Best All-Time Left fielders Bob Johnson (#16)
"“Indian Bob Johnson never had one of those super seasons that make everyone sit up and whistle. While phenoms came, collected their MVP trophies, and faded, he just kept plodding along hitting .300, with a couple dozen homers and a hundred ribbies year after year. Like a guy punching a time clock.”—author Bob Carroll on Bob Johnson"
One way you know Bob Johnson played many decades ago is because his nickname was “Indian Bob.” He got the nickname because he was one-quarter Cherokee, but it probably wouldn’t fly these days. Johnson was born in Oklahoma on an Indian reservation but grew up in Tacoma, Washington.
His growing up years are somewhat mysterious. He claimed he didn’t go to school beyond fifth grade and it’s possible he ran away from home when he was 13 and ended up in Southern California. In California, Johnson and his brother Roy found a home on the baseball diamonds. Roy was older, but Bob was not shy about saying he was better at baseball than Roy.
He once said, “By all the gods of the Cherokee, if Brother Roy can get away with it in the big leagues, so can I.”
From 1929 to 1932, Bob Johnson spent four years in the minor leagues, the last three with Portland in the Pacific Coast League. He finally got his chance in the big leagues in 1933, with the Philadelphia Athletics, at the age of 27. Despite the late start, he hit the ground running. He played 13 years in the major leagues and never had fewer than 3.1 WAR in a season.
An average season for Bob Johnson was impressive: 143 G, 95 R, 158 H, 22 HR, 99 RBI, 7 SB, and a .296/.393/.506 triple-slash mark. His career wRC+ was 133, meaning he was 33 percent above average on offense after league and ballpark effects were taken into account.
It’s true that he never led the league in any major category except for on-base percentage (once) but he did have eight seasons with 100 RBI, including seven in a row from 1935 to 1941.
He never hit more than 35 home runs but hit 21 to 34 home runs nine times. He hit over .300 five times and between .290 and .300 four times. He was also terrific at getting on base and hitting for power.
That was the thing about Bob Johnson. He never had a bad year. He was worth 3.8 WAR in his rookie season, 3.7 WAR in his fourth season, 3.7 WAR in his eighth season, and 3.1 WAR in his 13th season. In his best year, he was worth 6.5 WAR. In his worst year, he was worth 3.1 WAR, which is still an above-average season (2 WAR is average).
Johnson was recognized with all-star nods in six of his thirteen seasons. He also received MVP votes six times. Statistically, he was the equal of Hall of Fame left fielders Ralph Kiner and Joe Kelley and better than Hall of Fame left fielders Jim Rice, Heinie Manush, and Lou Brock.
Unfortunately, that didn’t help him much when he appeared on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot. He received one vote in 1948 and one vote in 1956.