Brouthers “is the best batter that ever faced a pitcher—bar nobody. He is the daddy of all hitters.”2 — Cincinnati Enquirer, October 15, 1893

One of the greatest hitters in baseball history, first baseman Dan Brouthers hit for power and average. Among 19th-century players, his .520 career slugging percentage is the highest and his .342 career batting average ranks third, behind Ed Delahanty (.346) and Billy Hamilton (.344). Brouthers hit .300 or better in 16 consecutive seasons, 1881-96.

He was born Dennis Brooder on May 8, 1858, at Sylvan Lake, New York. At the time of the 1860 US Census, he lived in nearby Beekman with his parents, Michael and Anne (née Eagen3) Brooder, older siblings Martin and Ellen, and younger brother James. The region attracted Irish immigrants to the iron industry. Michael and Anne came from the Emerald Isle, and Michael worked as an “iron furnace man.”4

The family’s surname is spelled “Bruder” in the 1870 US Census. That year they resided in Fishkill, New York. Soon after, they moved to nearby Wappingers Falls, where Michael and teenage Dennis worked in factories that produced dyed cloth.5 During his baseball career, Dennis Bruder became known as Dan Brouthers, pronounced “Brew-thers.”

As a member of the semipro Actives of Wappingers Falls, Brouthers considered giving up baseball after a tragic accident. Running the bases on July 7, 1877, he collided at home plate with catcher John Quigley. Brouthers’ knee struck Quigley’s head and fractured his skull, an injury that proved fatal.6

In 1879 Brouthers played first base for Troy, New York, in the National League. In his debut on June 23, he got one hit, a double, in five at-bats off Syracuse pitcher Harry McCormick.7 On July 19, facing Cincinnati pitcher Will White, he clouted his first major-league home run, though it should have been a double; the ball “slipped into a hole in the fence, and he made the circuit before it could be recovered.”8 The next year, he played for independent teams in Baltimore and Rochester, New York, and appeared in three games for Troy.

In 1881, after brief stints with the minor-league New Yorks (of New York City) and Brooklyn Atlantics, Brouthers returned to the National League with the Buffalo Bisons. On June 21, he hit a single, triple, and home run off Troy’s Mickey Welch.9 Brouthers helped the Bisons to a third-place finish and led the league in home runs (8), extra-base hits (35), and slugging percentage (.541).

Brouthers was a left-handed batter and right-handed thrower.10 At 6-feet-2 and 200 pounds, he was described as “massive”11 and “gigantic,”12 and was nicknamed “Jumbo” after P.T. Barnum’s famous elephant.13 But “Big Dan” was agile and as “nimble as a cat.”14

On June 21, 1882, facing Troy’s Tim Keefe, Brouthers made “a magnificent hit over the right field fence for a home run.”15 At Boston on August 18, his home run traveled far over the right-field fence and the ball was lost.16 Ordinarily, the ball was retrieved and kept in play, but this one reached “unexplored regions.”17

“Big Brouthers, of the Buffalos, is the brawniest brandisher of the bludgeon that ever belted a ball,” wrote an alliterative reporter.18 Brouthers’ “bludgeons” were long and heavy. One of his bats from the early 1880s in the collection of the National Baseball Hall of Fame measures 41½ inches and 38 ounces.19 (By comparison, Aaron Judge used a 35-inch, 33-ounce bat in 2022.20)

The Bisons finished in third place in 1882. Brouthers won the batting title with a .368 average and led NL first basemen with a .974 fielding percentage. He won the batting title again in 1883 with a career-high .374 mark, yet the Bisons dropped to fifth place. On July 19, 1883, he went 6-for-6 in a 25-5 thrashing of Philadelphia.21 Meanwhile, his brother James debuted for Grand Rapids, Michigan, in the Northwestern League. James played in the minors for nine seasons, 1883-91.

In 1884 Brouthers slugged a career-high 14 home runs for the third-place Bisons. His home run off George Weidman at Detroit on August 2 was a tape-measure blast; “the ball was still far in the outfield” when he crossed home plate.22 Detroit’s Frank Meinke wouldn’t let Brouthers beat him; on June 19 he intentionally walked the feared slugger four times.23

At first base, Brouthers became a master of the hidden-ball trick. On July 18, 1884, he fooled Chicago’s Michael “King” Kelly. In the seventh inning, Kelly reached first on a throwing error, “and when the little excitement subsequent to play had subsided, Kelly stepped from the bag, and Dan in a very cool way touched him out.”24

In the offseason Brouthers resided in Wappingers Falls. He married Mary Ellen Croak, a local lady of Irish descent. They had five children, four living at the time of the 1900 US Census: Anna Brouthers (born in 1886), Daniel (1888), Dennis (1890), and Margaret (1894).

Brouthers’ .359 batting average in 1885 ranked second in the National League. A seventh-place finish and financial troubles brought an end to the Bisons. The team was sold to the sixth-place Detroit Wolverines, whose primary interest was acquiring Buffalo’s four best hitters. Known as the “Big Four,” they were Brouthers, Hardy Richardson, Jack Rowe, and James “Deacon” White. Bolstered by the new men, the Wolverines vied for the 1886 pennant but fell short, 2½ games behind the first-place Chicago White Stockings.

Brouthers batted .370 that year with a career-high slugging percentage of .581. The Detroit Free Press endeavored to describe his power: He sent a “thunderbolt” from his bat or a “cannon shot,”25 and the ball sailed up and away on “an astronomical investigating tour.”26 The Boston Globe saw color: “Dan Brouthers turned the air blue with a liner to centre field.”27

At Chicago on September 10, 1886, Brouthers hit a single, double, and three home runs off Jim McCormick.28 It was one of 11 times in the 19th century that a National Leaguer hit three or more homers in one game.29

With a powerhouse lineup, the Wolverines captured the 1887 NL pennant. Brouthers led the league in runs (153) and extra-base hits (68), and his .338 batting average ranked third. In the regular season finale, he sprained an ankle while stealing second base.30 The injury kept him out of all but one game of the World Series against the St. Louis Browns, champions of the American Association. The Wolverines won the Series, 10 games to 5.

Brouthers kept on hitting the next year, and the Wolverines stood in first place on July 27, 1888. But the team went into an unfathomable tailspin, losing 16 consecutive games, and finished the season in fifth. Brouthers led the circuit with 118 runs, and his .307 batting average ranked fourth (the league average was .239). The financially strapped club was disbanded, and Brouthers was acquired by Boston. Among the elated Bostonians was sportswriter Tim Murnane, who wrote that Brouthers “can play first base to perfection” and is one of “the greatest batsmen ever known to the base ball field.”31

Ned Hanlon, who was Brouthers’ teammate on the Wolverines, said Brouthers “could hit all pitchers and his drives were longer and harder than those of any other player.”32 Murnane described Brouthers’ left-handed batting stance as “close to the plate” with “feet well apart” and noted that he seldom swung at a bad pitch. Murnane added, “Fielders never know how to play for him, as he is just as likely to hit to right as he is to left field.”33

Brouthers was as good as advertised in 1889. He lifted Boston to second place in the National League and led the majors with a .373 batting average. Incredibly, he struck out only six times in 565 plate appearances, a ratio of one strikeout per 94 plate appearances. That year, the major-league average was 8.5 strikeouts per 94 plate appearances. (The ratio in 2024 was 21 strikeouts per 94 plate appearances.)

Actively lobbying for players’ rights, Brouthers served as vice president of the Brotherhood, a players’ union organized by John Ward,34 and joined the union’s new Players League for the 1890 season. His team, the Boston Reds, won the pennant. The league folded after one season, and the next year he played for the Boston Reds of the American Association. His team again won the pennant, and his .350 batting average led the majors.

With the demise of the American Association after the 1891 season, Brouthers returned to the National League on Ward’s 1892 Brooklyn team. He won his fifth batting title, and Ward called him “the greatest hitter on earth.”35 In 1893, following a bout with influenza in the spring,36 Brouthers appeared in 77 games for Brooklyn. After the season he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles.

The 1894 Orioles, managed by Ned Hanlon, won the NL pennant with a stellar 89-39 record. The team was stacked with future Hall of Famers: Wilbert Robinson, catcher; Brouthers, first base; Hughie Jennings, shortstop; John McGraw, third base; and Willie Keeler and Joe Kelley, outfield. “I think it is the strongest club that was ever put together,” said Brouthers.37 He batted .347 and clouted the offerings of the best pitchers in baseball. He went 3-for-5 facing Amos Rusie of the New York Giants on Opening Day, April 19; 4-for-5 off Boston’s Kid Nichols on June 18; and 3-for-4 against Cy Young of the Cleveland Spiders on September 3.38 But this was Brouthers’ final full season in the majors.

After a falling out with Hanlon in the spring of 1895, Brouthers was sold to a National League doormat, the Louisville Colonels.39 He appeared in only 24 games for the Colonels before leaving to care for his sick wife.40 During his short time with the team, he provided hitting instruction to teammate Fred Clarke, an aspiring 22-year-old outfielder and future Hall of Famer. Brouthers “could murder a low curve,” remembered Clarke in a 1951 interview. With tutoring from Brouthers, Clarke learned to hit that pitch.41 And Brouthers helped another future Hall of Famer by suggesting that teammate Jimmy Collins, then a struggling outfielder, be moved to third base.42 Collins became one of the greatest third basemen of the era.

Brouthers returned to baseball in the spring of 1896 with the Philadelphia Phillies, who had purchased his contract. He hit .344 in 57 games, but at age 38 he was regarded as old and expendable, and was released on July 4.43 He finished the season with the Springfield (Massachusetts) Ponies of the Eastern League and batted .400 in 51 games.44

The next year, Mark Twain famously declared, “The report of my death was an exaggeration,”45 and Brouthers proved that he, too, was not finished. On the 1897 Ponies, he pounded Eastern League pitching and led the circuit in hits (208), doubles (44), batting average (.415), slugging percentage (.645), and total bases (323). And his fielding percentage (.983) ranked second among the league’s first basemen.46

In 1898 Brouthers batted .333 in 50 games for Springfield and Toronto, but only .235 in 45 games the following year for Springfield and Rochester. Discouraged by his decline, he announced his retirement from professional baseball on July 5, 1899.47

Back home in Wappingers Falls, Brouthers was a hotelkeeper and saloonkeeper.48 He came out of retirement in 1903 to play for neighboring Poughkeepsie in the Hudson River League. He hit .286 in 16 games that year and led the league with a .373 average in 117 games in 1904. On June 1, 1904, the 46-year-old slugger went 6-for-6 with two grand slams in Poughkeepsie’s 18-8 rout of Saugerties, New York.49 The Buffalo Courier called him “the wonder of the baseball world” and “probably the greatest batter that this country has ever produced.”50 To honor him, manager John McGraw of the New York Giants put him in the Giants lineup on October 3 and 4, 1904; these were his final major-league games.51

Brouthers played one more year for Poughkeepsie, hitting .296 in 81 games in 1905. The next year, he was playing manager and owner of the Newburgh, New York, team in the Hudson River League. However, this venture was a financial failure, and he relinquished the franchise midseason.52 Soon after, he moved his family to New York City and began a second baseball career in the employ of McGraw and the Giants.

Initially, Brouthers served as a scout for the Giants; among his finds were first baseman Fred Merkle and second baseman Larry Doyle. In later years, Brouthers worked at the Polo Grounds, the Giants’ ballpark, as a ticket taker, press-box attendant, and night watchman.53

On August 2, 1932, at his home in East Orange, New Jersey, Brouthers died of a heart attack at the age of 74. He was interred at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Wappingers Falls. In 1945 he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. And in 1971 he was memorialized by a monument and baseball field named Brouthers Field in Wappingers Falls.54

Acknowledgments

This story was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Steve Ferenchick.

