Norm Cash was a well known 1B for the Detroit Tigers, known for his all time 1961 season. He hit .361, 41, 132 with 193 hit and 119 RS. His 124 walks gave him a .487 OBP and 1.148 OPS which makes it amongs one of the best seasons ever. He would have been 78 today, having drowned during a fishing accident on my seventh birthday, 10/12/1986. During the time he played (1958-1974), he was among the most consistent first basemen in the game, both offensively and defensively. He was a main cog on the 1968 World Series Championship Tigers team (which he hit .385) and also was on the team that won the AL East title in 1972, which lost to the Oakland Athletics in the ALCS.
He played 17 years in the big leagues, 15 years in Detroit and parts of two early seasons with the Chicago White Sox in 1958 and 1959. Though he had 104 of his 112 accumulated ABs to that point in 1959, he still got 4 ABs in the World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Though he was consistent for the majority of his career, but he spent the rest of his time trying to live up to the 1961 season, for which he could never come close to repeating. He hit 39 HRs in 1962, but he hit only .243; the 118 point differential the largest in the history of the game for that of a previous season' batting champion. He would only hit .280 or higher twice more in his career, including his highest batting average of .283 in 1971. He finished with 377 HRs, 7 more than Gil Hodges. The difference being Hodges had more hits, over 200 more RBI and hit for a higher average.
Hodges is also more of a HOF candidate than Cash, though I would not be against seeing Cash inducted. As a power hitting 1B, Hodges' numbers were superior, for the most part, to any other 1B in the game at the time. Cash played his career later than that of Hodges, where he was judged by the likes of Willie McCovey and Harmon Killebrew, among others. Though Cash was a heck of a player, his numbers did not stand out in the way Hodges did. He did managed to have five 30 HR seasons, something to be commended.
Cash later admitted he used a corked bat throughout his career, not just during his 1961 season. Another sign that players have always tried to gain any advantage they can. Many point to the fact that players use steroids and other PEDs to gain advantages. The spitball was used as far back as around the origins of baseball and signs have been stolen on a regular basis since players and coaches started using them.
Hodges is also more of a HOF candidate than Cash, though I would not be against seeing Cash inducted. As a power hitting 1B, Hodges' numbers were superior, for the most part, to any other 1B in the game at the time. Cash played his career later than that of Hodges, where he was judged by the likes of Willie McCovey and Harmon Killebrew, among others. Though Cash was a heck of a player, his numbers did not stand out in the way Hodges did. He did managed to have five 30 HR seasons, something to be commended.
Cash later admitted he used a corked bat throughout his career, not just during his 1961 season. Another sign that players have always tried to gain any advantage they can. Many point to the fact that players use steroids and other PEDs to gain advantages. The spitball was used as far back as around the origins of baseball and signs have been stolen on a regular basis since players and coaches started using them.
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