musings about milestones, from this flawed "analysis."

    It's "stats" like this that push me toward bbref for everything: because outside of this site, people with no understanding of statistics comment on numbers they don't really comprehend.

  4. John Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    Okay, BBTF has a link to the paper. While I don't feel like poring through it, a poster on BBTF says that the number is 61. I'll trust him.

    1 for 61 is 1.6%, as opposed to 8.7%. Meh. Mildly interesting. We're still talking about a fairly small sample size. A bad call here, a "who cares, I got a tee time" at bat there, and suddenly we're pretty close to what you'd expect anyway.

    And watching 61 straight plate appearances without a walk is unusual, but hardly worth psychoanalyzing the batters over.

    Interestingly, in a bar graph in the paper, there's also an unmentioned gap elsewhere, too. It seems that no player in the last 25 years has drawn a walk in his last plate appearance, when his batting average was .312 entering that plate appearance. Is .313 as magical as .300? I think you know my opinion on that...

  5. Steve Lombardi Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    Don Mattingly's Disembodied Moustache - LOL. That's what I get for rushing a post just before running out of the house for my kid's Fall Ball Little League game!

  6. Zachary Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 5:24 pm

    I actually think one of Pujols' ROE should have been recorded as a base hit (5/29 against the Rockies). I'm trying to find the video to confirm my suspicion.

  7. Pageup Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    That's Fielder's 2nd .299 year in the last 3. I suppose as a curiosity a good post might be about the multiple 99 ribbie guys, .299 avgs, etc.

  8. The Original Jimbo Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 6:53 pm

    Amazing that Pujols led the league in GDP's this year.

  9. KB Says:
    October 1st, 2011 at 9:16 pm

    It would seem Pujols is the only player ever to finish the season with 99 RBIs and .299 BA, correct? It's a double-milestone-whammy.

  10. Doug Says:
    October 2nd, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    @9.

    Yes, Pujols is the first at .299 with 99 RBI.

    Closest to him is Goose Goslin in 1923. He hit .300 on the nose - 180 hits in 600 AB.

  11. Doug Says:
    October 2nd, 2011 at 8:31 pm

    Prince Fielder is only the second player since 1901 with two qualifying seasons hitting 0.299. Gabby Hartnett is the other, in 1924 and 1934.

  12. John Autin Says:
    October 3rd, 2011 at 12:33 am

    Someone has misread a list. Albert Pujols never hit below .312 until this year.

    http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pujolal01.shtml

  13. John Autin Says:
    October 3rd, 2011 at 12:07 pm

    MY BAD!!! @12, I mixed up the comments about Pujols with those about Fielder. Doink!

  14. Ryan Howard’s season-ending walk-off torn ACL » Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog Archive Says:
    October 8th, 2011 at 3:40 am

    [...] Season-ending walk We've also seen tons of athletes end their season with a torn ACL--however that usually happens in the middle of a game and in the middle of the season. But did you see this last night? Ryan Howard apparently (pending MRI results) tore his ACL on the final play of the game, crumbling to the ground as the Cardinals rushed the field to celebrate their NLDS victory. I cannot recall any team's season ever ending with a serious injury to a player. What a terrible shame for Howard and the Phillies--if indeed the injury is serious, it's tough to imagine him being ready for spring training in 2012. [...]

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