Sources

Ancestry.com and Baseball-Reference.com, accessed in 2024.

Kerr, Roy. Big Dan Brouthers: Baseball’s First Great Slugger (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland), 2013.

Image: 1895 Mayo’s Cut Plug baseball card of Dan Brouthers.

Notes

1 “Notes of the Diamond,” Boston Globe, June 3, 1889: 4.

2 “All Sorts from the Sporting World,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 15, 1893: 10.

3 Findagrave.com, accessed February 2024.

4 1860 US Census.

5 Roy Kerr, Big Dan Brouthers: Baseball’s First Great Slugger (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2013), 6, 7.

6 Kerr, Big Dan Brouthers, 12, 13.

7 “Other Field Sports,” Chicago Inter Ocean, June 24, 1879: 5.

8 “Cincinnati vs. Troy,” Chicago Tribune, July 20, 1879: 6.

9 “Sporting News,” Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, June 22, 1881: 3.

10 “Buffalos for 1885,” Buffalo Times, February 23, 1885: 3.

11 “B.B. Superstition,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 30, 1882: 10.

12 “Base-Ball,” Cincinnati Enquirer, October 18, 1882: 5.

13 “Sporting,” Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, April 29, 1882: 3.

14 “The Champions,” Boston Globe, October 11, 1887: 3.

15 “Astonished Themselves,” Buffalo Express, June 22, 1882: 4.

16 “Boston 9, Buffalo 8,” Chicago Tribune, August 19, 1882: 8.

17 “The Diamond,” Wheeling (West Virginia) Register, September 3, 1882: 5.

18 “Base Ball,” Fall River (Massachusetts) News, August 28, 1882: 3.

19 Kerr, Big Dan Brouthers, 54.

20 Bernie Woodall, “Home Run Slugger Aaron Judge Uses Bats Made on Treasure Coast,” September 26, 2022, available online at Treasure Coast Business, tcbusiness.com.

21 “Ferguson’s Fumblers,” Buffalo Commercial Advertiser, July 20, 1883: 3.

22 Sporting Life, August 13, 1884: 3.

23 “Almost Slaughtered,” Buffalo Times, June 20, 1884: 1.

24 “Sporting Notes,” Buffalo Times, July 19, 1884: 4.

25 “Weidman Tried to Win,” Detroit Free Press, June 17, 1886: 8; “Culture Crushed,” Detroit Free Press, July 3, 1886: 3.

26 “Eleven Straight,” Detroit Free Press, May 22, 1886: 3.

27 “Ubbo There,” Boston Globe, July 13, 1887: 3.

28 Sporting Life, September 15, 1886: 4.

29 “Three Home Runs in a Game,” Baseball-Almanac.com, accessed February 2024.

30 “No More,” Detroit Free Press, October 9, 1887: 6.

31 Tim Murnane, “Killed by Stars,” Boston Globe, November 15, 1888: 4.

32 “From 1887 to 1897,” Sporting Life, September 11, 1897: 21.

33 “Great Batters,” The State Republican (Lansing, Michigan), July 1, 1889: 2.

34 Kerr, Big Dan Brouthers, 85.

35 “Ward Captures a Prize,” New York Herald, February 17, 1892: 8.

36 “Dan Brouthers Has the Grip,” Rock Island (Illinois) Argus, May 3, 1893: 1.

37 “Why They Win,” Sporting Life, September 22, 1894: 6.

38 Sporting Life, April 28, 1894: 4; Tim Murnane, “They Quit Even,” Boston Globe, June 19, 1894: 5; Sporting Life, September 8, 1894: 3.

39 “Brouthers a Colonel,” Sporting Life, May 11, 1895: 2.

40 “Louisville Lines,” Sporting Life, June 29, 1895: 7.

41 Joe King, “‘The Wonder Man’ of Pittsburgh,” The Sporting News, March 14, 1951: 15, 16.

42 “Brouthers Developed Collins,” Oakland Enquirer, August 26, 1899: 12.

43 “Brouthers Released,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 5, 1896: 8.

44 Sporting Life, November 28, 1896: 6.

45 Frank Marshall White, “Mark Twain Amused,” New York Journal and Advertiser, June 2, 1897: 1.

46 Sporting Life, February 5, 1898: 10.

47 “Dan Brouthers Quits,” Meriden (Connecticut) Journal, July 6, 1899: 4.

48 1900 US Census; “Various Troubles,” Sporting Life, December 8, 1900: 1.

49 “Hudson River League,” Poughkeepsie (New York) Eagle, June 2, 1904: 2.

50 “Old Dan Brouthers, The Wonder of the Baseball World,” Buffalo Courier, June 5, 1904: 27.

51 “Giants End Local Season in Big Row with the Umpire,” New York World, October 4, 1904: 1; Sporting Life, October 15, 1904: 8.

52 “Hudson River League,” Sporting Life, July 14, 1906: 17.

53 Kerr, Big Dan Brouthers, Chapter 7.

54 “Dan Brouthers Monument,” BallparkReviews.com, accessed December 2024.

This is the resume:

• He was the first National League rookie to hit .300 with 30 homers, 100 RBIs, and 100 runs scored.
• He was the youngest player with back-to-back 50-double seasons.
• He was the third major-leaguer to drive in 500 runs in his first four seasons.1
• He was the major-league leader in runs scored five times, including three consecutive seasons.
• He had the most career home runs of any major leaguer in the first 10 seasons of a career.
• He reached 400 homers faster than anyone in big-league history.
• He was the first player with 100-RBI seasons in each of his first 10 years.

Albert Pujols’ first 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals – in which he batted .328 and averaged more than 40 doubles, 40 home runs, 120 RBIs and 117 runs scored – was one of the greatest stretches by an individual player in major-league history. Slowed by injuries and age, the second half of Pujols’ 22-year career was not as productive, but he occasionally showed flashes of his prime years as he reached 3,000 career hits and two major milestones achieved by fewer than a handful of baseball greats – 700 home runs and 2,000 RBIs.

José Alberto Pujols Alcántara was born on January 16, 1980, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was the only child of Bienvenido and his wife. At the time of his birth, the family lived in the crime-ridden neighborhood of Cristo Rey. They later moved to Villa Mella, a lower-class, but safer, area north of Santo Domingo.2 Their last stop before immigrating to the United States was the Los Trinitarios neighborhood of Santo Domingo.

When Pujols was three years old, his parents divorced and his mother left, but the couple maintained an amicable relationship.3 Pujols has not spoken publicly often of his mother, and little is known about her. Owing to economic circumstances and the chance for a better education, Pujols lived with his father but had occasional weekend visits with his mother.4

Bienvenido worked as a painter and performed other odd jobs; he was often gone from home looking for work. When Bienvenido happened to find work in the city, Pujols would accompany his father to spend time with him and help when he could.

Pujols was raised primarily by his paternal grandmother, America, with help from her 10 children. Surrounded by uncles and aunts, whom he calls his brothers and sisters, Pujols had a happy childhood, although money was tight. “We didn’t live like a rich person, but we lived pretty good,” he recalled.5

Pujols began playing baseball at the age of five when Bienvenido, an excellent softball pitcher in the Dominican Republic, introduced his son to the game. Pujols wore his father’s jersey around the neighborhood and accompanied him to his softball games, where he would beg his father to hit groundballs to him between games.6

Like most kids growing up in the Dominican Republic, as a young boy Pujols played baseball in the streets year-round with improvised equipment – he used a milk carton as a glove and limes as baseballs. He followed the major-league careers of Latino players and didn’t have a favorite team but remembered that “the [Atlanta] Braves were always on TV.”7

Though the two maintained a good relationship, Bienvenido’s alcoholism greatly shaped Albert’s life. A young Pujols would often carry his father home when he became drunk after his softball games.8 Pujols said that the experience caused him to mature early; he cited these moments as the reason that he never drank alcohol or smoked.9

Pujols was 16 when he moved with his father and grandmother to the United States. They landed in a rough neighborhood – Washington Heights in New York City – but left soon after when Pujols witnessed a murder in a bodega near where they lived.10 They settled just east of Kansas City, in Independence, Missouri, which at the time had a community of about 2,000 Dominican immigrants, including members of Pujols’ extended family.11 

Pujols enrolled as a junior at Fort Osage High School and did not speak any English. He initially struggled with the language barrier but was able to do his schoolwork. He displayed a passion to learn and with the help of his English teacher, Portia Stanke (who did not know Spanish), he quickly overcame the language obstacle.12

In October 1996, Pujols was introduced by his cousin Wilfredo Pujols to Fort Osage High School baseball coach David Fry. “When he came to us, he was a no-name. None of us knew anything about him,” Fry said. “He’s a kid that by the grace of God moved into our district. I didn’t know what I had standing in my classroom that day.”13

“The more I watched him, I felt like the baseball gods had smiled down on me,” Fry said after watching Albert Pujols during tryouts for the first time.14

Despite his stocky 6-foot-3 build, Pujols played shortstop in the spring of 1997. He hit .449 with 11 homers to lead Fort Osage to the Missouri Class 4A state championship in his first season. Because he would not have enough credits to graduate in 1998, school administrators felt that another year of high school would benefit his grasp of English and academic development. Pujols was awarded another year of eligibility and re-enrolled as a junior.

On the field he did not get many pitches to hit during the 1998 season. In what would become a recurring theme throughout his career, Pujols’ age was questioned. Opposing coaches – both out of respect for his power and believing he was older than 18 – refused to pitch to him. He was walked 55 times while hitting eight home runs in just 33 at-bats.15

Following the fall semester of his senior year, Pujols had secured the necessary credits to graduate as an English as Second Language Student.16 He left Fort Osage to accept a full scholarship at nearby Maple Woods Community College in the spring of 1999.

Pujols got off to a memorable start – in his first college game, he hit a grand slam against future major-leaguer Mark Buehrle and turned an unassisted triple play at shortstop. Pujols was named a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American for hitting .466 with 22 home runs and 76 RBIs in 56 games while leading Maple Woods to the NJCAA Region 16 Championship.17

Although Maple Woods coach Marty Kilgore expected Pujols to be taken in the first three rounds of the 1999 MLB June amateur draft, scouts had reservations. In addition to questions about his age, there were other concerns.

“We all saw Albert the same way,” said Kansas City Royals general manager Allard Baird at the time. “We weren’t sure he had a position. He didn’t have a great baseball body. We all saw him the same way, and we were all wrong.”18

On the advice of area scout Fernando Arango, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays were the only major-league club to invite Pujols for a pre-draft workout. Despite Arango’s insistence that “someday he’ll hit 40 home runs in the big leagues,” Tampa Bay officials were concerned about Pujols’ build and the defensive position he would play.19 They passed on him in the draft and Arango quit his job in disgust.20

Pujols was finally taken in the 13th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and offered a $10,000 signing bonus. Rather than accept the offer, he chose to play in the amateur collegiate Jayhawk League that summer in Hays, Kansas. After the league ended, the Cardinals upped their offer to $60,000. Pujols signed and reported to the Arizona Fall League, where he learned to play third base.21

On January 1, 2000, Pujols married Kansas City native Deidre Corona, whom he had met at a Latin dance club when he was in high school. The young couple spent just $150 on their wedding and honeymooned in Peoria, Illinois, where Pujols would begin his minor-league career.22 On their first date, Deidre, who was three years older, told Pujols that she had an eight-week-old daughter, Isabella, with Down Syndrome.23 After their wedding, Pujols officially adopted Isabella. He and Deidre would have four children together: Albert Jr. (2001), Sophia (2005), Ezra (2010), and Esther Grace (2012).

