Bill Dahlen

3.1. Playing career

Dahlen was a highly capable hitter, possessing a considerable amount of power for the dead-ball era. His career as a player spanned 21 seasons, primarily as a shortstop, where he left a significant mark with his defensive skills and consistent offensive output.

3.2. Managerial career

As early as 1908, Charles Ebbets, the owner of the Brooklyn club, expressed interest in having Dahlen manage his team. This aspiration finally materialized for the 1910 season when Dahlen took on the role of player-manager for the Brooklyn Superbas.

In his four years as a manager, all with Brooklyn, Dahlen compiled a record of 251 wins and 355 losses, resulting in a .414 winning percentage. His reputation for being hot-headed, which characterized his playing career, persisted into his managerial tenure. He was ejected 36 times in just four seasons as a manager. In the 1910 MLB season, Dahlen tied a Major League Baseball record by being ejected 11 times. He followed this with another 10 ejections in 1911, a two-year total only exceeded by John McGraw in 1905-1906 for the most ejections in a two-year span. Under his leadership, the team never finished higher than 6th place.

5.1. Hall of Fame consideration

Dahlen initially received very limited support for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He received only one vote from the Veterans Committee on the Hall's inaugural 1936 ballot and a single vote again from the Baseball Writers' Association of America on the 1938 ballot. He was not considered by the Veterans Committee again for several decades.

However, in more recent years, Dahlen's candidacy has garnered renewed interest, partly due to a reevaluation of his advanced statistics. He was included on the Pre-1943 ballot for 2009 but received three or fewer of the twelve committee member's votes. Dahlen was then included on the newly formed Pre-Integration Committee's ballot for 2013. In that vote, he received ten out of sixteen votes, falling short of election by just two votes, which was the highest vote total for any person on the ballot who was not elected. He was again considered on the Pre-Integration Committee's 2016 ballot, but the committee did not select any new Hall of Fame members, with Dahlen tying for second place with eight of sixteen votes. His name reappeared on the Early Baseball Era Committee for the 2022 ballot but he received three or fewer of the committee's sixteen votes.

According to Baseball-Reference, Dahlen holds the highest career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) among position players not yet inducted into the Hall of Fame, with the exception of players who are not yet eligible or are excluded due to scandal. In 2012, the Nineteenth Century Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) recognized Dahlen as the "Overlooked 19th Century Baseball Legend," an award for a 19th-century baseball personality not yet inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. Dahlen was also featured in David Pietrusza's 1995 television documentary Local Heroes, specifically in the segment "Knocking on Cooperstown's Door," which highlighted his case for induction.

5.2. Playing style and reputation

Dahlen's playing style was marked by exceptional defensive prowess and solid offensive contributions, particularly his power-hitting for the era. His 28.5 Defensive Wins Above Replacement (WAR) ranks eleventh best all-time, and he consistently finished in the top five in this category in ten different seasons. He led the National League in assists four times and in double plays three times. He set major league records for career games played (2,132), putouts (4,850), assists (7,500), total chances (13,325), and double plays (881) specifically as a shortstop. He still holds the record for total chances, ranks second in putouts, and fourth in assists among shortstops.

Dahlen's reputation as a hot-headed player earned him the nickname "Bad Bill." This demeanor frequently led to confrontations, resulting in 34 ejections during his playing career, which is tied for the fourth-most in Major League Baseball history. This fiery nature continued into his managerial career, where he was ejected 36 times in just four seasons.

5.3. Statistical achievements and records

Throughout his career, Bill Dahlen accumulated a significant number of statistical achievements and records. At the time of his retirement, he held the major league record for career games played with 2,443. He also ranked second in career walks (1,064, behind Billy Hamilton's 1,187) and fifth in at-bats (9,033). Dahlen was among the top ten players in career RBI (1,234), doubles (414), and extra-base hits (661). Furthermore, he was consistently among the National League's top seven players in hits (2,461, though some sources list up to 2,471), runs (1,589), triples (163), and total bases (3,447).

His 42-game hitting streak in 1894 was a major league record at the time, and it remains the fourth longest in history and the longest by a right-handed National League hitter.

6.1. Batting statistics

• Bold indicates league leader.
• G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BA = Batting average; OBP = On-base percentage; SLG = Slugging percentage; OPS = On-base plus slugging.

6.2. Managerial statistics

• G = Games; W = Wins; L = Losses; T = Ties; Win% = Winning percentage.