The Case for Hahn Fox

–Panda

Hello, and welcome to an article entirely dedicated to Hahn Fox. Many of you have probably heard that name over the 24 seasons of Blaseball, and for good reason. Hahn Fox is not only a player beloved by multiple fanbases, but is a player that is, quite simply, a fixture in the game since day one. In this article I intend to show you that Hahn Fox deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, if for no reason other than Hahn Fox is the most Blaseball of all time.

Let’s start with an easily quantifiable question. How much Blaseball has Hahn Fox played? Over 24 regular seasons, Hahn Fox has 10885 Plate Appearances, third only behind Basilio Mason and Rat Mason. Hahn Fox has missed a recorded 17 total games, all of them in seasons 21 and 22. Her elite status was cemented early by the sim itself, being deemed the best player in Wild Low by the Vulture blessing, delivering her to a leadoff spot on the Hellmouth Sunbeams where she would play for 18 seasons. Over the eras, Hahn has had to contend with two batting siphons and a consumer attack, but still managed to stay competitive each and every season.

So, Hahn Fox has played a lot of Blaseball, but has she played well? Please consider the following chart.

This chart covers most hitting leaderboards over Blaseball-Reference’s lifetime. To get the obvious counterargument out of the way: yes, the first two columns are not positive. Hahn Fox has been on the leaderboard often for both Caught Stealing (col 1) and Ground Into Double Plays (col 2), and is in fact ranked number 1 in these categories in lifetime stats. However, the rest of her stats completely outweigh these negatives. Hahn has the third most lifetime Hits, appearing in the top 10 in both Discipline and Expansion seasons (col 3), and is ranked number 1 in both Runs Batted In and Runs (col 5 and 6), both of those spanning 19 and 17 seasons of elite play respectively. She Dominated the early leaderboards in Total Bases and Home Runs as well (col 8 and 9), riding both to a career number 2 ranking. The only seasons Hahn appeared on no hitting leaderboards were seasons 16, 17, and 18, the height of the Ruthlessness Era.

Many will, and have, pointed out that these are all “Counting Stats”, which is fair. Hahn has played a lot of Blaseball, and a lot of that success can be attributed to a career of longevity, but Hahn has maintained an elite level of play throughout her entire career. Hahn made the OPS and Slugging leaderboards in seasons 6 and 8, showing that she had the chops to make percentage stats early on, and her career OPS+ of 125 ranks her 63rd amongst all players. Similarly, her WhAT_PA (put simply, a measurement of a batter’s value spread across all of their plate appearances), is 2.5, landing her around 60th amongst all players as well. For a career that spans over 10000 Plate Appearances, it’s pretty difficult to stay at that level for that long.

Hahn Fox IS Blaseball, the fabled player who never rests, who toils endlessly for the fans, for her team, and for her wife Priya. When driven Elsewhere, Hahn clawed her way back in the very next game two different times. She couldn’t rest even when she was Elsewhere, as during her 13 day vacation in Season 21, she was attacked by a consumer. Hahn Fox is a rock, a steady performer with no true peaks and very few valleys, always playing at a level that most couldn’t match. For 24 seasons, Hahn Fox has been relevant. I’m not sure who else you can say that about. For me, that’s what makes Hahn Fox the most Blaseball of all time, and means to me that she belongs in the Hall.