Pujols’ accension to the major leagues was remarkably fast. The Cardinals initially sent him to their Class-A affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs of the Midwest League. After he hit .324 with 17 homers in 109 games (for which he was later named Midwest League MVP),24 he was promoted to the High-A Potomac Cannons of the Carolina League for 21 games in August. Skipping Double-A, he ended the year with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds for their final three games leading into the Pacific Coast League playoffs. In Game Four of the finals against Salt Lake City, Pujols hit a 13th-inning walk-off home run to give Memphis its first PCL title. In the four-game series, he was 8-for-17 with two homers and five RBIs and was named MVP.25 The Cardinals named Pujols their 2000 Minor League Player of the Year.26

Although they expected him to begin the season in Triple A, the Cardinals welcomed Pujols to spring training as a non-roster invitee in 2001. Despite spending time at first base, third base, shortstop, and all three outfield positions, Pujols hit from the start. Because of injuries to veterans Mark McGwire and Bobby Bonilla, Pujols received extensive playing time and batted .349 in 62 at-bats with a team-leading 34 total bases and just eight strikeouts.27

“Each week when we had our cut meetings, there we were, figuring he had to go back to the minors at some point, and each week he kept impressing us more and more,” said Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty. “It got to the final week and we just said, ‘Look, we’re really a better club with him,’ the way he was playing.”28  

Bonilla’s injury created a vacancy on manager Tony La Russa’s roster that was filled by Pujols, who debuted as the Cardinals’ left fielder in Colorado on opening day, April 2, 2001, and singled against Mike Hampton in his third at-bat.29 Four days later, he cracked his first big-league homer against Armando Reynoso in a victory at Arizona. On April 9, Pujols homered in his first trip to the plate at Busch Stadium.30 He finished April hitting .370 with 8 homers and 27 RBIs and hardly slowed down. Splitting time between third base, first base, and the outfield, he finished the season with a .329 average, 37 homers, 130 RBIs, and 112 runs scored31 while setting National League rookie records for RBIs (130), extra-base hits (88), and total bases (360).32 Pujols was unanimously voted the NL Rookie of the Year, the sixth Cardinals player to win the award.

The next season, Pujols posted similar numbers (.314, 34, 127), the second of a record 10 consecutive years with at least 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, and a batting average over .300. Though Pujols was not eligible for arbitration, St. Louis signed their young superstar to a one-year contract for $900,000 prior to the 2003 season.

After the Cardinals made the playoffs in each of Pujols’ first two seasons, they fell to third in the NL Central in 2003 – which may have been Pujols’ best season in St. Louis. Despite playing most of the season with ligament damage in his right elbow, he won his only batting title with two hits on the final day to finish with a .359 average, edging out Colorado’s Todd Helton by .0002 in the closest batting race in NL history.33  Highlighted by a career-best 30-game hitting streak34, Pujols hit 43 homers and drove in 124 runs while leading the majors in batting average, runs, doubles, and total bases and topping the NL in hits, three behind AL leader Vernon Wells. Pujols finished second in the MVP balloting behind San Francisco’s Barry Bonds (.341, 45, 90 with 148 walks).35

Before the 2004 season, St. Louis inked Pujols to a seven-year, $100 million contract, thereby avoiding an upcoming arbitration battle and delaying his free agency at least four years.36 After playing multiple positions during his first three seasons, Pujols moved exclusively to first base in 2004 after Tino Martinez was dealt to Tampa Bay in November 2003. Pujols would become an excellent defensive first baseman, winning two Gold Glove Awards and setting a major-league record with 185 assists as a first baseman in 2009.37

St. Louis won an MLB-best 105 games in 2004 and topped the Houston Astros in a thrilling seven-game NLCS. Pujols torched the Astros, going 14-for-28 with four home runs, nine RBIs, and scoring 10 runs; he was named the series MVP. In his first World Series he was 5-for-15 with two doubles but St. Louis was swept by the Boston Red Sox, who won their first title since 1918.

Shortly after the 2005 season began, Pujols and Deidre announced the formation of the Pujols Family Foundation. The organization’s goals were to help improve the lives of poor children and orphans in the Dominican Republic and support local organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Ronald McDonald House.38

As the adoptive father of Isabella, another cause was even closer to Pujols’ heart—promoting awareness of Down Syndrome. In 2002 Pujols became the spokesman for the annual “Buddy Walk” game, in which children with Down Syndrome are special guests of the Cardinals and walk along the warning track and stand with Cardinals players during the national anthem. He had a knack for creating a special memory for the children, often hitting a “requested” home run; in the 2006 game he homered in his first three at-bats.39 After being nominated for the fifth time in six years, Pujols was awarded the Roberto Clemente Award in 2008 for his community service.40 

In each season from 2001 to 2004, Pujols finished in the top four in the MVP voting while Bonds won four straight times. With Bonds sidelined until September, Pujols (.330, 41, 117) broke through in 2005 to capture his first of three NL MVP Awards and lead the Cardinals to their second consecutive 100-win season.41 They lost to Houston in six games in the NLCS, but Pujols provided one of his most memorable moments with a massive three-run homer in the ninth inning against Astros closer Brad Lidge to win Game Five.

In the inaugural season of Busch Stadium III in 2006, Pujols hit the first Cardinals home run in the new park. On April 16, his third straight home run was a two-run game-winner in an 8-7 win over Cincinnati; the next night in Pittsburgh he homered in his first at-bat to tie a major-league record for consecutive home runs.42 He finished the month with a major-league record 14 homers in April43 – while hitting .346 and driving in 32 runs – and ended the year with career highs of 49 home runs and 137 RBIs despite a 15-day stay on the disabled list in June.44 The Cardinals, who claimed the NL Central crown with an 83-79 record, beat San Diego in four games in the NL Division Series before dispatching the New York Mets in a tight seven-game NLCS in which Pujols was 7 for 22. He hit just .200 in the World Series, but St. Louis topped the Detroit Tigers in five games for an unexpected title.

After finishing runner-up in the MVP balloting behind Philadelphia’s Ryan Howard, Pujols created a minor controversy when he said in an interview in the Dominican Republic that “someone who doesn’t take his team to the playoffs doesn’t deserve to win the MVP.”45 Pujols later apologized to Howard, saying his remarks were misinterpreted.46

Plagued by discomfort and tingling in his right elbow in 200747, Pujols had career lows to that point in home runs (32) and RBIs (103). He rebounded in 2008 to win his second MVP Award (.357, 37, 116) but underwent surgery to decompress and relocate the ulnar nerve in his right elbow following the season. In 2009 he led the league in homers (47) for the first time48, drove in 135 runs, and nabbed another MVP Award – and had a second surgery on his elbow after the season ended.49

Pujols led the league in homers again and RBIs (for the only time) in 2010 but finished second to Cincinnati’s Joey Votto for the MVP. Following the season, St. Louis exercised a $16 million option on Pujols’ contract for 2011.50

Statistically, the 2011 season was Pujols’ worst of his career to that point. In early June he hit extra-inning, walk-off home runs on consecutive days to beat the Chicago Cubs,51 but on June 19 he suffered a fractured wrist. He was expected to miss up to six weeks but returned two weeks later.52 On July 29 he collected his 2,000th career hit, becoming the fifth Cardinal to reach the milestone.53 He finished the season hitting .299 with 99 RBIs, ending a 10-year streak of batting over .300 and driving in 100 runs.

After defeating Milwaukee on August 2, St. Louis was only 2½ games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, but by August 24 had dropped to 10 games out and 10½ games behind the Atlanta Braves for the sole NL Wild Card berth. However, they went 23-9 to close the season and clinched the wild card spot on the last day when the Braves lost in 13 innings to Philadelphia. Advancing to the World Series with series wins over Philadelphia and Milwaukee, St. Louis split two games at home with the Texas Rangers to set up Game Three. Pujols lifted St. Louis to a 16-7 win with perhaps the greatest single-game offensive output in World Series history. After grounding out in the first inning, Pujols singled in the fourth and fifth, followed by home runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth; he joined Babe Ruth and Reggie Jackson as the only players to homer three times in a World Series game.54 His five hits and six RBIs also tied World Series records and his 14 total bases set a new standard.55 St. Louis beat Texas in seven games to win their second title in six years.

Prior to the 2011 season, the Cardinals had offered Pujols a nine-year, $198 million extension, which he rejected.56 Pujols refused to discuss his contract status during the season and became a free agent following the World Series. Despite both management and Pujols proclaiming that he should remain a Cardinal for the remainder of his career, Pujols eventually signed a 10-year, $254 million deal with the American League’s Los Angeles Angels that included a marketing deal and a personal services contract.57  

Pujols got off to a poor start in 2012 for his new team; he batted under .200 until mid-May and did not connect for his first home run until his 117th plate appearance on May 6. He rallied to finish with 30 homers, 105 RBIs and a .285 batting average, the highest average he would achieve during his time with the Angels. He smacked 50 doubles, making him the first player to reach that mark in each league.58

In 2013, a partially torn plantar fascia on his left foot limited Pujols to 99 games and ended his streak of 12 consecutive 30-homer seasons.59 Despite not being on the field, Pujols was still in the news on August 2 when former major-leaguer Jack Clark, as an employee of a sports talk show on Cleveland’s WGNU, accused Pujols of using performance-enhancing drugs during his early years in St. Louis.60

Pujols denied the accusation, saying in a statement, “I’ve said time and again that I would never take, or even consider taking, anything illegal. I’ve been tested hundreds of times throughout my career, and never once have I tested positive.”61 Pujols, whose name did not appear in the 2007 Mitchell Report which investigated illegal PED use, sued both Clark and WGNU for defamation. The lawsuit was later dropped when Clark publicly retracted his comments.62

Early in the 2014 season, Pujols reached the 500-home run club on April 22 when he belted both his 499th and 500th in a victory over the Washington Nationals.63 He finished with 28 home runs and 105 RBIs and helped the Angels win the AL West title for the first time since they won three straight from 2007 to 2009. Despite teaming up with superstar Mike Trout, the 2014 season would be the only one during Pujols’ stay with the Angels in which they made the postseason; they were swept in the Division Series by the Kansas City Royals.

Playing on achy feet for the last several years of his career, Pujols’ production dropped dramatically. He still hit the ball hard but was often the victim of opponent’s extreme defensive shifts, which – combined with his lack of speed – resulted in groundouts instead of hits. Many were turned into double plays; Pujols grounded into a major-league record 426 in his career.

But Pujols still achieved several statistical milestones while with the Angels. In 2015, he had his seventh, and last, 40-homer season but drove in just 95 runs. The final two of his record 14 100-RBI seasons64 were in 2016 and 2017. On June 3, 2017, he smashed a grand slam for his 600th career home run. He lined a single to right on May 4, 2018, against Seattle’s Mike Leake to become the 32nd player to reach 3,000 hits. Just over a year later, on May 9, his solo homer against Ryan Carpenter was his 2,000th RBI.65 On August 24, 2020, Pujols collected his 2,087th RBI, moving him past Álex Rodríguez into second place all time.66

After signing Pujols, the Angels had hosted the Cardinals in interleague series in 2013 and 2016, but did not visit St. Louis until June 2019, more than seven years since Pujols’ last home appearance during their World Series victory. Receiving a standing ovation for each plate appearance of the series, Pujols was 1-for-2 with a walk in the first game in front of a crowd of 48,423 – the second largest in Busch Stadium history. He thrilled the St. Louis fans with a seventh-inning home run against Cardinal starter Dakota Hudson the following day and collected two hits in the third game.67

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Pujols hit .224 in 152 at-bats. He was hitting just .198 in 86 at-bats in 2021 when he was designated for assignment by the Angels on May 6, four months before the end of his contract.68 Just over a week later, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, for whom he hit .254 with 12 home runs in 85 games (37 starts).69 In nine playoff games with the Dodgers, he had five singles in 17 at-bats.

