Johnny Bassler Marquee

Johnny Bassler hit one home run in 811 major league games and batted .304 anyway, which required drawing 437 walks and almost never striking out. He finished in the top ten of American League Most Valuable Player voting three times.

Cleveland had him briefly as a young man before he spent six years back in the minor leagues; Detroit bought him in 1921 and he caught for them for seven seasons alongside Ty Cobb, who was by then the manager and who rated him among the best receivers he had worked with.

Born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 1895, Bassler drove in 318 runs and batted .308 or better in five different seasons. Bassler lived to eighty-four, dying in June 1979.