Frank Chance

⭐ Hall of Fame 1946

Born: 9/9/1876 in Fresno, CA, USA

Died: 9/15/1924 in Los Angeles, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1898-04-29 | Final Game: 1914-04-21

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'0" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Frank Leroy Chance

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Biography

Frank Chance, born in 1876, was a prominent position player whose career spanned from 1898 to 1914. He was known for his exceptional batting skills and strategic base running, culminating in a lifetime batting average of .296 over 1,288 games. Chance recorded 1,274 hits, including 20 home runs and 596 runs batted in (RBIs), while also showcasing his speed on the bases with 403 stolen bases. His prolific offensive contributions solidified his status as one of the leading players of his era, during a time when the game was transitioning into a more dynamic style of play. Chance was a key figure in the Chicago Cubs' success during the early 1900s, and he played an instrumental role in leading the team to four National League pennants and two World Series championships in 1907 and 1908. His leadership on the field was characterized by his aggressive approach and keen baseball intellect, which earned him respect from teammates and opponents alike. In recognition of his impactful career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, cementing his legacy in the annals of baseball history as both a player and a tactician.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1288	4299	798	1274	200	79	20	596	403	556	320	0.296	0.394	0.394	0.788	20186.2

Career AVG .296 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +15.0% above league average.

Career OBP .394 vs. league average .319 across their career seasons — +23.4% above league average.

Career SLG .394 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — +17.0% above league average.

Career OPS 0.788 vs. league average 0.656 across their career seasons — +20.1% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1898	CHC	NL	53	147	32	41	4	3	1	14	7	7	14	0.279	.270 (+3%)	.333 (+1%)	.347 (+6%)	.680 (+4%)	81.5
1899	CHC	NL	64	192	37	55	6	2	1	22	10	15	9	0.286	.282 (+1%)	.343 (+2%)	.366 (-3%)	.710 (-1%)	2.1
1900	CHC	NL	56	149	26	44	9	3	0	13	8	15	12	0.295	.279 (+6%)	.338 (+22%)	.366 (+8%)	.705 (+15%)	524.0
1901	CHC	NL	69	241	38	67	12	4	0	36	27	29	24	0.278	.271 (+2%)	.326 (+15%)	.359 (avg)	.686 (+7%)	459.4
1902	CHC	NL	76	242	40	70	9	4	1	31	29	37	23	0.289	.266 (+8%)	.321 (+25%)	.343 (+8%)	.665 (+16%)	899.0
1903	CHC	NL	125	441	83	144	24	10	2	81	67	78	41	0.327	.261 (+25%)	.316 (+38%)	.345 (+27%)	.662 (+33%)	3213.6
1904	CHC	NL	124	451	89	140	16	10	6	49	42	36	21	0.310	.246 (+26%)	.300 (+27%)	.321 (+34%)	.622 (+30%)	2555.4
1905	CHC	NL	118	392	92	124	16	12	2	70	38	78	26	0.316	.248 (+27%)	.307 (+46%)	.322 (+34%)	.629 (+40%)	3442.7
1906	CHC	NL	136	474	103	151	24	10	3	71	57	70	31	0.319	.247 (+29%)	.307 (+36%)	.315 (+37%)	.622 (+36%)	3507.7
1907	CHC	NL	111	382	58	112	19	2	1	49	35	51	21	0.293	.245 (+20%)	.304 (+30%)	.308 (+17%)	.613 (+23%)	1868.8
1908	CHC	NL	129	452	65	123	27	4	2	55	27	37	37	0.272	.240 (+13%)	.298 (+13%)	.306 (+18%)	.605 (+16%)	1280.2
1909	CHC	NL	93	324	53	88	16	4	0	46	29	30	32	0.272	.244 (+11%)	.306 (+11%)	.312 (+11%)	.618 (+11%)	625.0
1910	CHC	NL	88	295	54	88	12	8	0	36	16	37	15	0.298	.249 (+19%)	.317 (+24%)	.326 (+20%)	.644 (+22%)	1277.1
1911	CHC	NL	31	88	23	21	6	3	1	17	9	25	13	0.239	.266 (-10%)	.336 (+29%)	.356 (+15%)	.693 (+21%)	449.6
1912	CHC	NL	2	5	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
1913	NYY	AL	12	24	3	5	0	0	0	6	1	8	1	0.208	—	—	—	—	0.0
1914	NYY	AL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
20	70	11	21	3	1	0	6	9	6	0.300

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1910	WS	CHN	5	17	1	6	1	1	4	0	2	0.353
1908	WS	CHN	5	19	4	8	0	0	2	3	1	0.421
1907	WS	CHN	4	13	3	2	1	0	0	4	2	0.154
1906	WS	CHN	6	21	3	5	1	0	0	2	1	0.238

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	997	786	9885	615	135	470
C	187	1	572	192	38	15
OF	73	0	88	12	12	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1898	CHN	1B	3	0	18	0	2	0
1898	CHN	C	33	0	62	14	4	3
1898	CHN	OF	17	0	23	5	7	1
1899	CHN	1B	1	0	2	0	0	0
1899	CHN	C	57	0	166	64	12	6
1899	CHN	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1900	CHN	1B	1	0	5	1	1	0
1900	CHN	C	51	0	155	65	16	2
1901	CHN	1B	6	0	27	3	4	1
1901	CHN	C	13	0	55	20	1	2
1901	CHN	OF	51	0	61	7	5	0
1902	CHN	1B	38	0	391	20	13	21
1902	CHN	C	30	0	118	28	4	2
1902	CHN	OF	4	0	4	0	0	0
1903	CHN	1B	121	0	1204	68	36	49
1903	CHN	C	2	0	8	0	1	0
1904	CHN	1B	123	122	1205	106	13	48
1904	CHN	C	1	1	8	1	0	0
1905	CHN	1B	115	115	1165	75	13	54
1906	CHN	1B	136	136	1376	82	16	71
1907	CHN	1B	109	109	1129	80	10	64
1908	CHN	1B	126	125	1291	86	15	56
1909	CHN	1B	92	92	901	40	6	43
1910	CHN	1B	87	87	773	38	3	48
1911	CHN	1B	29	0	289	11	3	12
1912	CHN	1B	2	0	22	0	0	1
1913	NYA	1B	7	0	86	5	0	2
1914	NYA	1B	1	0	1	0	0	0