In March 2022, Pujols signed a one-year deal for $2.5 million with St. Louis to end his storied career back where it began. Shortly before opening day, he divorced Deidre just days after her successful brain surgery.70

On the field in his final season as a player, Pujols appeared in 22 games at first base. With the recent adoption of the designated hitter in the National League, the bulk of his playing time came as the Cardinals’ DH. On May 15, he made his major-league pitching debut when he entered for the final inning of a 15-6 win over the San Francisco Giants. He allowed four runs on three hits, including a three-run homer by Luis González and a solo homer by Joey Bart.71

Pujols entered the 2022 season needing 21 homers to join Bonds, Hank Aaron, and Ruth as the only players with 700 career home runs. With just seven home runs in 171 at-bats through August 6, he seemed destined to fall short – but then blasted 17 in his final 136 at-bats to finish with a career total of 703. The 699th and 700th came at Dodger Stadium on September 23. More than 21 years after homering in his first at-bat in St. Louis, he went deep in his final regular season at-bat at Busch Stadium against Pittsburgh’s Roansy Contreras. The next day, in Pittsburgh, he connected against Mitch Keller for his final career home run. Keller was the record 458th different pitcher to allow a homer to Pujols.72

Pujols’ final appearance in the major leagues came in the Cardinals’ Wild Card Series loss to Philadelphia; he was 2-for-8 in two games.

During the first spring training following his retirement, Pujols was inevitably asked if he missed playing the game. “I don’t miss a freakin’ thing about it,” he said. “I really don’t. I’ve been playing baseball for 38 years of my life. It was fun. I had a great career. But I am burned out.”73

Did he have second thoughts about retirement following his strong second half in 2022? “People know when I make a decision, it’s a final decision. Yes, I was sure. I had enough,” he stated. “There are no perfect endings, but I think I had one. Last year was the best thing that happened to me in my career besides winning the World Series.”74

In a private ceremony in early 2023, Pujols married for the second time, to Nicole Fernández, the daughter of former Dominican Republic president Leonel Fernández.75 

In June 2023, Pujols was named a special assistant to Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to consult on numerous topics, including player relations and issues in the Dominican Republic.76

Although the second half of his career paled in comparison to the first 11 seasons in St. Louis, Albert Pujols compiled career numbers matched by few of the immortals of the game. In his prime, he was one of the most feared hitters in baseball history. But that’s not how he wanted to be known. 

When asked in 2009, he said, “I don’t want to be remembered as the best baseball player ever. I want to be remembered as a great guy who loved the Lord, loved to serve the community and who gave back. That’s the guy I want to be remembered as when I am done wearing this uniform. That’s from the bottom of my heart.”77

Last revised: November 4, 2024

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Eric Vickrey and Rory Costello and checked for accuracy by Henry Kirn of SABR’s fact-checking team.

Photo credits: MLB.com, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted Baseball-Reference.com.

Notes

1 Pujols had 505 RBIs in his first four seasons. The other two players are Joe DiMaggio (558) and Ted Williams (515). Matthew Leach, “Pujols Surpasses 500-RBI Plateau,” MLB.com, September 26, 2004.

2 Joe Strauss, “Pujols’ Maintains a Strong Bond with Dominican,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, November 29, 2005: D7.

3 Tom Verducci, “Albert’s Second Act;” Sports Illustrated, March 26, 2012, https://vault.si.com/vault/2012/03/26/alberts-second-act.

4 Graham Bensinger, “Albert Pujols: I’ve Never Drank Alcohol,” https://grahambensinger.com/2021/08/10/albert-pujols/.

5 Chuck Johnson, “Pujols A Card-Carrying Star,” USA Today, May 22, 2001:2C.

6 Graham Bensinger, “Albert Pujols: I’ve Never Drank Alcohol,” https://grahambensinger.com/2021/08/10/albert-pujols/.

7 Johnson.

8 Joe Posnanski, “The Power to Believe,” Sports Illustrated, March 16, 2009.

9 Graham Bensinger, “Albert Pujols: I’ve Never Drank Alcohol,” https://grahambensinger.com/2021/08/10/albert-pujols/.

10 Edward Lennon, “Los Angeles Angels: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Albert Pujols,” September 2020, https://calltothepen.com/2020/09/19/los-angeles-angels-5-things-albert-pujols/2/

11 Johnson.

12 Graham Bensinger, “Albert Pujols: Challenges Coming to America,” https://grahambensinger.com/2021/08/10/albert-pujols/.

13 Mike Eisenbath, “Pujols is Hot Property at the Hot Corner,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 25, 2001: D16.

14 Johnson.

15 In the summer of 1997, Pujols played a 60-game American Legion season with Hi-Boy Drive In/Post 340 and hit 29 home runs and drove in 119 runs. The next summer he smacked 35 homers and knocked in 124. Arne Christensen, “Albert Pujols: Revisiting the Early Years,” The Hardball Times, June 15, 2010, https://tht.fangraphs.com/albert-pujols-revisiting-the-early-years/

16 Christensen.

17 “Albert Pujols,” NJCAARegion16.org, accessed October 27, 2024, https://njcaaregion16.org/Hall_of_Fame/Albert_Pujols.

18 Posnanski.

19 Jonah Keri, “The Extra 2%: Whiffing on Albert Pujols”, ESPN.com, March 7, 2011, https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=6189583.

20 Keri.

21 Christensen.

22 Posnanski.

23 Johnson.

24 Pujols was named Midwest League Most Valuable Player for the 2000 season despite spending the last month in High-A Potomac.

25 Newspaper accounts report that Pujols hit .367 while being named MVP but that appears to be for the entire playoffs. Box scores from the game accounts in the Salt Lake City Tribune show that he was 8-for-17 in the PCL Championship Series.

26  Gary Lee, “2021 Cardinals Minor League Co-Players & Pitcher of the Year,” Ozark Radio News, March 16, 2022, https://www.ozarkradionews.com/sports/2021-cardinals-minor-league-co-players-pitcher-of-the-year.

27 Steve DiMeglio, “Blazing a Shortcut to the Big Leagues,” USA Today, May 16-22, 2001: 30.

28 DiMeglio.

29 Pujols was the first player born in the 1980s to appear in major leagues. It was initially believed that Rafael Furcal, the 2000 National League Rookie of the Year, was the first but he was found to be two years older than he claimed when having to prove his age to renew his visa following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Because Pujols had been in the United States since he was a young child, he did not face the same scrutiny. Thomas Stinson, “Furcal Ages by 2 Years on Visa,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 15, 2002: C2.

30 Pujols was the first Cardinals rookie to homer in his home debut since Wally Moon in 1954. DiMeglio.

31 Despite below-average speed, Pujols would score 100 or more runs nine times and lead the league five times. Pujols was the first rookie since Walt Dropo in 1950 to hit .300 with 30 home runs, 100 RBIs, and 100 runs scored.

32 “Season of Accomplishments,” USA Today, October 9, 2001. Pujols struck out 93 times in his rookie season. He would match that total in 2017 when he was 37 years old. His next highest strikeout total in a season was 76 (2010 and 2012).

33 Pujols’ .359 average was the highest by a St. Louis batter since Joe Torre hit .363 in 1971. It was the first batting title by a Cardinal since 1990 when Willie McGee hit .335 and accumulated enough at-bats to qualify in the NL before a late-season trade to Oakland in the AL. McGee’s overall average ended at .324. Interestingly, Los Angeles Dodgers’ Eddie Murray led the majors with a .330 average but didn’t lead either league.

34 Pujols fell short of the St. Louis record set by Rogers Hornsby, who hit in 33 straight games in 1922.

35 This was the second consecutive year that Pujols had finished second to Bonds in the National League MVP voting.

36 Joe Strauss, “Pujol$, Cards Buck Up by Giving Slugger $100 Million Deal,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 20, 2004: D1.

37 Pujols recorded his final assist in the last game of the season to break a tie with Bill Buckner, who had 184 for the 1985 Boston Red Sox.

38 Associated Press, “MLB Honours Pujols,” October 26, 2008.

39 In “Buddy Walk” games from 2002 to 2008, Pujols batted 10-for-24 with six homers and 11 RBIs, and the Cardinals had a 5-1 record. His record-tying 184th assist as a first baseman came in the 2009 game. Associated Press, “Another Memorable Day for Pujols and Buddies,” Columbia (Missouri) Daily Tribune, September 9, 2008: 3B.

40 Associated Press, “MLB Honours Pujols.”

41 Bonds was denied the opportunity to win a fifth consecutive time due to a knee injury. He made his season debut on September 12 and hit .286 with five home runs and 10 RBIs in 14 games.

42 Reuters, “Pujols Ties Record,” Eurosports.com, April 18, 2006, https://www.eurosport.com/baseball-softball/mlb/2006/pujols-ties-record_sto869613/story.shtml.

43 https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/who-has-the-most-hr-in-a-season-in-the-month-of-april.

44 United Press International, “Albert Pujols Goes to the DL,” June 4, 2006, https://www.upi.com/Sports_News/2006/06/04/Albert-Pujols-goes-to-the-DL/16161149458267/.

45 Phillies won 85 games, two more than St. Louis, but finished second in the NL East behind the New York Mets, who won 97 games.  “Pujols Apologizes Over MVP Remarks,” USA Today, December 4, 2006.

46 “Pujols feels his MVP message was lost in translation,” ESPN.com, December 4, 2006, https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2685770.

47 Ben Reiter, “Risky Business?”, Sports Illustrated, April 14, 2008, https://vault.si.com/vault/2008/04/14/baseball.

48 Pujols hit his 47th homer of the season on September 9 and did not homer in his final 79 at-bats but still edged Prince Fielder (46) and Howard (45).

49 ESPN.com, “Pujols to Have Elbow Procedure,” October 20, 2009, https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4581000.

50  Ben Nicholson-Smith, “Cardinals Exercise Pujols’ 2011 Option,” MLB Trade Rumors, October 6, 2010, https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2010/10/cardinals-exercise-pujols-2011-option.html.

51 The second one came against Rodrigo López, against whom Pujols was 0-for-12 before the home run.

52  Grant Brisbee, “Albert Pujols to Be Activated From Disabled List,” SBNation.com, July 5, 2011, https://www.sbnation.com/2011/7/5/2259878/albert-pujols-injury-st-louis-cardinals-news.

53 Associated Press, “Albert Pujols Gets 2,000th Career Hit,” ESPN.com, July 29, 2011, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/6817681/cardinals-albert-pujols-doubles-2000th-career-hit.

54 Ruth did it twice (1926 and 1928). San Francisco’s Pablo Sandoval later hit three in Game One against Detroit in 2012. https://www.baseball-almanac.com/rb_ws2.shtml.

55 https://www.baseball-almanac.com/rb_ws2.shtml.

56 Tyler Kepner, “Pujols Leaves Behind Fractured Legacy in St. Louis,” New York Times, December 8, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/09/sports/baseball/in-st-louis-pujols-leaves-behind-a-statue-and-a-fractured-legacy.html.

57 “Deidre Pujols explains decision,” ESPN.com, December 12, 2011, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/7346376/albert-pujols-wife-deidre-explains-why-los-angeles-angels-slugger-left-st-louis-cardinals.

58 Pujols had 51 doubles with the Cardinals in both 2003 and 2004. Miguel Cabrera later accomplished this feat with Florida (2006) and Detroit (2014).

