Don Kessinger

Shortstop

1964—1979

don-kessinger
Player LeveL
Regular
Top 100 Rank
NR
Shortstop RANK
NR

Player Detail

Donald Eulon
GIVEN NAME
Kessinger
SURNAME
July 17, 1942, in Forrest City, AR
BORN
STILL LIVING
DIED
1964—1979
Playing Career
Played from 21-36
PLAYING AGE
Chicago Cubs
St. Louis Cardinals
Chicago White Sox
Teams Played For
Shortstop
PRIMARY POSITION
Chicago Cubs
PRIMARY TEAM
NONE
World Series titles
NONE
NICKNAME
NA
UNIFORM NUMBER
UNKNOWN
BATTING ORDER
6-1 / 170
HEIGHT / WEIGHT
Both / Right
BATTED / THREW
September 7, 1964
Major League Debut
July 31, 1979
FINAL GAME

Related Content

WHO IS Don Kessinger?

As the 1966 season got underway, Kessinger continued to struggle with his hitting when, new Cubs manager Leo Durocher encouraged him to become a switch hitter. With the help of coach Pete Reiser, his hitting began to improve, posting a .304 batting average during the second half of the season. Durocher made Kessinger his lead off hitter, a spot he would hold for many years.
Kessinger is the last player-manager in American League history. He played shortstop and managed the White Sox to a 46-60 record in 1979 before being replaced by Tony La Russa.
  • Don Kessinger Scouting Report

40

HITTING

20

POWER

40

RUNNING

50

FIELDING

50

THROWING
20 = NOT MLB CALIBER
30 = WELL BELOW AVG
40 = Below Average
50 = MLB AVERAGE
60 = ABOVE AVG
70 = EXCELLENT
80 = RARE, ELITE

Career Stats

GAMES HITS HR RBI AVG
2078
1931
14
527
.252
6 ALL-STAR SELECTIONS

VS. HALL OF FAMERS

JAWS JAWS BY HOFER
10.0
55.4

PLAYER JAWS COMPARED TO HOF PLAYER AT HIS POSITION. JAWS = AVERAGE OF CAREER WAR & WAR7.

VS. HIS PEERS

OPS LG OPS COMP
.626
.621
101.1

PLAYER OPS COMPARED TO AVERAGE PLAYER AT HIS POSITION IN HIS LEAGUE AND ERA. OPS = ON-BASE + SLUGGING.

SLASH LINE

AVG OBP SLG
.252
.314
.312

FOR THE TRADITIONALISTS.

Contemporaries

Gene Alley
Dal Maxvill
Denis Menke
Hal Lanier

Teammate Team

CATCHER:
First Base:
Second Base:
Shortstop:
Third Base:
Left Field:
Center Field:
Right Field:
Pitcher:
pitcher:
manager:
Randy Hundley
Ernie Banks
Glenn Beckert
Garry Templeton
Ron Santo
Billy Williams
Chet Lemon
Claudell Washington
Fergie Jenkins
Ken Holtzman
Leo Durocher

Don Kessinger Per Season

PER 600 PLATE APPEARANCES COMPARED TO Contemporaries AT HIS POSITION

AB H R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB TB TRB AVG OBP SLG OPS
Kessinger
538
136
63
18
6
1
37
48
53
7
168
186
.252
.314
.312
626
AVG SS
540
132
60
18
5
4
44
68
11
172
178
.245
.302
.319
.621

Don Kessinger Rankings

AT Shortstop BY THESE SOURCES

BASEBALL EGG HALL OF STATS BASEBALL SCHOLAR JAWS BILL JAMES
NR
NR
NR
NR
86
Updated THRU 2021
Updated THRU 2021
UPDATED THRU 2021
Updated THRU 2021
UPDATED THRU 2020

AT Shortstop BY VALUE

CAREER LONG PEAK PRIME SHORT PEAK
NR
NR
NR
NR
CAREER WAR
WAR7
WAR 5 CONSECUTIVE
WAR3

Don Kessinger PLAYER VALUE

WAR COMPARED TO AVERAGE HALL OF FAMER AT HIS POSITION

CAREER WAR7 WAR5C WAR3 WAR PER SN
8.9
11.2
10.0
8.4
0.69
67.7
43.1
30.3
21.6
4.89
BLUE = Don Kessinger
GRAY = AVERAGE HALL OF FAME SS

WIN SHARES COMPARED TO AVERAGE HALL OF FAMER AT HIS POSITION

CAREER WIN SHARES 7 WIN SHARES 5C WIN SHARES 3 WS PER SN
155.0
102.8
UNK
51.5
12.0
327.4
189.4
134.4
92.3
24.2
BLUE = Don Kessinger
GRAY = AVERAGE HALL OF FAME SS