Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame to welcome new members

Hugh Duffy

It’s a pretty fair bet that no person will be present on January 18th that ever saw Hugh Duffy play in the major leagues.

Technically, Duffy never played for a team called the Braves in his 9 seasons with the organization. While he played for the team from 1892-1900, the team played in Boston and was known as the Beaneaters.

Duffy did have some incredible years with Boston. Over his 9 seasons, he hit .332/.394/.455 with 69 home runs and 331 stolen bases in over 1,100 games and over 5,000 plate appearances.

His 1894 was one of the most incredible seasons in major league history. He hit .440, which remains the highest batting average any player has ever had in the entire history of the game. He had much more than just batting average on the 1894 season, however.

Duffy became the first player to ever have 40+ doubles, 15+ triples, 15+ home runs, and 40+ stolen bases in 1894. There have only been two other players in the game’s history who have ever accomplished the feat. Of the three, Duffy had the most doubles and stolen bases in his season.

Altogether, Duffy put up an incredible line of .440/.502/.694 with 160 runs scored, 237 hits, 51 doubles, 16 triples, 18 home runs, 145 runs batted in, 48 stolen bases, and an incredible 66/15 BB/K ratio. He led the league that season in hitting, hits, doubles, home runs, OPS, and total bases (374).

Among all in Braves history, Duffy ranks second in batting average over his career with the team, fourth in on-base, and second in stolen bases. He also is in the top 10 career in triples, RBI, runs, hits, singles, and runs created. He has the top individual season in batting average, on-base, slugging, and OPS in the team’s history, along with the most runs scored, hits, doubles, RBI, and runs created in a single season. His 372 total bases in 1894 are second only to Hank Aaron‘s brilliant 1959 season.

He was selected to the Hall of Fame in 1945.