The Grey Eagle

[Rad_Hazard]

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)

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by Rad_Hazard

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

[cgjackson222]

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.