59 David Leon Moore, “Plantar fasciitis knocking top athletes off their feet,” USA Today; August 20, 2013; https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2013/08/20/albert-pujols-plantar-fascitis/2679445/.

60 Dan Caesar, “Clark Accuses Pujols of Steroid Abuse,” Stltoday.com, August 9, 2013, https://www.stltoday.com/sports/professional/mlb/cardinals/media-views-clark-says-pujols-used-performance-enhancing-drug/article_9afc6d86-6a7f-5e49-b636-2f893df579a1.html.

61 Mike DiGiovanna, “Angels’ Albert Pujols Denies Taking PEDs, Says He Will Sue Jack Clark,” Los Angeles Times, August 9, 2013, https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/la-sp-0810-angels-pujols-20130810-story.html.

62 Tim Daniels, “Albert Pujols Drops Lawsuit Against Jack Clark over PED Accusations,” Bleacherreport.com, October 4, 2013, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1798501-albert-pujols-suing-jack-clark-over-ped-accusations.

63 Pujols was the first player to hit his 499th and 500th career homer in the same game.

64 Tied with Álex Rodríguez.

65 Pujols joined Aaron and Rodríguez as the only three players with 2,000 RBIs. RBIs became an official statistic in 1920; therefore, Ruth and Cap Anson, whose careers began before 1920 and had over 2,000 each, are not officially recognized as having over 2,000.

66 Ruth had 2,214 RBIs but is not officially on the career list because RBI was not an official stat until 1920, five years after his major-league debut.

67 Jenifer Langosch, “Pujols Receives Standing Ovation in Busch Return,” MLB.com; June 22, 2019, https://www.mlb.com/news/albert-pujols-makes-return-to-busch-stadium.

68 Mark Feinsand, “’Never a right time’ as Angels DFA Pujols,” MLB.com, May 6, 2021, https://www.mlb.com/news/albert-pujols-released-by-angels.

69  R.J. Anderson, “Albert Pujols, Los Angeles Dodgers Reach Agreement on Big-League Contract,” CBSSports.com, May 16, 2021, https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/albert-pujols-los-angeles-dodgers-reach-agreement-on-big-league-contract/. Pujols joined Tim Wallach (1996) and Shea Hillenbrand (2007) as the only players to homer for both the Angels and Dodgers in the same season.

70 Ryan Glasspiegel, “Albert Pujols Cites ‘Irreconcilable Differences’ in Divorce Filing,” New York Post, April 5, 2022, https://nypost.com/2022/04/05/albert-pujols-irreconcilable-differences-in-divorce-from-wife/.

71 Adam Wainwright was the winning pitcher in this game. It was his 203rd victory with Yadier Molina as his catcher, making them the winningest battery in major-league history. John Denton, “Waino, Yadi Set Wins Record as Cards Erupt,” May 15, 2022, https://www.mlb.com/news/adam-wainwright-yadier-molina-set-battery-wins-record.

72 Jim Sergent and Gabe Lacques, “22 Historic Moments of the 2022 Baseball Season,” USA Today, October 6, 2022, https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/graphics/2022/10/06/2022-mlb-records-judge-pujols-top-list/8122641001/.

73 Bob Nightengale, “Pujols Enjoying Retirement After 22-Year Career,” USA Today, February 23, 2023: 3C.

74 Nightengale.

75 Aashna, “MLB All-Star Albert Pujols and Nicole Fernandez Exchange Vows in a Fairytale Wedding,” Sportskeeda.com, February 3, 2023, https://www.sportskeeda.com/baseball/news-albert-pujols-ties-knot-nicole-fernandez-took-instagram-celebrate-big-day.

76 Reuters, “Albert Pujols Named Special Assistant to MLB Commissioner,” June 5, 2023, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story?id=37800354&_slug_=albert-pujols-named-special-assistant-mlb-commissioner.

77 Posnanski.

The speedy Hines was also “known as the most colorful and sensational outfielder in the league, with an astounding ability to capture low line drives.”1 That skill was evident on May 8, 1878, when he took part in what may have been the first unassisted triple play in the majors. If it was, it numbered – along with his Triple Crown the same year – among many firsts he could claim in his long and successful career.

Paul Aloysius Hines was born on March 1, 18552 in Virginia, “about 15 miles from Washington, D. C.”3 He was the first child and only son of Michael Joseph Hines (1823-1891), a laborer and later a building contractor, and Ann Layden (1828-1896), immigrants from Ireland. Hines had two sisters, Mary (1859-1932) and the future Sister Mary Josephine (c. 1861-1936), who served for 57 years at the Georgetown Visitation Convent.4

Hines’s early baseball training is sketchy. He apparently played for the Creightons, an amateur team that played at 10th and G Street in Washington on the so-called Asylum Hill lot. The Creightons, comprised mostly of players of Irish descent, boasted three other alumni with major-league careers.5 Hines went on to play baseball for Nick Young, local baseball pioneer and future NL president, on the Washington Rosedales, a semiprofessional team in South Washington in 1870. The next year, Hines split his time between the Washington Olympics and the Junior Nationals.6 By 1872, the 17-year-old righty-hitting speedster was in the major leagues, playing in all 11 games for the Washington Nationals of the National Association (NA) before the team folded.

In 1873, the 5-foot-9, 173-pounder was reunited with Nick Young, who was managing the Association’s Washington Blue Legs. They fared somewhat better than the defunct Nationals, completing 39 games and winning eight for a seventh-place finish. Hines played in all 39 games, hitting .331 with 10 extra-base hits. For 1874, Young moved to Chicago to help bring the White Stockings back to the NA.7  He doubtless influenced the callow Hines to practice his trade there.

The move proved fortuitous for the young player’s career. Hines spent four seasons in the Windy City, two with the NA Chicago franchise, and two with the NL Chicago entrant. The 1876 Chicago White Stockings were loaded with talent: Deacon White, Cal McVey, Cap Anson, and Ross Barnes, to name a few. The team was led by pitcher Al Spalding, who won 47 games against 12 losses (and he hit .312 as well). The team won the NL’s inaugural pennant going away, at 52-14, six games better than the Hartford Dark Blues. Hines, who had appeared destined for the Philadelphia Athletics for the ’76 season,8 stayed in Chicago. He was a key contributor to this juggernaut, hitting .331 (the team average was .337) and tying for the league lead (with teammate Barnes) in doubles with 21.

However, Hines’s production fell the following year along with the team’s fortunes. He played all 60 games in the schedule but had lesser stats in every category. The most telling perhaps was his OPS+. He fell from 146 (or nearly 50% above the league average) to a pedestrian 97.

Hines moved from Chicago to Providence for 1878, the start of what would become a very productive eight seasons tending the outfield for the Grays. Providence, which had been a good semipro team since at least 1875, became fully professional in January 1878. Though the franchise toyed with joining the upstart International Association, it eventually applied for NL membership. The league approved on February 6, temporarily giving it seven teams before scandal-ridden Louisville resigned in early March.9 The Rhode Islanders finished a very creditable third (33-27-2) under manager Tom York in their first season. Hines played in all 62 scheduled league games, and he dazzled, leading the league in home runs (4), RBIs (50),10 batting average (.358),11 slugging (.486), OPS (.849), and total bases (125). He was, although he would never know it, the first Triple Crown winner in major league history.

Hines’s most memorable moment in the field came during the new National League franchise’s May 8 tilt against Boston. The Red Stockings (aka Red Caps), the class of the NL, were the visitors at the Messer Street Grounds that day. After a lackluster and error-filled 8½ innings before 3,500 spectators, Boston came to bat trailing 3–0.12 Following a leadoff walk and a wild throw by Grays second baseman Charlie Sweasy, Boston had a run in and a man, right fielder Jack Manning, on third. Third baseman Ezra Sutton reached on an error by first baseman Tim Murnane and promptly stole second. Boston second baseman Jack Burdock stood at the plate looking at Sutton on second and Manning on third with nobody out. According to the Boston Globe, “[Burdock] hit a high fly, which was a twister, but Hines ran for it, took it on the fly at the short stop’s position, putting out Burdock. Without stopping in his run Hines kept on to third, which both Manning and Sutton had passed running home on the fly, and there stopping, made a triple play with no assistance.”13

It was the first unassisted triple play in major league history . . . or was it? The New York Clipper, with a very short game account, called it a triple play but not unassisted.14 According to the Clipper, Hines caught the fly behind short; ran to third, doubling off Manning; and then threw to Sweasy to put out Sutton. Much actual and metaphorical ink has been expended discussing this play over the years. It is listed as unassisted in the SABR triple play database, but Major League Baseball does not consider it such.15

Future Hall of Famer George Wright latched on to the Grays in 1879 as manager and everyday shortstop. The team thrived under Wright’s leadership, winning the NL pennant by five games over Boston. Providence won 26 more games in the 85-game 1879 season, led by the teenage phenom pitcher John Ward, who won a league-leading 47 games against only 19 losses. It is difficult to top a Triple Crown season, yet Hines was more productive in ’79. He went 6-for-6 in a 10-inning game against the Troy Trojans in Providence on August 26. In addition, he saved the game with “a magnificent running fly catch of Dan] Brouthers’ gigantic hit to far centre-field.” With two men on, Hines likely saved three runs in the tight contest.16

A month later, he was the hero in the pennant clincher against Boston. The Grays had been ahead 6-0 in the game but allowed the Beaneaters three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth. With two out, Wright walked and first baseman Joe Start doubled, sending Wright to third. Hines delivered the game-ending single, touching off “immense excitement.”17

He was again the top offensive player on his team and led the league in many categories, including hits (146) and total bases (197). Hines earned an “elegant gold medal offered by Mr. James W. McKay of Buffalo, N. Y.”18 for having the highest batting average (.357) among players who played in at least 70 of the 84 National League games.19

Wright was back in Boston for the 1880 season and the Grays fell back to second place. Hines, in the lineup everyday (he led the league in plate appearances), lost 50 points on his batting average. Indeed, all of his offensive numbers diminished.

He hovered around the .300 mark for the next few years, leading the league in doubles (27) in 1881. Perhaps feeling playful at the close of the season, he made a “queer calculation” before the September 30, 1881, duel against Buffalo. Hines took a blank scorecard from a reporter (likely the official scorer) and “wrote ‘one home-run,’ and then made a mark over the fifth-inning column to indicate at what stage of the contest he would score.” Hines proved to be prescient: in the fifth inning he hit a ball over the left field fence, helping Providence win 10-1.20

Hines was a great two-way player, as well as a terrific baserunner. He had some natural gifts to be sure, but he also was almost completely deaf. He played without being able to hear for most of his professional career. It is not known precisely when Hines lost his hearing. An account of Hines visiting the offices of the New York Clipper in early 1883 reports, “Hines has been for many years afflicted with total deafness.”21 There were later reports of a beaning by Jim Whitney in 1886 and much later reports of umpires creating hand signals for Hines’s benefit. Both are apocryphal.

The year 1884 became known as “Baseball’s Wildest Season.”22 It featured the advent of a third major league, the short-lived Union Association. For Providence in particular, it was the annus mirabilis. The Grays won their second NL pennant, this time by 10½ games over their regional rivals, the Beaneaters. They had winning streaks of 12, 10, and 20 games (the latter from August 7 through September 6). The Grays were led by Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn, who put together an otherworldly pitching performance. He was 60-12 with 678.2 innings pitched. His 6023 wins were 71% of the team’s 84.

