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No. 82: Greatest Dodgers of All-Time: Johnny Frederick

He spent his entire career with the Dodgers

By Blake Harris
Getty Images

Johnny Frederick

Time with Dodgers: 1929-1934

Stats: .308/.357/.477/.833, 85 HR, 377 RBI, 954 H, 200 2B, 498 R, 117 OPS+

Baseball Reference WAR: 16.1

FanGraphs WAR: 16.0

Combined WAR: 16.05

Johnny Frederick only spent six seasons in the big-leagues. All six of them came with the Brooklyn Dodgers, from 1929 through 1934. Though his career was only six seasons, he was productive enough to crack this top 100 countdown.

Frederick was 27 during his rookie season. Had he gotten his career started earlier, he could have been a lot higher on this list. The center fielder kicked his career off with a bang, finishing in the Top 20 of MVP voting.

Frederick hit .328 with an OPS of .917 during his rookie season. He hit 24 home runs while driving in 75 runs. For the season, he scored 127 runs and had 206 hits, 52 of which were for doubles which led the MLB. He’s one of four Dodgers players to ever finish a season with that many hits and runs scored. Frederick’s 52 doubles are the most by a Dodger in a single season.

How did he follow up that great rookie campaign? By hitting 206 hits yet again. He raised his average to .334 and raised his on-base percentage as well. His power numbers decreased a little, as he dropped to only 17 home runs. However, he still drove in 76 runs, and scored 120 of his own. Frederick hit 44 doubles, which has only been accomplished in a season by five players in franchise history.

Over the next few seasons, Frederick’s power slowly went away. He was still a hitting machine and getting on base, but he wasn’t hitting as many home runs and doubles or scoring as many runs.

Over the final four seasons, he averaged only 11 home runs and 56 RBI a season. He was also averaging only 26 doubles a season. After back-to-back seasons of scoring more than 100 runs, he was averaging just under 63 runs scored a season. As mentioned, he was still hitting the ball well. Over his final 515 games, Frederick hit .292 and was averaging more than 135 hits a season.

In the offseason of 1934, Frederick was traded to Sacramento (PCL) for Frenchy Bordagaray.

Here’s where Frederick ranks in franchise history:

  • 954 hits (37th)
  • 200 doubles (18th)
  • 498 runs (36th)
  • 85 home runs (38th)
  • .308 AVG (16th)

Get caught up on the rest of the “All-Time Dodgers” lists!

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