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not a great player, Bottomley was a very good one and a worthy Hall of Famer. (James lost a great deal of credibility when he predicted in his book, published in 1994, that future Hall of Famers included the likes of Ruben Sierra, Lou Whitaker, Brett Butler, Joe Carter, Al Oliver, and Alan Trammell—all good players, but none, with the possible exceptions of Oliver and Trammell, even close to being Hall of Fame caliber). Anyway, back to Bottomley.
    During an era in which a lot of runs were scored, Jim Bottomley was one of the game’s best run-producers. Playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, in the six seasons from 1924 to 1929 he drove in 756 runs, averaging 126 RBIs per year over that stretch. Bottomley led the National League in that department twice, and also topped the circuit in home runs once. During his career, Bottomley batted over .300 nine times, topping the .340-mark three times, and hitting as high as .371 in 1923. He also had more than 10 triples in a season nine times, reaching the 20-mark once, in 1928. In fact, in that 1928 season Bottomley was named the league’s Most Valuable Player for hitting 31 home runs, knocking in 136 runs, scoring 123 others, batting .325, and collecting 42 doubles. His feat that season of hitting more than 20 homers, 20 triples and 20 doubles makes him one of only six players in baseball history to reach the 20-mark in each category in the same season. Bottomley was clearly the National League’s best first baseman from 1925 to 1928, and he also rivaled the Giants’ George Kelly and Bill Terry in 1924 and 1929, respectively. He was the best first baseman in baseball in 1925, when he finished with 21 homers, 128 runs batted in, a batting average of .367, 227 hits, 12 triples, and 44 doubles.
    Jake Beckley
    Jake Beckley is an interesting case because his career actually spanned three different eras. During his first five seasons (1888-1892), the pitcher’s mound was only 50 feet from home plate. Needless to say, pitchers dominated the sport during that period, with most hitters posting below normal batting averages. However, after the mound was moved back to 60 feet, 6 inches prior to the 1893 season, batting averages began to soar. In 1892, the league average was a paltry .245, but it rose to an all-time high of .309 by 1894. Thus, from 1893 to 1900, Beckley was the beneficiary of the rules changes that went into effect at the beginning of that period. However, the rules of the game were altered once more at the turn of the century, once again shifting the balance of power back to the pitchers. Included in these rules changes were an increase in the size of the strike zone and the further deadening of the ball. As a result, Beckley’s last seven seasons were spent hitting in a pitcher’s era once again. It seems, therefore, that his numbers can basically be taken at face value. Doing so causes one to think that the Veterans Committee did not make a bad choice when it voted him into the Hall of Fame in 1971.
    Beckley played more games at first base than any player in history, except for Eddie Murray. Along the way, he compiled a lifetime .308 batting average, totaling 2,931 hits in 9,527 at-bats, scoring 1,600 runs, and driving in 1,575 others. He also accumulated 243 triples and stole 315 bases. Beckley drove in more than 100 runs four times, scored more than 100 runs five times, batted over .300 fourteen times, surpassing the .330-mark on six separate occasions, and finished with at least 10 triples thirteen times. He had his most productive season for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1894, when he knocked in 120 runs, scored 121 others, and batted .343. Beckley was arguably the best first baseman in the game from 1893 to 1895, and then again, from 1899 to 1903. While he may not have been a great player, Beckley was a very good one and, at the very least, a marginal Hall of Famer.
    Mule Suttles/Ben Taylor
    Although they were polar opposites as players, Suttles and Taylor have been