The 29-year-old Hines crafted another excellent offensive season, playing 114 games, batting .302, and leading the league in doubles (36). Again, he was the leading offensive player on this pennant-winning club. He was the only member of the team who played in every Providence game (the Grays were 84-28-2). In addition, he played nearly 1,000 innings in center field with 202 putouts (third in the NL), an .895 fielding percentage (fifth), and five double plays (also fifth). During the 20-game winning streak, Hines had 18 straight error-free games.

After this magical season, the Grays met the American Association pennant-winning New York Metropolitans in what is now considered the first World Series. The Grays won all three games in the series, all played in New York, with Radbourn pitching all 22 innings (the last two games were shortened by cold weather). Hines, batting in the leadoff spot, had just two hits in eight at-bats – but drew three walks and after being hit by a pitch,24 scored the first run in WS history. One of his two hits was the first hit in the first game, giving Hines another “first” in his personal list of baseball accomplishments.

In December 1884, the Washington Monument was completed. Some friends of Hines prevailed upon him to catch a baseball dropped from the summit, some 555 feet above the ground. He was, apparently, willing to try until the New York Clipper provided the physics behind the drop. It concluded as follows:

“The ball will not weigh much when it starts on its journey, but, great Scott, there is a rule of natural philosophy which will tell Hines before he begins just how many dozens of pounds it practically will weigh when it lands on his sconce . . . There is a possibility that Paul is not going to fool around with a baseball at the base of the Washington Monument.”25

Hines thought better of it and did not attempt the catch. Consequently, with his “sconce” intact, he was ready to play when the ’85 season began.

Hines played in the Ocean State through the 1885 season, the only player on the roster for each of Providence’s eight seasons in the NL. During this time, he batted .309 with 964 hits, 201 doubles, and 576 runs scored.26 It was the longest tenure at any club for the peripatetic Hines.

As a player, of course, Hines had little control over where he would play, only if he would play. At the end of November 1885, Arthur Soden, owner of the Boston Beaneaters, personally purchased the Providence franchise for a reported $6,600. He then took the players he wanted for Boston, Radbourn and 21-year-old catcher Con Daily, and released the rest to league control.

With a new franchise planned for the District of Columbia, it was generally supposed that Hines would land there. In early March, the league made it official. The New York Clipper reported that Soden had wanted Hines “to gratify the demand of the public for him.” The Hub magnate offered “[Grasshopper Jim] Whitney and Walter] Hackett and a good round sum . . .” but the Nationals wanted more and the deal fell through.27

While waiting to learn his baseball fate, Hines took time to get married. On February 2, 1886, he married 22-year-old Katie May Duffy at a ceremony in Washington, DC. The pair would be married for nearly 50 years.

Hines was by far the best offensive player on the lowly Nationals, who finished last in the eight-team circuit, 60 games behind pennant-winning Chicago. He led his team in almost every offensive category, batting .312 while the rest of his mates hit .196. Hines’s OPS+ of 157 was nearly twice that of the team’s runner-up. After agreeing to terms for the ’87 season, Hines reneged and held out until April 12 (the season started on April 29). Several clubs attempted to obtain the speedy outfielder, but the price was usually too high.

Typical were the negotiations with the Philadelphia Quakers. Harry Wright wanted Hines but the Nationals wanted 24-year-old pitcher Charlie Ferguson, who was 30-9 in 1886. That was a non-starter for Wright; Hines did not move.28 At least one reporter didn’t think he would fit in Philly. “Paul Hines, of Washington, is dissatisfied, and would like to come to Philadelphia, but Paul is a kicker from away back, and would not harmonize with a mild-mannered Jimmie Fogarty or the gentle Joe] Mulvey.”29

The Baltimore Sun reported that Hines’s first game of 1887 spring training was against Yale in Washington on April 12. “It is understood that the management concluded to accept Hines’s terms, as they realize that they need him for his batting qualities.”30 The ’87 Nationals were slightly better than the previous season, finishing seventh while Hines put in his typical productive year in the field and at the plate. He played nearly every day, mostly in center but spending time in the infield as well.

Hines was not happy playing in his hometown and looked to move for the 1888 season. He thought he was underappreciated when he did well and overly criticized when he didn’t deliver.31 Hines had no beef with the Nationals management; it was his many friends and acquaintances who expected him to hit a home run every time up or catch every line drive hit to the outfield. Even his wife and father gave him grief.32

Horace Fogel, who was one of three managers of the 1887 Indianapolis Hoosiers, gave Sporting Life his account of the Hines 1888 contract negotiations. Fogel claimed Hines made known his dissatisfaction with Washington as early as September 23 (the Nationals were in Indianapolis for a four-game series). Fogel obtained the permission of Nationals manager John Gaffney to speak to his player and secured a verbal agreement from Hines to play for the 1888 Hoosiers for $2,800, contingent on Indianapolis getting his release from his current employer. Indianapolis did so, but Hines demurred owing to “interference” from Pittsburgh, which offered him a reported $3,600 to play there.33

Hines, whose reputation was tarnished by the intrigue, did in the end make the trip to Indiana. Washington traded him to the Hoosiers for utility player Gid Gardner and a reported $5,000 to secure Hines’s release.34 Indianapolis had recently completed its inaugural season in the National League, mostly with players from the defunct St. Louis Maroons. The Hoosiers finished a distant eighth (in the eight-team league) and were looking for offense and perhaps a defensive upgrade for 1888. Hines did provide a boost at the plate: his .281/.343/.366 slash line was good enough for a 125 OPS+, best on the team. He was still durable and fast, playing in 133 of the team’s 136 games, including 125 in center field. He stole 31 bases. As a 33-year-old, he had personal bests in innings played in the outfield (1,082), chances (294), and putouts (255).

Hines became the everyday first baseman for the 1889 Hoosiers, playing 109 games at first. He had better than average range, but his 43 errors led all National League first sackers. Hines did, though, have a good year at the plate, batting .305 (148-for-486) with 49 walks and 34 extra-base hits.

An anecdote about that season showed a different side of Hines. Sporting News reporter Guy M. Smith, reminiscing 44 years later, recounted how a very wild Amos Rusie, local phenom with hundreds of his friends in the stands, was nearly yanked from a game against Boston. Rusie, who made his major-league debut earlier in the season, pleaded with captain Jack Glasscock to stay in the game. Hines interceded with Glasscock on Rusie’s behalf, won the day, and walked Rusie back to the box with his arm around the teenager’s shoulder. After this, Rusie regained his control and won the game. Smith, who claimed to have witnessed the act, said, “it was the finest example of graciousness he has ever seen upon the diamond. It was this virtue in Hines which always drew the affection of his fellow players.”35

The advent, in 1890, of the Players League, caused much consternation and machinations in the NL and American Association (AA) business meetings between the ’89 and ’90 seasons. In late March 1890, the NL, having added the AA’s Brooklyn and Cincinnati franchises, subtracted Washington and Indianapolis. New York Giants owner John B. Day purchased the contracts of the Hoosiers’ best players, “the rest to be dispersed, with Pittsburgh having first choice of the leftovers.”36

The Alleghenys, hoping to improve on a fifth-place finish, obtained Hines’s contract. Improvement was not to be, however. The 1890 Alleghenys were one of the all-time worst major-league teams, winning just 17% of their games. Hines lasted only 31 games in Pittsburgh, splitting his time between first and the outfield. He hit an anemic .182 and was released in June. He signed with Boston later in the month, playing 69 games for the second division Beaneaters.

Hines was back in DC for 1891, his last year in the majors. By then, he had been married for five years and had been a father since December 1889. Time away from the family, then as now, was difficult. He signed with the Washington Statesmen in the American Association, the 10-year- old league’s last year. The Statesmen had a good deal of turnover in their roster with 38 different players having at least one at-bat or game played. Hines, who played in only 54 of the team’s 136 games, played more games in center, 47, than any other Washington player. He played his last major-league game on July 3, 1891, in Washington. He started in center against Cincinnati and had a triple, but, according to the Boston Globe, “his stupid baserunning” prevented the Statesmen from winning (the game was suspended as a 2-2 tie after 13 innings).37

Yet Hines was not quite done with baseball. Having spent more than half of his life playing baseball at the highest level, it must have been difficult to let that go. Plus, with a wife and two-year-old Paul Aloysius Hines, Jr. to support, the game still may have offered his highest earning potential. After being away from the game in 1892,38 he played a few games for the Nashville Tigers (Southern Association, Class B) and the Sandusky Sandies (Ohio-Michigan League, independent) in 1893. He was hired to manage in Burlington, Iowa for 1895 and 1896. He put himself in the Colts lineup a few times each season.

After ’96, however, his baseball career, as all of them must, came to an end. Commenting on Hines’s release from Burlington, the Cedar Rapids Gazette offered, “Paul Hines has always been an honor to his chosen profession, and the announcement of his retirement is received with regret by thousands of people in many parts of the country.”39 Hines’s mother passed away in 1896 as well. With her decease came the real property Hines’s father had designated for him.40 As early as 1891, newspapers were commenting on Hines’s wealth, estimating it at $40,000 in 1891 (perhaps $1.4 million in 2023 dollars) and as much as $200,000 in 1894.41 Whether this was idle gossip or rumor is impossible to say.

After baseball, Hines returned to Washington, DC, where he worked for many years as a clerk in the Department of Agriculture, eventually rising to postmaster. In 1897, astoundingly, Hines helped prevent a murder. Howe Totten, a lawyer working in the building where Hines was employed, came under attack by the husband of Totten’s former love interest. With Totten shouting for help and others rushing to the locked office, Hines helped smash the door open, clubbed the assailant, and knocked the gun away. Of his heroics, Hines remarked, “There’s nothing in it for me at all. I simply did what any man of sense would have done.”42

Hines’s life became sad and unfortunate as he aged. On November 14, 1922, the 67-year-old was arrested in Washington, DC for pickpocketing. According to the news account, he had “been under surveillance for some time.” Apparently, the police engineered a situation where Hines would attempt a theft. He was taken into custody for lifting “[Detective James] Springman’s pocketbook from the pocket of [Policewoman Irene] Hubbs’ overcoat at 9th street and New York avenue.” A search of Hines’ place at 233 Rhode Island Avenue uncovered “a number of purses and pocketbooks . . . as well as twenty-five pairs of eyeglasses and spectacles.” Hines’s fame as a baseball player was well-known to the police, where he had “many firm friends.” The chief of detectives, Clifford L. Grant, “was inclined to regard the alleged activities of the man as a kleptomania attendant upon advancing years.”43

In 1926, Paul Hines, deaf and nearly blind, entered the Sacred Heart Home in Hyattsville, Maryland. He died there on July 10, 1935. He is interred in his family plot in Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Washington, DC. Survivors included his son Paul, his daughter-in-law Anita, granddaughter Mary, his sister Sister Mary Josephine, and several nieces and nephews. Katie May Hines, his wife of 49 years, had died on March 30.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Paul Proia.

Photo credit: Paul Hines, National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

Sources 

In addition to the sources shown in the notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com, retrosheet.org, and the following:

The Baseball Bloggess, “Paul Hines, Baseball Player: The Unblurrification,” https://thebaseballbloggess.com/2019/10/18/paul-hines-baseball-unassisted-triple-play/

The Baseball Bloggess, “Paul Hines: A Little More to Unspool,” https://thebaseballbloggess.com/2019/10/19/paul-hines-a-little-more-to-unspool/

John Thorn, “Paul Hines and the Unassisted Triple Play,” https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/paul-hines-and-the-unassisted-triple-play-220f56473f1a

Eric Miklich, “Paul Hines,” http://www.19cbaseball.com/players-paul-hines.html

Notes

1 Guy M. Smith, “Passing of Hines Finds Few Players of His Period Among the Survivors,” The Sporting News, July 25, 1935: 3.

