Thought I'd go back eight years and revisit my blog post from November of 2014 featuring my "dedicated rookie" of eventual four-time batting champ Bill Madlock:
I found this really sweet image of "Mad Dog" batting during the 1974 season, his first in Chicago.
Madlock initially came up with the Texas Rangers at the end of the
1973 season, and was part of the mega-trade that sent former Chicago
pitching-ace Fergie Jenkins to the Rangers in October.
Topps did get the "fixes" in time to have a Texas Rangers Jenkins
card, while Madlock was portrayed as a Chicago Cub on the multi-player
rookie (which I happened to profile the other day as part of my "#600"
post!) he made his debut on.
As I stated at the top, Madlock was a four-time batting leader, which is easy to forget sometimes.
He led the National League in back-to-back seasons in 1975 and 1976
with the Cubs, then in 1981 and 1983 while a member of the Pittsburgh
Pirates.
In between he put in two and a half seasons on the West Coast with
the San Francisco Giants, then after his Pittsburgh days he went on to
suit up for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers before retiring
in 1987.
A three-time all-star, Madlock finished off his career with a .305
average, 2008 hits, 163 homers and 860 runs batted in over 1806 games
and 7372 plate appearances.
I pose this question: does four batting titles make you a Hall of Famer?
Madlock is the only eligible four (or more) title holder to not be in. Something to ponder...
