This Monday, we are blessed with a card that comes from Pastor Rich who keeps an eye out for monster cards for The APBA Blog. You’ve seen his 1929 card. You’ve seen his 1930 card. Now, you get to see Aloysius Simmons’ 1931 card.
And it’s a doozy.
Left fielder for the Philadelphia Athletics, Simmons had a banner year. How good? Well, he led the league for the second year straight with a .390 batting average thanks to 200 hits. Simmons drove in 128 runs behind 22 homers, 37 doubles and 13 triples.
Bucketfoot walked 47 times and only struck out 45 times in 1931. He wasn’t much of a base stealer despite his apparent speed due to 13 triples. He only stole three bases. That said, he scored 105 runs in 128 games.
Simmons came in third in the AL MVP voting.
| Split | G | GS | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 Totals | 128 | 128 | 563 | 513 | 105 | 200 | 37 | 13 | 22 | 128 | 3 | 47 | 45 | .390 | .444 | .641 |
Simmons’ stuff
I normally don’t particularly care for double column cards on Monster cards but with 1931 Simmons, it kind of fits. He isn’t exactly a slugger type.
That said, while he doesn’t have double ones, he does have five power numbers! He has power numbers 1-0-0-0-0 with only five second column singles.
It doesn’t stop there. Simmons had a .390 batting average so he’s got hit numbers galore. In addition to his extra base numbers, he has three 7s. Not only that, APBA gave him an extra 8 for a total of four. That means he has a 62-9.
With his dearth of strikeouts, it shouldn’t be a surprise but Aloysius has three 31s. Similar to my 1966 set I’m replaying, the 12 is on 63 though. So that means Al’s 31s are on 34, 21 and 24. Since he only has two 13s but does have two 24s, it might be worth employing the hit and run if it calls for it.
Finally, Simmons’ OF-3 defensive rating is icing on the cake.
Thanks Rich!!
What are my favourite guys ever. I still have that original GTOP team and card. Single column all the way although I know it probably too much for the stats particularly the triples. Still, he is a total menace with that 1-3-4-6-6 not to mention that sweet 51-7!!
Hi Tom – nice article again – but I spotted an error: “He has power numbers 1-0-0-0-0 with only FOUR second column singles.”. He has five – at 12, 32, 52, 41, & 65.
Keep up the great work!
Ha! I missed the 41-8.
thanks Dan!