Earl Averill
Earl Averill was the starting center fielder for the American League in the first five All-Star Games. "Rock" patrolled the outfield for Cleveland, Detroit, and Boston for 13 seasons, hitting 238 homers and batting .318 with more than 400 doubles. He hit .378 in 1936, and finished in the top ten in AL MVP voting four times. He blasted a homer in his first big league at-bat, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975.
| Career Batting Stats |
| G |
AB |
H |
R |
HR |
RBI |
SB |
AVG |
SLG |
OBP |
OPS |
OPS+ |
| 1668 |
6353 |
2019 |
1224 |
238 |
1164 |
70 |
.318 |
.534 |
.395 |
.928 |
123.4 |
|
Where does Earl Averill rank among baseball greats?
Earl Averill ranks #14 among the Top 50 all-time at CF. Rankings ⇒
Best Season: 1936
The stocky center fielder blasted his way to a third-place finish in American League MVP award voting, batting .378 with a league-best 232 hits and 15 triples. He hit 28 home runs, drove in 126, scored 136, and slugged .627. He also enjoyed a 20-game hitting streak.
Factoids
Earl Averill hit the line-drive that struck Dizzy Dean on the foot and helped hasten the end of the pitcher's stellar career. The play occurred in the 1937 All-Star Game.
Born
Howard Earl Averill was born on May 21, 1902, in Snohomish, WA.
Died
August 16, 1983, Everett, WA
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Major League Debut
4 16,
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1929
Rick Ferrell
Doc Cramer
Earl Averill
Bobo Newsom
Larry French
Chief Hogsett
Dale Alexander
Lyn Lary
Eric McNair
Nicknames
Rock, Earl of Snohomish
Averill earned the nickname "Rock" due to his consistent play and solid physical build, and he was also at times known as "Popeye", "Rockhead", "Sloppy", and "Elephant Ears."
Uniform Numbers
#3 (1931-1939, 1941), #24 (1939 Tigers), #27 (1940)
Similar Players
Chuck Klein statistically... Averill was a similar player skill-wise to Wally Berger. Among modern players, Kirby Puckett is close.
Related Players
Dizzy Dean
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1949 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.7% |
1952 |
BBWAA |
2 |
.9% |
1955 |
BBWAA |
2 |
.8% |
1956 |
BBWAA |
3 |
1.6% |
1958 |
BBWAA |
14 |
5.3% |
1960 |
BBWAA |
11 |
4.1% |
1962 |
BBWAA |
3 |
1.9% |
1975 |
Veterans |
|
% |
|
Post-Season Appearances
1940 World Series
Feats
On September 17, 1930, Averill belted three homers in one game... He hit for the cycle on August 17, 1933.
Batting Feats
- September 17, 1930: 3 HR...
- August 17, 1933: Cycle...
Notes
Averill retired as the Indians' franchise leader in runs scored, triples, home runs, RBI, total bases, extra-base hits and slugging. Entering 2004 he still led in runs (1,154), triples (121), RBI (at 1,084 he's the only Indian ever to reach 1,000), total bases (still almost 900 ahead of Jim Thome), and extra-base hits (724). Averill's homer mark was passed by Albert Belle (242), Manny Ramirez (236) and finally Thome. Hal Trosky (.551), Belle (.580), Ramirez (.592), and Thome have each surpassed Averill's .542 career slugging percentage as an Indian.
Hitting Streaks
20 games (1936)
Transactions
June 14, 1939: Traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Detroit Tigers for Harry Eisenstat and cash.
This was an extremely unpopular move in Cleveland.
All-Star Selections
1933 AL
1934 AL
1935 AL
1936 AL
1937 AL
1938 AL
Replaced
Homer Summa
Replaced By
The Indians dealt Averill to Detroit in June of 1939 because they had Ben Chapman to play in his outfield spot. They had acquired Chapman in a trade from the Red Sox in December, 1938.
Best Strength as a Player
Extra-base and home run power.
Largest Weakness as a Player
Averill was (at least on one occasion) accused of being nonchalant. The Sporting News, discussing his hot start in 1938, noted that the 35-year old Averill was playing with newfound spirit. "Always a competent workman, Averill nevertheless has shown a lack of aggressiveness in past campaigns that caused him to be marked as a somehwat colorless performer," TSN wrote on June 2, 1938. "His old, lethargic attitude is gone," TSN continued, and Averill "has become a No. 1 hustler." Reports speculated that Averill was spurred by manager Ossie Vitt's approach and the competition from fellow outfielders Jeff Heath and Roy Weatherly.
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