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Sam Thompson
Samuel Luther Thompson (Big Sam)
Hall of Famer
Bats: Left , Throws: Left
Height: 6' 2" , Weight: 207 lb.

Born: March 5, 1860 in Danville, IN (All Transactions)
Debut: July 2, 1885
Final Game: September 10, 1906
Died: November 7, 1922 in Detroit, MI
Inducted into the Hall of Fame by Veteran's Committee as Player in 1974.
    About biographical information

Standard Batting

More Stats

Glossary · Click headers to sort · SHARE  · CSV · PRE · LINK · Click rows to sum (Clear)
Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards
1885 25 DTN NL 63 270 254 58 77 11 9 7 44 16 22 .303 .344 .500 .844 170 127 O/5
1886 26 DTN NL 122 538 503 101 156 18 13 8 89 13 35 31 .310 .355 .445 .800 139 224 *O
1887 27 DTN NL 127 586 545 118 203 29 23 11 166 22 32 19 .372 .416 .571 .987 167 311 9 *O
1888 28 DTN NL 56 264 238 51 67 10 8 6 40 5 23 10 .282 .352 .466 .819 159 111 3 O
1889 29 PHI NL 128 575 533 103 158 36 4 20 111 24 36 22 .296 .348 .492 .839 125 262 6 *O
1890 30 PHI NL 132 599 549 116 172 41 9 4 102 25 42 29 .313 .371 .443 .813 134 243 8 *O
1891 31 PHI NL 133 614 554 108 163 23 10 7 90 29 52 20 .294 .363 .410 .773 122 227 8 *O
1892 32 PHI NL 153 679 609 109 186 28 11 9 104 28 59 19 .305 .377 .432 .809 144 263 11 *O
1893 33 PHI NL 131 656 600 130 222 37 13 11 126 18 50 17 .370 .424 .530 .954 151 318 6 *O/3
1894 34 PHI NL 99 478 437 108 178 29 27 13 141 24 40 13 .407 .458 .686 1.145 177 300 1 *O
1895 35 PHI NL 119 576 538 131 211 45 21 18 165 27 31 11 .392 .430 .654 1.085 177 352 5 2 *O
1896 36 PHI NL 119 554 517 103 154 28 7 12 100 12 28 13 .298 .341 .449 .790 108 232 6 3 *O
1897 37 PHI NL 3 14 13 2 3 0 1 0 3 0 1 .231 .286 .385 .670 78 5 0 0 /O
1898 38 PHI NL 14 67 63 14 22 5 3 1 15 2 4 .349 .388 .571 .959 178 36 0 0 O
1906 46 DET AL 8 32 31 4 7 0 1 0 3 0 1 .226 .250 .290 .540 67 9 0 0 /O
15 Seasons 1407 6502 5984 1256 1979 340 160 127 1299 229 450 226 .331 .384 .505 .888 146 3020 63 5
162 Game Avg. 162 749 689 145 228 39 18 15 150 52 .331 .384 .505 .888 146 348
PHI (10 yrs) 1031 4812 4413 924 1469 272 106 95 957 189 343 144 .333 .388 .507 .895 143 2238 51 5
DTN (4 yrs) 368 1658 1540 328 503 68 53 32 339 40 106 82 .327 .375 .502 .876 157 773 12
DET (1 yr) 8 32 31 4 7 0 1 0 3 0 1 .226 .250 .290 .540 67 9 0 0
NL (14 yrs) 1399 6470 5953 1252 1972 340 159 127 1296 229 449 226 .331 .384 .506 .890 146 3011 63 5
AL (1 yr) 8 32 31 4 7 0 1 0 3 0 1 .226 .250 .290 .540 67 9 0 0

Postseason Batting

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Year Age Tm Lg Series Opp Rslt G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB
1887 27 DTN NL WS STL W 15 61 58 8 21 2 0 2 7 5 3 3 .362 .393 .500 .893 29 0
1 WS 15 61 58 8 21 2 0 2 7 5 3 3 .362 .393 .500 .893 29 0

