The Grey Eagle
 

I've looked at baseball stats and stories since I was a kid. I haven't done a deep dive on every player, but I'm rarely surprised by anything I find with my cursory statistical knowledge of most baseball players. That rare occasion when I am surprised is a genuine delight and nothing makes me happier.

Case in point: Tris Speaker

I knew Tris was an all time great with his bat (all time doubles leader with a whopping 792), but his glove is what I didn't know about and it really surprised me.

Fielding % as CF (since 1901): 17 Seasons Top 10 (7x 1st Place)

Fielding % as OF: 10 Seasons Top 10

Range Factor/9Inn as OF: 17 Seasons Top 10 (8x 1st Place)

Assists as CF (since 1901): 1st All Time with 448 (Cobb is 2nd with 275)

Double Plays Turned as CF (since 1901): 1st All Time with 146 (Cobb is 2nd with 77)

Putouts as OF: 2nd All Time with 6788 (2nd only to Willie Mays 7112, but Willie played 138 more games)

Did not realize that either
THanks for sharing

At the request of Bill Veeck, Tris Speaker returned to coaching in 1947 to convert Larry Doby to play Centerfield (Doby was a 2nd basemen in the Negro Leagues).

Speaker played a shallow centerfield, thereby eliminating many would-be singles, but since he had such great reflexes and could cover ground in a short period of time, few balls got over his head.