John Wockenfuss

Catcher

1974⁠—1985

john-wockenfuss
Player LeveL
Journeyman
Top 100 Rank
NR
Catcher RANK
NR

Player Detail

Johnny Bilton Wockenfuss
GIVEN NAME
Wockenfuss
SURNAME
February 27, 1949
BORN
August 19, 2022, in West Virginia
DIED
1974⁠—1985
Playing Career
Played from 25-36
PLAYING AGE
Detroit Tigers 1974-1983
Philadelphia Phillies 1984-1985
Teams Played For
Catcher
PRIMARY POSITION
Detroit Tigers
PRIMARY TEAM
NONE
World Series titles
Johnny B, Fuss
NICKNAME
14
UNIFORM NUMBER
#6 IN LINEUP
BATTING ORDER
6'0/190
HEIGHT / WEIGHT
R/R
BATTED / THREW
August 11, 1974
Major League Debut
August 15, 1985
FINAL GAME

WHO IS John Wockenfuss?

Originally drafted as a pitcher, Wockenfuss spent nine seasons in the minor leagues and changed organizations three times before he got his major league break. The Detroit Tigers used “Fuss” as a part-time catcher and pinch-hitter for a decade, as the right-handed hitter developed into a fine platoon player. Wockenfuss employed one of the strangest batting stances in the game: his lead left foot tucked back past his right and very close together; his hands above his rear ear with his fingers wiggling as the pitch was delivered. He hit as many as 16 homers in a season despite rarely playing regularly.

50

HITTING

55

POWER

35

RUNNING

40

FIELDING

40

THROWING
20 = NOT MLB CALIBER
30 = WELL BELOW AVG
40 = Below Average
50 = MLB AVERAGE
60 = ABOVE AVG
70 = EXCELLENT
80 = RARE, ELITE
Wockenfuss was an early proponent of weightlifting, doing that activity in the offseason to stay in shape for baseball.

Career Stats

GAMES HITS HR RBI AVG
795
543
86
310
.262

Teammate Team

CATCHER:
First Base:
Second Base:
Shortstop:
Third Base:
Left Field:
Center Field:
Right Field:
Pitcher:
pitcher:
manager:

BEST SEASON

1980 Tigers

31 Years Old

.274
AVG
16
HR
65
RBI
56
RUNS
.390
OBP
102
HITS
13
2B
2
3B
.449
SLG
68
BB
1
SB
1.7
WAR
Played a lot of first base and DH, and had the best slugging percentage on the team.

SLASH LINE

AVG OBP SLG
.262
.349
.432

FOR THE TRADITIONALISTS.

VERSUS HIS PEERS

OPS LG OPS COMP
.782
.687
UNK

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

Hall of Fame Worthy?

JAWS JAWS BY HOFER
7.1
43.9

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

John Wockenfuss 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
Wockenfuss
523
138
67
19
2
22
78
69
70
1
227
215
.262
.349
.432
782
AVG C
535
133
60
23
2
13
50
81
3
200
187
.247
.314
.373
.687

John Wockenfuss Rankings

AT Catcher BY THESE SOURCES

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

AT Catcher BY VALUE

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

John Wockenfuss PLAYER VALUE

WAR COMPARED TO AVERAGE HALL OF FAMER AT HIS POSITION

CAREER WAR7 WAR5C WAR3 WAR PER SN
7.1
7.1
5.3
4.3
0.77
53.0
34.7
25.3
17.3
4.40
BLUE = John Wockenfuss
GRAY = AVERAGE HALL OF FAME C

WIN SHARES COMPARED TO AVERAGE HALL OF FAMER AT HIS POSITION

CAREER WIN SHARES 7 WIN SHARES 5C WIN SHARES 3 WS PER SN
UNK
UNK
UNK
UNK
UNK
BLUE = John Wockenfuss
GRAY = AVERAGE HALL OF FAME C

— Explanation of Advanced Statistics —

Wins Above Replacement is a non-standardized sabermetric statistic developed to sum up a player’s total contributions to his team. A player’s WAR value is claimed to be the number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a replacement-level player:

A player’s best seven seasons according to his Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Also called LONG PEAK.

A player’s best five consecutive seasons according to his Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Also called PLAYER PRIME.

A player’s best three seasons according to his Wins Above Replacement (WAR). Also called SHORT PEAK.

A player’s Wins Above Replacement (WAR) per season (calculated for 162 games).

Advanced statistical method devised by Bill James. A Win Share represents one-third of a team win, by definition, and takes into account defense, offense, baserunning, park effects, and level of competition, era, and many other factors.

A player’s best seven seasons according to his Win Shares. A measure of LONG PEAK.

A player’s best five consecutive seasons according to his Win Shares. A measure of a player’s PRIME.

A player’s best three seasons according to his Win Shares. A measure of a player’s SHORT PEAK.

A player’s Win Shares per season (calculated for 162 games).