Standard Fielding

More Stats

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Year Tm Lg Age Pos G GS Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG LF-CF-RF Awards
1885 DTN NL 25 OF 63 122 84 24 14 0 .885 1.71 .880 1.82 0-0-63
1885 DTN NL 25 3B 1 2 2 0 0 0 1.000 2.00 .850 3.20
1886 DTN NL 26 OF 122 236 194 29 13 11 .945 1.83 .883 1.71 0-0-122
1887 DTN NL 27 OF 127 265 217 24 24 7 .909 1.90 .880 1.92 0-0-127
1888 DTN NL 28 OF 56 102 86 4 12 0 .882 1.61 .909 1.90 0-0-56
1889 PHI NL 29 OF 128 213 173 19 21 7 .901 1.50 .911 1.97 0-0-128
1890 PHI NL 30 OF 132 212 170 29 13 5 .939 1.51 .912 1.89 0-0-132
1891 PHI NL 31 OF 133 284 234 32 18 6 .937 2.00 .910 1.88 0-2-131
1892 PHI NL 32 OF 153 268 223 28 17 7 .937 1.64 .910 1.86 3-0-150
1893 PHI NL 33 OF 131 202 171 17 14 3 .931 1.44 .913 2.14 0-0-131
1893 PHI NL 33 1B 1 8 7 0 1 0 .875 7.00 .975 10.50
1894 PHI NL 34 OF 99 175 159 12 4 2 .977 1.73 .909 2.24 0-0-99
1895 PHI NL 35 OF 118 230 186 31 13 2 .943 1.84 .915 2.14 0-0-118
1896 PHI NL 36 OF 119 266 231 28 7 11 .974 2.18 .930 2.12 0-0-119
1897 PHI NL 37 OF 3 6 4 1 1 0 .833 1.67 .950 2.07 0-0-3
1898 PHI NL 38 OF 14 24 19 5 0 0 1.000 1.71 .933 2.03 0-0-14
1906 DET AL 46 OF 8 14 14 0 0 0 1.000 1.75 .964 1.88 0-0-8
15 Seasons OF 1406 2619 2165 283 171 61 .935 1.74 .906 1.97 3-2-1401
1 Season 1B 1 8 7 0 1 0 .875 7.00 .975 10.50
1 Season 3B 1 2 2 0 0 0 1.000 2.00 .850 3.20
15 Seasons TOT 1408 2629 2174 283 172 61 .935 1.75 .841 1.97 3-2-1401
Pos G GS Inn Ch PO A E DP Fld% RF/9 RF/G lgFld% lgRF9 lgRFG LF-CF-RF Awards

Appearances on Leader Boards, Awards, and Honors

Stats are Year-Value-Rank, Glossary

Hall of Fame
1974 Veterans (inducted)
Selected to HOF in 1974 by Veteran's Committee

Batting Average s c a p y
1886 NL  .310 (8th)
1887 NL  .372 (1st)
1890 NL  .313 (5th)
1891 NL  .294 (7th)
1892 NL  .305 (7th)
1893 NL  .370 (2nd)
1894 NL  .407 (3rd)
1895 NL  .392 (4th)
Career  .331 (32nd)

On-Base% s c a p y
1887 NL  .416 (3rd)
1892 NL  .377 (10th)
1893 NL  .424 (8th)
1894 NL  .458 (8th)
Career  .384 (143rd)

Slugging % s c a p y
1886 NL  .445 (7th)
1887 NL  .571 (1st)
1889 NL  .492 (5th)
1890 NL  .443 (7th)
1892 NL  .432 (8th)
1893 NL  .530 (3rd)
1894 NL  .687 (2nd)
1895 NL  .654 (1st)
Career  .505 (87th)

On-Base Plus Slugging s c a p y
1886 NL  .800 (9th)
1887 NL  .987 (2nd)
1892 NL  .809 (9th)
1893 NL  .954 (5th)
1894 NL  1.145 (2nd)
1895 NL  1.085 (2nd)
Career  .888 (78th)

Games Played s c a p y
1886 NL  122 (9th)
1887 NL  127 (2nd)
1892 NL  153 (3rd)
1893 NL  131 (10th)

