Monster Card Monday: 1941 Pete Reiser

Kevin Weber sparked a good conversation on Facebook with this 1941 Pete Reiser.  There is certainly a lot to talk about.

Reiser was born in St. Louis but he definitely bled Dodger Blue.  He led Dem Bums to the pennant in 1941 while leading the NL in hitting (.343), runs (117), doubles (39), triples (17), and slugging (.558).  Unfortunately for Pete, Brooklyn lost to New York in the World Series.

Reiser was fast, hard-playin’ and made the most of every play.  He lost the NL MVP voting to teammate Dolf Camilli.

Much of the discussion surrounded APBA’s curious choice for power numbers for Reiser.  He was given numbers 2-5-5-6 and no first column 1.  Some joked about wondering if that means he wouldn’t hit any solo homers.  Of course he wouldn’t in APBA but my curiosity got the better of me and I looked it up.  Ironically, of Reiser’s 14 homers, seven of them were solo shots.  That doesn’t mean Reiser wasn’t clutch though.  Eleven of those 14 homeruns came while the score was within two runs.

In addition to his four unconventional power numbers, 1941 Reiser has plenty of hits.  He has three 7s and a 15-10 (that’s a 25-7!).  All told, he has enough hit numbers to give him a 64-9.

Pete has three 14s but with all his hit numbers, APBA had to put one at 26.  Of course, he is Fast, an OF-3 and as some noticed, APBA gave him the coveted 38 Arm.

Check out Pete Reiser’s bio on SABR.org.  Like most of SABR’s bios, it is excellent.  Many who were part of the discussion commented on Reiser’s catches against the wall and his many injuries (he only reached 500 at-bats one time… in 1941). SABR’s bio on Reiser bears this out.

Thanks Kevin!