2 The Baseball Encyclopedia (Rick Wolff et al., eds., 9th edition, Macmillan, 1993, 1023) has 1852 as his birth year but numerous genealogical records and newspaper accounts during his playing career make the case for 1855.

3 “Base-Ball,” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 25, 1877: 2.

4 “Sister Mary Josephine Fifty Years in Service,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), May 22, 1929, 17. “Long Illness Fatal to Georgetown Nun,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), April 2, 1936: 2.

5 “Base Ball Pioneers,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), August 14, 1927: section 5, 76.

6 Mike Mulhern, “Did Baseball’s First Triple Crown Winner Also Make the Sport’s First Unassisted Triple Play,” [National Baseball Hall of Fame clippings file], no date or page number.

7 William J. Ryczek, “Nine Men are Quite Enough,” in Baseball’s 19th Century “Winter” Meetings: 1857–1900, ed. Jeremy K. Hodges and Bill Nowlin (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research, 2018): part 1, section 3, 121. Chicago did not field a team in 1872 and 1873, in large part due to the “Great Chicago Fire” of October 1871.

8 “Chicago vs. Mutual,” New York Clipper, October 30, 1875: 245.

9 Dennis Pajot, “Scandals, New Rules, and Franchise Changes: The 1877 National League Winter Meetings,” in Baseball’s 19th Century “Winter” Meetings: 1857–1900, ed. Jeremy K. Hodges and Bill Nowlin (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research, 2018): part 2, 150.

10 RBI was not an official statistic until 1920.

11 Due to a bookkeeping error, the 1878 batting champion was thought to be Abner Dalrymple who hit .354 for the Milwaukee Grays. Subsequent research, however, showed Hines to be the actual champ.

12 Whether a team batted first or last was decided by a coin flip, with the winner choosing to bat first or take the field first.

13 “Ball Games,” Boston Globe, May 9, 1878: 1.

14 “Boston vs. Providence,” New York Clipper, May 18, 1878: 59.

15 For a detailed analysis of the play, the controversy, and the relevant rules see Richard Hershberger’s cogent article, “Revisiting the Hines Triple Play” in the Spring 2016 SABR Baseball Research Journal.

16 “Sporting Events,” Chicago Tribune, August 27, 1879: 5.

17 “Diamond and Track,” Boston Globe, September 27, 1879: 2.

18 “Paul A. Hines, Centre-Fielder,” New York Clipper, December 6, 1879, 293. The McKay Medal was stolen from the house of Michael Hines, Paul Hines’s father, on the morning of June 28, 1887. “Hines’ Base Ball Medal Stolen,” Boston Globe, June 29, 1887: 1.

19 “The McKay Medal,” New York Clipper, November 22, 1879: 274.

20 “Baseball,” New York Clipper, January 28, 1882, 735. “The Final Victories: Providences, 10; Buffaloes, 1,” Boston Globe, October 1, 1881: 4.

21 “Base-Ball,” Cincinnati Enquirer, March 25, 1883: 16.

22 William J. Ryczek, Baseball’s Wildest Season: Three Leagues, Thirty-Four Teams and the Chaos of 1884 Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2023], passim.

23 Radbourn was given credit for 59 wins at the time.

24 The games were played according to AA rules and Hines was allowed first base.

25 “Paul Hines,” New York Clipper, January 10, 1885:683.

26 Frederick Ivor-Campbell, “Paul Hines,” in Nineteenth Century Stars, Robert L. Tiemann and Mark Rucker, eds. [Phoenix: The Society for American Baseball Research, 2012]: 163–164.

27 “From the Hub,” New York Clipper, March 13, 1886: 827.

28 “Around the Bases,” Chicago Tribune, April 24, 1887, 31. Ferguson was 22-10 for the ’87 Quakers but then tragically died at the start of the 1888 season.

29 “Philadelphia Seeking Strong Men,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 16, 1887: 2.

30 “Base-Ball,” Baltimore Sun, April 13, 1887: 5.

31 “The Hines Matter,” n.p., December 14, 1887 (Hall of Fame clippings file).

32 “Hines a Hoosier,” Sporting Life, November 9, 1887: 1.

33 “A New Base-Ball Scheme,” Indianapolis Journal, December 11, 1887: 12. The article quotes Fogel’s account printed in The Sporting Life.

34 “Hines a Hoosier,” Sporting Life: 1.

35 Smith, “Passing of Hines,” The Sporting News: 3.

36 John Bauer, “The Establishment Responds: Winter Meetings 1889–90 (NL/AA),” in Baseball’s 19th Century “Winter” Meetings: 1857–1900, ed. Jeremy K. Hodges and Bill Nowlin (Phoenix: Society for American Baseball Research, 2018): part 2, 274.

37 “War of Pitchers,” Boston Globe, July 4, 1891: 5.

38 Hines’s father died in 1891 and Paul may have been getting the elder Hines’s business affairs in order.

39 “Paul Hines Retired,” Cedar Rapids (IA) Gazette, May 26, 1896: 3.

40 “Michael J. Hines,” Probate Records (District of Columbia), 1801-1930; Author: District of Columbia. Register of Wills; Probate Place: District of Columbia, Washington, D.C., images 608–610.

41 “The National Game,” Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA), August 3, 1891: 5. “Baseball Briefs,” Fall River (Massachusetts) Globe, March 24, 1894: 6.

42 “Saved by an Ex-Ball Player,” Buffalo (NY) Courier, May 26, 1897: 2.

43 “Veteran Ball Player Held as Pickpocket,” Evening Star (Washington, DC), November 15, 1922: 18.

Joe Mauer was one of those athletes. “Once he figures out the concept of a game, he’s good at it,” said Mauer’s high school teammate, Tony Leseman. “It’s amazing and annoying at the same time.”1 One day when Mauer and his friends went to the bowling alley. Joe rolled a 265 game. He was just learning the sport and posted a score that would make any kegler proud.

Mauer was an all-state point guard in basketball. However, it was baseball and football where he was head and shoulders above his peers. By the end of his senior year, he was the top-rated recruit nationally in both sports. After Mauer was drafted number one overall by his hometown team, the Minnesota Twins, in 2001, the lucrative contract that accompanies the number one selection was enough for him to choose the diamond over the gridiron.

After 15 seasons with the Twins, who could fault his decision? During his career, Mauer won one Most Valuable Player Award, three batting titles, three Gold Glove Awards as a catcher, and five Silver Slugger Awards while going to six All-Star Games. Mauer was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2024 in his first year of eligibility. It was a natural conclusion to an outstanding career which saw him become, as of 2024, the only catcher to ever lead the American League in batting.

Joseph Patrick Mauer was born on April 19, 1983, in St. Paul, Minnesota.2 He was the third son born to Donald Charles “Jake” Mauer and Teresa (née Tierney). Jake Mauer was often referred to as “Big Jake,” to help others differentiate him from his father “Grandpa Jake” and his eldest son, “Little Jake.” Big Jake worked for a company that made plaques, trophies, and ribbons. Teresa – an excellent athlete as a schoolgirl – was an office manager at a retail store that sold religious artifacts. The middle Mauer boy was named Billy.3

In his leisure time, Big Jake coached his sons. As part of this effort, he designed a hitting tool for them. Wiffle balls were dropped through a coffee can and a series of PVC pipes. The boys used a skinny 32-inch steel pipe to swing at the plastic ball, helping them to develop a quick, compact swing. The device was later marketed as Mauer’s Quickswing.4

Grandpa Jake also played a role in his grandsons’ development. He lived with the Mauers and watched over the boys when Big Jake and Teresa were at work. The eldest Jake spent countless hours working with the youths to hone their athletic skills.5

Joe Mauer enrolled at Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul. The Catholic high school boasted one of the state’s outstanding sports programs.  Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke and Hall of Fame baseball player Paul Molitor were also former Raiders. “Our sophomore year, he [Mauer] made the Team USA 18-and-under team,” said Leseman. “That’s when the media started to pick it up and mention him as a top-round baseball pick.”6

A quarterback in football, Mauer was given the reins of the varsity team his junior year. He threw for over 2,400 yards and led the Raiders to a state championship. His senior season, Mauer threw for over 2,800 yards and 41 touchdowns (seven in one game). He was the top-rated recruit in the nation. “I had him as my top-ranked player that year (2001), everybody did,” said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming. “He was tall [6-feet-5], had a great arm, great football sense.”7 Mauer signed a letter of intent to play football for legendary coach Bobby Bowden at Florida State University, following in the footsteps of Weinke.

But the baseball season was yet to be played. The lefty-swinging catcher batted .625 in his senior year, smacking 14 homers and driving in 48 runs. In his three-year career on the Raiders varsity, Mauer struck out only once, at one point homering in seven straight games.8 Cretin-Derham won the state baseball title in 2001,9 and Mauer was named the USA Today National Player of the Year in both football and baseball in his senior year.10

Minnesota selected Mauer with the first overall pick of the amateur draft on June 5, 2001. He signed a contract that included a $5.15 million bonus a month later. “This is like a fairy tale,” said Mauer. “I can’t ask for anything better. It was a fun-filled day.”11 

One day later, the Twins also drafted older brother Jake Mauer, a second baseman from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul), in the 23rd round. “Jake was taken on his own merits,” said Twins General Manager Terry Ryan. “He’s a good-looking hitter.”12  Jake became a utilityman who was good enough to reach Class AA. His career ended in 2005. Subsequently, middle brother Bill Mauer, a pitcher from Concordia University, signed with the Twins as an undrafted free agent.13 Bill’s minor-league career ran from 2003 through 2005.

Joe and Jake headed to Elizabethton (Tennessee) of the Appalachian Rookie League. Joe Mauer immediately noticed a difference between high school baseball and playing professionally. “There are pitchers that throw hard,” said Mauer after his pro debut. “They have good stuff and they know where they’re throwing it. I am going to strike out some. This was pretty tough pitching I faced tonight.”14

Mauer seemed to adjust just fine, batting .400 in 110 at-bats in the short-season rookie league. Mauer continued to hit well as he rose through the Twins’ farm system. Although he hit just .125 in the first three weeks of the season at Quad Cities (Iowa) of the Class A Midwest League in 2002, by mid-June, his batting average was up to .314. “Everybody is going to have a slump from time to time in baseball, and the key is how you handle it, and he showed the character it takes to get out of it quickly.” said Quad Cities manager Jeff Carter. “Joe did all the right things. He didn’t let it get to him. He knows he can hit the ball, and he kept working at it.”15  Mauer finished the year batting .302.

On June 15, 2003, after getting off to a great start with Class A Fort Myers, where he was hitting .335, he was promoted to the next level16 and continued to impress. Mauer improved his average to .341 with the New Britain (Connecticut) Rock Cats of the Class AA Eastern League during the latter part of the 2003 season. The 20-year-old catcher seemed to be a player well beyond his years. With New Britain, he threw out 16 of 34 baserunners (47 percent) attempting to steal, while committing just three errors in 60 games. As he did with his hitting, Mauer continuously worked on his defense. He credited his coaches, Gary Lucas and Floyd Rayford – a former pitcher and catcher, respectively – with his development. “I’ve learned so much from those two guys. Last year, I got a taste of this game. This year I am getting an education of what it’s all about.” 17 Mauer was rewarded for his hard work when he was named Minor League Player of the Year in 2003 by Baseball America. They would not soon forget him in Connecticut. Ten years later they had Joe Mauer Bobblehead Night at New Britain Stadium.18

Since 1991, the Twins’ spring training headquarters has been located in Fort Myers, Florida. Even though Tallahassee, the home of Florida State University, is about 400 miles north of Fort Myers. It did not stop college football fans from giving it to Mauer. “Those first few years, the Florida writers, the fans would give me grief and say what the heck?” said Mauer. “If you were our quarterback, things would’ve been different.”19

Just two weeks before he turned 21. the Twins announced that Mauer, who had never played a game in Triple A, would be the Opening Day catcher in 2004. On April 4, 2004, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published a profile of the rookie, titled The Lock. “That’s a rare guy right there,” said the Twins’ Torii Hunter. “He’s 20, but he’s 20 going on 40. To take pitches like he does, to throw out people the way he does, to call games like he does, and to do it all with that personality and character, that’s special.

