[GeoPoto]

Player #149C: Fred W. "Fritz" Schulte. Center fielder for the Washington Senators in 1933-1935. 1,241 hits and 47 home runs in 11 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .362. He debuted with the St. Louis Browns in 1927. His best year was 1932 for St. Louis as he posted a .373 OBP with 106 runs scored in 639 plate appearances. He also posted a .366 OBP with 98 runs scored in 622 plate appearances in 1933 as Washington won the AL pennant. He finished his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1936-1937.

Schulte's SABR biography sums up his career and covers the 1934 injury that marked the beginning of the end for him in Washington and as a frontline MLB player: Fred Schulte played center field for the pennant-winning 1933 Washington Senators. His three-run homer in Game Five of the World Series against the Giants pulled the Senators even. But New York won on a 10th-inning homer by Mel Ott that tipped off Schulte’s glove. The victory gave the Giants the championship.

In his 11-year big-league career, Schulte hit .291. A solid fielder, he was the regular in center for five seasons with the St. Louis Browns and two with the Senators. He often was among the league leaders in assists and double plays for center fielders; as calculated retrospectively, he twice led the league in range factor for his position. . . .

. . . The veteran Senators lineup was hit with a series of crippling injuries (in 1934), and the pitching didn’t hold up. General Crowder, a 24-game winner in 1933, fell to 4-10 with a 6.75 earned run average and was waived in August. Earl Whitehill went from 22 wins to 14 with an ERA more than a run higher. The team ERA went from 3.82 to 4.68. Washington finished seventh, 20 games under .500.

The injury jinx didn’t hit Schulte until September, a week after Cronin had broken his arm in a collision at first base. Schulte caught a spike when sliding home in a September 11 loss and seriously injured an ankle. He had to be carried off the field and was sent to a hospital. He had torn a ligament and was out for the season, immediately returning home to Belvidere.

At that point, Schulte had been in 136 games and was hitting an even .300, rounded up from .2996 with 157 hits in 524 at-bats.