At Bats s c a p y
1886 NL  503 (3rd)
1887 NL  545 (1st)
1890 NL  549 (7th)
1891 NL  554 (7th)
1893 NL  600 (1st)

Plate Appearances s c a p y
1886 NL  538 (7th)
1887 NL  586 (2nd)
1893 NL  656 (1st)

Runs Scored s c a p y
1886 NL  101 (9th)
1887 NL  118 (5th)
1890 NL  116 (6th)
1893 NL  130 (6th)
1895 NL  131 (8th)
Career  1256 (136th)

Hits s c a p y
1886 NL  156 (7th)
1887 NL  203 (1st)
1890 NL  172 (1st)
1891 NL  163 (6th)
1892 NL  186 (2nd)
1893 NL  222 (1st)
1895 NL  211 (3rd)

Total Bases s c a p y
1886 NL  224 (7th)
1887 NL  311 (1st)
1889 NL  262 (3rd)
1890 NL  243 (3rd)
1891 NL  227 (6th)
1892 NL  263 (3rd)
1893 NL  318 (2nd)
1894 NL  300 (6th)
1895 NL  352 (1st)

Doubles s c a p y
1887 NL  29 (8th)
1889 NL  36 (3rd)
1890 NL  41 (1st)
1892 NL  28 (6th)
1893 NL  37 (1st)
1895 NL  45 (2nd)
1896 NL  28 (7th)

Triples s c a p y
1885 NL  9 (10th)
1886 NL  13 (4th)
1887 NL  23 (1st)
1894 NL  27 (2nd)
1895 NL  21 (2nd)
Career  160 (39th)

Home Runs s c a p y
1885 NL  7 (3rd)
1886 NL  8 (6th)
1887 NL  11 (7th)
1889 NL  20 (1st)
1891 NL  7 (9th)
1892 NL  9 (5th)
1893 NL  11 (5th)
1894 NL  13 (5th)
1895 NL  18 (1st)
1896 NL  12 (3rd)

Runs Batted In s c a p y
1886 NL  89 (3rd)
1887 NL  166 (1st)
1889 NL  111 (5th)
1890 NL  102 (3rd)
1891 NL  90 (6th)
1892 NL  104 (2nd)
1893 NL  126 (3rd)
1894 NL  141 (2nd)
1895 NL  165 (1st)
1896 NL  100 (8th)
Career  1299 (102nd)

Singles s c a p y
1886 NL  117 (5th)
1887 NL  140 (2nd)
1891 NL  123 (6th)
1892 NL  138 (6th)
1893 NL  161 (2nd)

Adjusted OPS+ s c a p y
1886 NL  139 (10th)
1887 NL  167 (2nd)
1892 NL  144 (9th)
1893 NL  151 (5th)
1894 NL  177 (1st)
1895 NL  177 (2nd)
Career  146 (46th)

Runs Created s c a p y
1886 NL  80 (8th)
1887 NL  127 (1st)
1889 NL  89 (9th)
1890 NL  88 (2nd)
1891 NL  81 (8th)
1892 NL  96 (4th)
1893 NL  133 (2nd)
1894 NL  137 (4th)
1895 NL  150 (1st)
Career  1157 (205th)

Adj. Batting Runs s c a p y
1886 NL  23 (9th)
1887 NL  48 (2nd)
1890 NL  23 (8th)
1892 NL  33 (6th)
1893 NL  42 (3rd)
1894 NL  52 (4th)
1895 NL  57 (2nd)
Career  351 (92nd)

Adj. Batting Wins s c a p y
1886 NL  2.4 (9th)
1887 NL  4.7 (2nd)
1890 NL  2.4 (8th)
1892 NL  3.6 (6th)
1893 NL  4.0 (3rd)
1894 NL  4.3 (4th)
1895 NL  5.1 (2nd)
Career  34.2 (95th)

