There is a first baseman, who played from 1958 to 1974, had 379 career homers, an .849 OPS, 133 OPS+ and 50.4 WAR and is in the Hall of Fame. Should a different first baseman, who also played from 1958 to 1974, had 377 homers, an .862 OPS, 139 OPS+ and 52.0 WAR also have a plaque in Cooperstown? I think most people would say yes. Yet, that is not the case. The first player mentioned is Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda. The second is…Norm Cash. This fact was brought to my attention a few days ago will Bill James tweeted this:
After two uneventful seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Norm Cash was traded to the Detroit Tigers. In 1960, Cash turned in a solid performance, hitting .286 with 18 homers and 86 RBI. However, it was 1961 that put Stormin’ Norman on the the baseball map. In a career year, Cash hit .361 to win the batting title, while smashing 41 home runs and driving in 132 runs. Unfortunately, the 26-year old Cash would never come close to those numbers again. In some ways, his success in 1961 would haunt him for the remainder of this career because fans and team management would wonder why Cash couldn’t replicate his dominate 1961 season.
Yet, Cash was highly productive for the remaining thirteen seasons he spent in Detroit. Eleven times he would hit 20 or more homers; four times he would hit 30 or more. Granted, Norm never drove in 100+ runs again, yet he was an important cog in the middle of the Tigers lineup for more than a decade and helped the boys from Motown win the World Series in 1968. Throughout his career, Cash always seemed to be playing second fiddle. In 1961, his season was overshadowed by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. Throughout his time with the Tigers, Cash was frequently overlooked for Al Kaline. Heck, in 1961 Cash couldn’t even finish first on this own team in homers and RBIs, those titles went to Rocky Colavito.
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | TB | GDP | HBP | SH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 Totals | 53 | 41 | 172 | 149 | 17 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 19 | 30 | .228 | .327 | .416 | .744 | 62 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Norm Cash’s final APBA card is serviceable. In the previous season (1973), Cash was productive in his age 38 season. He managed to hit .262 with 19 homers in only 120 games. Even four seasons back, when he was 36 and 37 years old, he was an All-Star in back to back seasons, hitting .283 with 32 homers in 1971 and .259 with 22 homers in 1972, while helping the Tigers win an AL East Division championship in ’72. Yet, his humanity showed up in 1974. Cash only managed to appear in 54 games and hit a career-low .228. He still managed to show a little pop with his bat, as evident by his 66-1.
When Norm Cash retired he had the fourth most home runs (377) for an American League left-handed hitter. He was only behind Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, and Lou Gehrig. Cash was also second only to Al Kaline in career homers for a Detroit Tiger. Throughout his career, Norm was known as an excellent defensive first baseman. Though I never had the privilege of watching him play, I was told he was one of the best every on popups. Finally, Norm was known for his carefree, hard-living, lifestyle and his sense of humor. It’s said he once took a table leg from the clubhouse to the plate when facing Nolan Ryan, who was literally unhittable that game. Unfortunately, Cash died too young. In 1986, after a night of drinking, he slipped off a dock and drowned at Beaver Island in northern Michigan. His absence in the Detroit Tigers community has been felt ever since.
*A special thanks to Joe Moffa for providing the picture of Cash’s 1974 card.
Loved Norman! Saw him play many many times.
Stormin’ Norman is not in the hall of fame because he is not a minority. Why else would Cepeda be a consensus HOFmer, and Cash isn’t even considered?