Smoky Burgess
The greatest pinch hitter of his generation happened to be a catcher who could barely run. Burgess collected 145 pinch hits during his career, a record that stood for decades, while maintaining that stellar .295 average across 18 seasons. His barrel chest and tree-trunk legs made him look more like a tavern keeper than an athlete, but opposing pitchers learned to fear his bat in clutch situations.
Behind the plate, Burgess caught for seven different teams, bringing veteran savvy and offensive production to a position typically starved for hitting. Those six All-Star selections weren't charity cases — he consistently delivered 15-20 home runs and 70-plus RBIs from the catcher's spot when that kind of production was rare. His 126 career homers might seem modest now, but Burgess played in an era when catchers were expected to handle pitchers first and hit second.
Career · Batting
18 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | CHC | 46 | 56 | 1 | 12 | .268 | — | — |
| 1951 | CHC | 94 | 219 | 2 | 20 | .251 | — | — |
| 1952 | PHI | 110 | 371 | 6 | 56 | .296 | — | — |
| 1953 | PHI | 102 | 312 | 4 | 36 | .292 | — | — |
| 1954 | PHI | 108 | 345 | 4 | 46 | .368 | .942 | — |
| 1955 | CIN | 123 | 442 | 21 | 78 | .301 | .864 | — |
| 1956 | CIN | 90 | 229 | 12 | 39 | .275 | .822 | — |
| 1957 | CIN | 90 | 205 | 14 | 39 | .283 | .919 | — |
| 1958 | CIN | 99 | 251 | 6 | 31 | .283 | .753 | — |
| 1959 | PIT | 114 | 377 | 11 | 59 | .297 | .834 | — |
| 1960 | PIT | 110 | 337 | 7 | 39 | .294 | .769 | — |
| 1961 | PIT | 100 | 323 | 12 | 52 | .303 | .851 | — |
| 1962 | PIT | 103 | 360 | 13 | 61 | .328 | .875 | — |
| 1963 | PIT | 91 | 264 | 6 | 37 | .280 | .732 | — |
| 1964 | PIT | 75 | 176 | 3 | 18 | .244 | .631 | — |
| 1965 | CWS | 80 | 77 | 2 | 24 | .286 | .786 | — |
| 1966 | CWS | 79 | 67 | 0 | 15 | .313 | .801 | — |
| 1967 | CWS | 77 | 60 | 2 | 11 | .133 | .553 | — |
| Career | 1691 | 4471 | 126 | 673 | .295 | — | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.