Most Double Plays All Time Per at Bat

In my last post I listed the top 20 players who had hit into the most double plays all time but that list is somewhat misleading. The more at bats a player has the more chances he has to hit into double plays. So players like Cal Ripken and Hank Aaron who are 1 and 2 on the all time double play list for total double plays but who both had well over 10,000 official major league at bats had many more chances to hit into double plays than the vast majority of major league players.

Image via Wikipedia (Hit into 315 DP’s and led the league 4 years in a row and holds the single season record for double plays with an amazing 36!)

When we calculate out the double plays per at bat by dividing double plays hit into by official at bats both Ripken and Aaron disappear from the top 20 and indeed at least 100 players have a higher double play average than Ripken and well over 200 are worse than Hammerin’ Hank. Cal Ripken had 11,551 at bats and hit into 350 double plays in his career so his double play average is .0303. Ripken hit into a double play an average of just over 3% of his official major league at bats. Aaron batted 12,364 times and hit into 328 double plays so his double play average is .0265 so he hit into a double play about 2.7% per official at bat.

Keep in mind that even though these percentages may sound small they are devastating to an offense because the vast majority of times a player comes to bat in baseball he does not have the opportunity to hit into a double play. To hit into a double play a player must come to bat with at least one runner on base and the vast majority of times that runner has to be on first. So if we could calculate out all the times a batter cannot hit into a double play the percentage of times he does hit into a double play soars especially for these top 20 most double plays per at bat players. Players who routinely hit into double plays are rally killers and a pitchers best friend.

1) Ernie Lombardi – .0496 Lombardi is simply the king of double plays hit into. He hit into 261 double plays in 5,260 at bats leaving out his first two years in the majors when the double play stat was not counted. That’s almost 5% of his at bats he into a double play. A truly remarkable number. He managed to lead the league four times in the category and has the honor of leading the National League in double plays hit into in the very first year baseball counted the stat officially. Quite fitting. Despite such a dubious honor Lombardi did manage to win two batting titles, win a World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in 1940 and is in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

2) Ron Coomer – .0437 Coomer hit into 132 double plays in 3,019 at bats. The amazing stat there is the 3,019 at bats. How someone who was as bad a hitter as Coomer was was allowed to hit that many times in the major leagues is a mystery? I guess he fooled people with his career average of .274 but he never walked, had very little power for a corner infielder and had no speed. He somehow made the All Star team back in 1999 with the Minnesota Twins. Saw equal playing time at 3B and 1B.

3) Walt Dropo – .0403 Dropo hit into 166 double plays in 4,123 at bats. He had a fantastic rookie year in 1950 for the Boston Red Sox and was named Rookie of the Year and led the league with 144 RBI’s but Dropo never came close to repeating that year and quickly ended up as a part-time player who hit into the 3rd highest double plays per at bat. Primarily played 1B.

4) Lamar Johnson – .0388 Johnson hit into 102 double plays in 2,631 at bats. Was a 1B/DH for the White Sox back in the late 1970’s but only played full time for a few seasons which was still enough for him to inflict double play pain all over the Sox offense.

5) Billy Johnson – .0384 This Johnson hit into 125 double plays in 3,253 at bats. He would be much higher on the all time total but missed a few years of playing time to WW II. Was a 3B and won 4 World Series rings playing for the New York Yankees in the 1940’s and 1950.

6) Jim Rice - .3830 Rice hit into 315 DP’s in 8,225 at bats. Made the Hall of Fame in 2009. Rice managed to lead the American League in double plays for four consecutive years (1982-85) while breaking the single season DP mark with 36 in 1984. His career total is good for 6th on the all time total DP list. He did win the MVP award in 1978 over Ron Guidry and actually led the AL that year in triples but the Red Sox never won a World Series during Rice’s 16 year career.

7) Dave Valle – .03784 Valle hit into 105 DP’s in 2,775 at bats. Valle was an all around bad hitting catcher for primarily the Seattle Mariners in his 13 year big league career. He must have been good defensively because nobody would keep him around for his offense.

Sam Mele – .03782 Mele hit into 130 DP’s in 3,437 AB’s. Outfielder for a variety of teams in the late 1940’s and 50’s who really only played full time a handful of seasons but still managed to lead the American League in DP’s in 1951 with the Washington Senators.

9) George Scott – .0373 Big George hit into 277 DP’s in 7,433 AB’s. Led the league three times in DP’s (1966, 1974-75). Played with Rice in Boston in 1977 and 1978 and no doubt passed along his tips on how to lead the league in most double plays as Rice managed to top him with 4 consecutive years in the category.

10) Jerry Adair – .0371 Adair hit into 149 DP’s in 4,019 AB’s. Somehow lasted 13 years in the majors as a good glove no hit infielder in the 1960’s. Career OBP is .292.

11) John Bateman – .03694 Bateman hit into 123 DP’s in 3,330 AB’s. One of the worst offensive player I’ve ever seen. How he got 3,330 major league at bats is mystifying. Led the National League in DP’s with 27 in 1971 with the old Montreal Expos. Career OBP is .271.

12) Paul Konerko – .03692 KoKo has hit into 225 DP’s in 6,094 at bats to date. First active player on this list and he led the AL in the category in 2003 with 28. Despite all the DP’s he’s a good offensive player and hits lots of home runs for the Chicago White Sox.

13) Sammy White – .0368 White hit into 129 DP’s in 3,502 AB’s. Bad hitting catcher for the Red Sox back in the 1950’s when they kept losing the pennant to the Yankees. Seems like the Red Sox have had a lot of these high double play hitters.

14) Hal Lanier – .0365 Lanier hit into 135 DP’s in 3,703 AB’s. Atrocious hitting infielder who once scored 37 runs in 525 at bats for the San Francisco Giants in 1967 while grounding into 17 double plays. You cannot get worse than that as a hitter. That’s like a coaches son in little league who only plays because of his connection.

15) Rico Carty – .0363 Carty hit into 206 DP’s in 5,606 AB’s. Played OF and DH for 15 seasons and batted .299 for his career but he was a lousy run scorer and below average offensive player.

16) Joe Torre – .036068 Torre hit into 284 DP’s in 7,874 AB’s. Won a batting title and the MVP Award in 1971 for the St. Louis Cardinals but will now always be best remembered for winning 4 World Series Championships as manager of the New York Yankees.

17) Tony Pena – .036061 Pena hit into 234 DP’s in 6,489 AB’s. Good catcher lousy hitter in a long career.

18) Julio Franco – .035957 Franco hit into 312 DP’s in 8,677 AB’s. Played seemingly forever and led the league twice in double plays (1986 and 1989). Hit into 11 DP’s in 165 AB’s (.067) as a 47 year old for the New York Mets in 2006 in another of GM Omar Minaya’s brilliant moves.

19) Danny Cater – .035947 Cater hit into 160 DP’s in 4,451 AB’s. Somehow managed to bounce around the majors for 12 seasons in the 1960’s and 70’s as a 1B/OF but was a lousy offensive player.

20) Bengie Molina – .03585 Molina has so far hit into 159 DP’s in 4,435 AB’s. Just the second active player on the list. The longer he plays the higher he will move on the all time totals list.

Other notables include:

Lou Piniella – .0356 Sweet Lou hit into 209 DP’s in 5,867 AB’s. Always liked Piniella but also think he’s always been overrated as both a player and a manager.

Albert Pujols – .0350 Pujols has hit into 180 DP’s in 5,146 at bats so far in his career.