Extra Base Hits s c a p y
1886 NL  39 (7th)
1887 NL  63 (3rd)
1889 NL  60 (3rd)
1890 NL  54 (3rd)
1891 NL  40 (10th)
1892 NL  48 (7th)
1893 NL  61 (2nd)
1894 NL  69 (5th)
1895 NL  84 (1st)
1896 NL  47 (9th)
Career  627 (243rd)

Times On Base s c a p y
1886 NL  191 (8th)
1887 NL  244 (2nd)
1892 NL  256 (6th)
1893 NL  278 (3rd)

Offensive Win % s c a p y
1886 NL  .706 (9th)
1887 NL  .808 (1st)
1890 NL  .693 (9th)
1892 NL  .711 (9th)
1893 NL  .764 (3rd)
1894 NL  .821 (2nd)
1895 NL  .820 (2nd)
Career  .734 (38th)

Hit By Pitch s c a p y
1887 NL  9 (5th)
1889 NL  6 (9th)
1891 NL  8 (9th)
1892 NL  11 (5th)
Career  63 (236th)

Power-Speed # s c a p y
1886 NL  9.9 (9th)
1889 NL  21.8 (2nd)
1892 NL  13.6 (5th)
1893 NL  13.7 (10th)
1894 NL  16.9 (10th)
1895 NL  21.6 (1st)
1896 NL  12.0 (7th)
Career  163.4 (131st)

AB per SO s c a p y
1887 NL  28.7 (9th)
1889 NL  24.2 (9th)
1891 NL  27.7 (4th)
1892 NL  32.1 (6th)
1895 NL  48.9 (5th)
1896 NL  39.8 (9th)
Career  26.0 (40th)

AB per HR s c a p y
1886 NL  62.9 (8th)
1889 NL  26.7 (1st)
1893 NL  54.5 (8th)
1894 NL  33.6 (5th)
1895 NL  29.9 (3rd)
1896 NL  43.1 (3rd)

Oldest s c a p y
1896 NL  born 1860-03-05 (9th)
1897 NL  born 1860-03-05 (8th)
1898 NL  born 1860-03-05 (2nd)
1906 AL  born 1860-03-05 (1st)

Hall Of Fame Statistics

Player rank in (·)

Black InkBatting - 42 (33), Average HOFer ≈ 27
Gray InkBatting - 200 (39), Average HOFer ≈ 144
Hall of Fame MonitorBatting - 154 (77), Likely HOFer ≈ 100
Hall of Fame StandardsBatting - 46 (106), Average HOFer ≈ 50

Similarity Scores

Explanation of Similarity Scores
Similar Batters 
 View Player Links in Pop-up
 Compare Stats to Similars
  1. Kiki Cuyler (856) *
  2. Mike Tiernan (843)
  3. Earl Averill (836) *
  4. Bill Terry (835) *
  5. Heinie Manush (835) *
  6. Bob Meusel (833)
  7. Hugh Duffy (832) *
  8. Bing Miller (830)
  9. Earle Combs (828) *
  10. Babe Herman (820)
* - Signifies Hall of Famer
Most Similar by Ages 
 View Player Links in Pop-up
 Hold mouse over #'s to see names
  1. Dusty Miller (973)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  2. Carl Reynolds (962)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  3. Carl Reynolds (956)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  4. Carl Reynolds (961)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  5. Carl Reynolds (956)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  6. Carl Reynolds (954)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  7. Irish Meusel (930)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  8. Irish Meusel (916)  2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  9. Kiki Cuyler (937) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  10. Kiki Cuyler (920) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  11. Kiki Cuyler (910) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  12. Kiki Cuyler (897) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  13. Kiki Cuyler (873) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
  14. Dan Brouthers (812) * 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C
* - Signifies Hall of Famer

Transactions

June 15, 1885: Purchased by the Detroit Wolverines from Indianapolis (Western).

October 16, 1888: Purchased by the Philadelphia Quakers from the Detroit Wolverines for $5,000.

The transaction information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by RetroSheet. Last transaction is September 30, 2009.

Other Resources & Links

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Viewed 74,052 times through December 20, 2009.
Name and misspellings: Big Samuel Luther Sam sammy samuel Thompson thomson

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