Duke Snider’s Hall of Fame baseball career is ably defined by the statistics he compiled. However, it is his position as an ironic focal point in literature and song that have made his legacy even more enduring.
The book, of course, is Roger Kahn’s “The Boys of Summer”, which is more a story about the individuals on the early-1950s Dodgers than the team itself. In many ways, Kahn’s book, with its focus on the 1952 and 1953 seasons (the years he covered the team for the New York Herald Tribune) and often melancholy tone, permanently stamped those great Brooklyn teams as a hard luck lot whose failures are trumpeted ahead of their successes.
Now my old friend, The Bachelor; Well, he swore he was the Oklahoma Kid; And Cookie played hooky; To go and see the Duke; And me, I always loved Willie Mays; Those were the days!” – Lyrics from Terry Cashman’s “Talkin’ Baseball”
In 1981, songwriter Terry Cashman (known as Dennis Minogue when he was a pitcher in the Tigers’ farm system) wrote a baseball anthem that was called “Talkin’ Baseball”, but became better known by the thematic line that gave resonance to the song: “Willie, Mickey and the Duke”. Although Snider’s inclusion with the two immortals might seem like a nice tribute, the constant comparison was probably more of a curse. As great as Snider was during his career, the shadow cast by the two brighter stars in New York’s centerfield trinity was immense. As a result, Snider, like many of the teams for which he played, was often relegated to being an “also ran” just because he had the misfortune of playing the same position at the same time and in the same city as two of the game’s greatest players. Undoubtedly, that constant unfavorable comparison contributed to Snider having to wait 11 years before finally being inducted in the Hall of Fame.
Even though his career didn’t quite measure up to Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, Snider still has a whole host of accomplishments that make him worthy of being mentioned along side those greats. His performance in the 1955 World Series is a shining example. In that series, Snider belted four homeruns, knocked in seven and had an OPS of 1.210, helping the Dodgers finally overcome the Yankees, the perpetual hurdle that prevented the franchise from winning the World Series in five prior attempts. It should also be pointed out that Snider’s 1955 series performance may not have even been his best. In the 1952 World Series, he also had four homers with one more RBI and a higher OPS of 1.215, but the Dodgers lost a tough game seven to the Yankees.
If the good burghers of Brooklyn are pinching themselves with unaccustomed violence this morning, they need do so no longer. It wasn’t a dream folks. Implausible though it may seem, the Dodgers won the world championship for the first time in their history yesterday. Honest, injun. It really did happen.” – Arthur Daley, New York Times, October 5, 1955
As my tribute to the Duke, his postseason numbers are presented alongside Mays and Mantle (including a head-to-head comparison with the latter). At least in this one respect, Snider didn’t take a backseat to his more acclaimed centerfield counterpart.
Willie and Mickey versus the Duke, Relative Postseason Performance
| Player | G | PA | R | HR | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Willie | 25 | 99 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 0.247 | 0.323 | 0.337 | 0.660 |
| Mickey | 65 | 273 | 42 | 18 | 40 | 0.257 | 0.374 | 0.535 | 0.908 |
| The Duke | 36 | 149 | 21 | 11 | 26 | 0.286 | 0.351 | 0.594 | 0.945 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
Snider versus Mantle, Head-to-Head
| Year | Player | G | PA | R | HR | RBI | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 1952 | Mantle | 7 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.345 | 0.406 | 0.655 | 1.061 |
| 1952 | Snider | 7 | 31 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 0.345 | 0.387 | 0.828 | 1.215 |
| 1953 | Mantle | 6 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 0.208 | 0.296 | 0.458 | 0.755 |
| 1953 | Snider | 6 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0.320 | 0.370 | 0.560 | 0.930 |
| 1955 | Mantle | 3 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.200 | 0.200 | 0.500 | 0.700 |
| 1955 | Snider | 7 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 0.320 | 0.370 | 0.840 | 1.210 |
| 1956 | Mantle | 7 | 30 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 0.250 | 0.400 | 0.667 | 1.067 |
| 1956 | Snider | 7 | 30 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.304 | 0.433 | 0.478 | 0.912 |
Source: Baseball-reference.com
What should be kept in mind when comparing Willie, Mickey and the the Duke is that Snider lost a great deal of playing time to injuries so that his final stats are not as high as the other two. Even though Mantle was renowned for his injuries, he still had more than 900 official ABs more that Snider, and many more plate appearances if walks are included. If, however, you compare the three for the (only) four years (1954-57) that they went head to head in New York, the numbers are much closer. Also, despite reduced playing time in 1958 and 59, Snider hit more home runs and batted in more than anyone in the 1950s.
Good points, but even at his best was a notch below Mays and Mantle. That’s not really a detraction though. After all, 99% of all who played fall in that category.
One other thing worth noting about Snider is his military service did cost him two years of seasoning in the minors, so perhaps that slowed his start a little bit.