Player #75B: Howard S. "Howie" Shanks. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1912-1922. 1,440 hits and 185 stolen bases in 14 MLB seasons. His best season was 1921 with Washington as he posted an OBP of .370 with 81 runs scored and 69 RBIs in 647 plate appearances. He finished his career with the New York Yankees in 1925.
We go back to Shanks' SABR biography: He was rated an “ordinary hitter” but was “one of the few outfielders who frequently take part in infield plays” because he learned the art of positioning better than most. Numerous stories over his early years–accurately or otherwise–rated him as tops among left fielders in the game.
Shanks improved to .254 in 1913, despite what at first seemed like a broken foot (but was not) and then a turned ankle in mid-September. This season was the closest the Senators came to contending during his 11 seasons with Washington; they finished in second place, 6 1/2 games behind the Athletics. After the season, the famous Bonesetter Reese of Youngstown found a dislocated tendon in Shanks’s ankle and manipulated it back into position. (We will return to this account when Shanks next surfaces in our progression.)
This thread will now pause. Expected restart: 23 November
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1667902735
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1667902738
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1667902741