“He got me a drink of water the other day. I’m like ‘What? A first-round pick getting me water?’ Most of those guys have too much testosterone and ego to do that.”20

On April 5, Mauer made his major-league debut, against Cleveland at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. The number 7 adorned the back of his home jersey. Batting eighth, Mauer went 2-for-3 with two runs scored as the Twins beat Cleveland, 7-4.

The next day, Mauer’s rookie season was interrupted due to injury. In the top of the second inning, he slid behind home plate attempting to catch a foul ball. His shinguards got caught in the warning track. An MRI showed that he tore the medial meniscus cartilage in his right knee. Surgery was performed and although Mauer returned to the Twins’ lineup in June, after 33 games in June and July, the pain was too much. He played his last game of the 2004 season on July 15. Although brief, his rookie season showed that he would be a force. He batted .308 and gunned down seven of 18 runners trying to steal.

Mauer made a full recovery in time for the 2005 season. He started 110 games at catcher, throwing out 43% of baserunners (23 of 54). He batted .295, hit nine home runs, drove in 55, and set a career high in stolen bases with 13. However, the Twins’ three-year reign as kings of the AL Central was over – they finished in third place, 16 games back.

The 2006 Twins season was thrilling. They battled Detroit and Chicago throughout to capture the division crown. Mauer was in a race for the batting title. Both were decided on the final day of the season.

Mauer was especially hot in May, when he hit .386 (39-for-101) – but was almost unstoppable in June, batting .452 (42-for-93). The Twins hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series beginning on June 26. In the first game, Mauer went 4-for-5 with five RBIs in an 8-2 Twins win. The next day, he went 5-for-5 with an RBI in a 9-2 Minnesota victory. They went on to sweep the Dodgers, part of an 11-game winning streak (June 22 to July 3) Mauer’s average reached an astounding .392 on June 28. Mauer was selected as a reserve to back up Detroit’s Ivan Rodriguez at catcher on the AL All-Star team, the first of his six All-Star selections

“Even though some people say Joe should try to hit more home runs, he needs to do this or that, he always sticks with his approach,” teammate Mike Redmond later said. “If you throw him away, he’ll hit it to the left. If you throw him a nasty breaking ball, he’ll hit it up the middle. Every once in a while, if you try to go in on him, he’ll pull. It’s fun to watch him.”21

Going into their final game, Detroit and Minnesota sported identical 95-66 records. Meanwhile, Mauer was batting .346 with New York’s Derek Jeter right behind him at .345.

The Twins toppled the White Sox, 5-1. The Tigers lost in 12 innings to Kansas City, 10-8. Minnesota reclaimed the AL Central. In the Twins’ victory, Mauer went 2-for-4 to raise his average to .347. New York, which had wrapped up the AL East weeks earlier, lost to Toronto, 7-5. Jeter went 1-for-5 and saw his batting average dip to .343. Thus, Mauer became the first catcher in American League history to win a batting title.22  

“Well, he’s special, he’s got a graceful swing, his temperament is so calm and in even the most adverse, pressured situations, he remains a good professional,” said Minnesota hitting coach Joe Vavra. “So he had a lot at stake going into every at-bat today and he knew what was going to happen – and he went out and did what he needed to take the title.”23  

No matter what the circumstances were in 2006, Mauer hit well – during the day (.348) and at night (.347), vs. righties (.356) and southpaws (.331), with men on base (.367) and when the bags were empty (.331). However, there was some speculation that given his size, Mauer should be hitting more home runs. He hit a modest 13 in 2006 while winning his first Silver Slugger Award. “They just find one thing after another,” said Mauer that July. “They said that I couldn’t hit lefties. It gives you motivation to work on things so that they can’t really say anything.”24

Oakland swept the Twins in three games in the ALDS in 2006, holding Mauer to two singles in 11 at-bats.

Before spring training opened in 2007, the Twins avoided arbitration by signing their young star to a four-year, $33 million contract. The contract turned out to be a bargain for the Twins. Although a strained left quadriceps muscle25 kept Mauer out of the lineup during parts of the 2007 season, including a 29-game stretch from May 5 through June 7, he led the AL in hitting in both 2008 and 2009, with an impressive .365 mark in 2009 en route to his being named the American League MVP. Mauer started the All-Star game and powered out a key fifth-inning double that scored Jeter with the tying run as the AL went on to win, 4-3.

Mauer also led the league that year in on-base percentage (.444) and slugging percentage (.587) and set career highs in home runs (28) and RBIs (96). “My dream was always to be in the big leagues and play in the big leagues,” said Mauer. “Now to get an MVP…I can’t really describe it.”26 Entering the 2024 season, Mauer’s .365 average stood as the highest in the AL over the past 19 years.

Mauer was the fifth player in Twins’ history to win the MVP Award, joining Zoilo Versalles (1965), Harmon Killebrew (1969), Rod Carew (1977) and Justin Morneau (2006).  

But the MVP honor was not the only one for Mauer. He also won his second straight Gold Glove (.997 fielding percentage) and fueled by his 28 homers, claimed his third Silver Slugger Award.

In the middle of the 2009 season, Molitor (then a minor-league instructor for the Twins) offered his perspective on Mauer’s importance to the team. “If you want to build your organization around a player who provides leadership, stability and represents your club in the highest possible fashion, on and off the field, I don’t know how many guys out there can match Joe,” said Molitor. “To have all of that, and have the guy playing in his hometown, when your franchise is preparing to go into a new ballpark, and he’s your cornerstone player? That is an amazing and rare thing.”27

As late as mid-August, the third-place Twins were just 56-62 and trailed the first place Tigers by 6.5 games after losing the first game of a four-game set to the Texas Rangers. Mauer shined on August 18 as the Twins evened up the series. Texas had gotten off to a 5-0 lead when Mauer led off the fourth inning with a homer. In the sixth inning, the Twins rallied for four runs to tie the game. After Texas regained the lead in the bottom of the inning, Mauer knotted things up again with a homer leading off the seventh. By the time Mauer once again came to the plate, the Twins had an 8-6 lead and Mauer singled in the final Minnesota run in a 9-6 win.

The win on August 18 triggered a streak of seven wins in eight games that brought the Twins’ record to .500 and moved them into second place. A September charge included a stretch during which they won 11 of 12 games to pull within two games of the league lead. But, with just four games remaining, the Twins trailed Detroit by three games. They swept the four games, forcing a playoff with Detroit for the division title.

The Twins won the AL Central, topping Detroit 6-5 in a winner-take-all playoff game. The Twins were behind in the early innings but came back to tie the game and force extra innings. A walk-off single by Alexi Casilla put the Twins into the postseason. Their jubilation was short-lived: New York swept the Twins in three games in the ALDS even though Mauer went 5-for-12 with a double.

The 2010 season was momentous for Twins fans. After 28 seasons in the Metrodome, the team moved into a new baseball-only stadium, Target Field – an open-air venue, their first outdoor facility since the 1981 season at Metropolitan Stadium.  In their first season in the ballpark, they set a franchise home attendance record of 3,233,640.

During spring training in 2011, Mauer signed an eight-year contract worth $184 million that would kick in for that season. At the time, it was the fourth-largest salary in MLB history. “I’m just thrilled to do this for the rest of my career,” said Mauer. “I’ve told everyone here that I’m going to give you everything I got. My goal is to win a World Series and I look forward to doing that.’28     

Minnesota captured another division title in 2010. This time there was no drama, as the Twins started September by going 16-4 and cruised to the playoffs. During this stretch, Mauer jammed his left knee and missed nine games. For the season, Mauer batted .327, second on the team to Morneau (.345). In the ALDS, the Twins again met the Yankees, with the same result: New York won three straight games. Mauer had three singles in 12 at-bats.

In the offseason, Mauer had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. He spent part of spring training rehabbing the joint; however, just a week into the season, it was still hurting. He was diagnosed with bilateral leg weakness. Mauer missed two months of the season and did not return until mid-June. When he did return, Mauer played some games at first base and some as the designated hitter. He split catching duties with Drew Butera and René Rivera. His batting average dipped to a career-low .287.

Mauer rebounded from his subpar 2011 season, batting .319 with 10 homers and 85 RBIs in 2012. Mauer led the league with a .416 on-base percentage. On August 27, 2012, against Seattle, he set a club record by playing in his 832nd game at catcher, surpassing Earl Battey, who had played in 831 from 1961 to 1967.

On December 1, 2012, Mauer married the former Madeline Ann Bisanz in a lavish ceremony attended by 600 family and friends. Joe and Maddie were classmates at Cretin-Derham. The couple had three children: twin daughters Emily and Maren were born in 2013 and son Charles joined the family 5 years later in 2018.29 While Joe chose baseball as his career, Maddie became a registered nurse.

Mauer was having another productive season in 2013, hitting .320 at the All-Star break with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. The fans voted him to start at catcher for his sixth and final All-Star Game. He went 1-for-2 in the game on July 16, as his infield hit in the fifth inning factored in the AL extending its lead in a game they won, 3-0. However, on August 19 against the New York Mets, a foul tip banged against his mask. The next day, Mauer experienced dizziness and was sent home with concussion symptoms. His condition did not improve and Mauer did not return for the rest of the season.

After consulting with team physicians, the decision was made to move Mauer to first base in a permanent position change. “I think I will be a lot more healthy,” he said. “There have been many times when I’ve gone up to the plate with foul tips off the shoulder and legs or I could not feel my legs. I talked with Morneau, who was a catcher back in the day, and he said, ‘You are going to be amazed at how much better you feel.’ I’m looking forward to that.”30      

Over the next three seasons, Mauer’s batting average ranged from .261 to .277; he hit a total of 25 homers. In 2017, he rebounded to a more typical mark of .305. The Twins finished in second place in the AL Central, 17 games behind Cleveland. Still, it was good enough for a wild card berth. As luck would have it, they faced their nemesis, the Yankees – and lost 8-4. During Mauer’s tenure with the Twins, their postseason record was 0-10.

Mauer retired after the 2018 season. In 1,858 games, he batted .306 with 2,123 hits, 143 home runs, and 923 RBIs. His fielding percentage at catcher was .995, and he threw out 181 of 545 base stealers (33 percent).

In 2015, Cretin-Derham Hall High School dedicated its new athletic facility, the Joe Mauer Field House. The new facility held three full-size athletic courts, a 10,000-square-foot fitness center, offices, and locker rooms. A plaque reads in part that their (Joe and Maddie) “philanthropy is reflective of their deeply held commitment to compassionate service and includes support for organizations dedicated to education, developmental disabilities, health care, and young athletes.”31

The Twins retired Mauer’s number 7 in 2019. He joined Killebrew (3), Carew (29), Tony Oliva (6), Kent Hrbek (14), Kirby Puckett (34), Jim Kaat (36), and Bert Blyleven (28) as former Twins players receiving that honor. Manager Tom Kelly (10) also had his number retired by the Minnesota organization (which, along with every other big-league team, did so for Jackie Robinson’s 42).

In retirement, Mauer became a full-time father, a role which he wholeheartedly embraced. “I’ve been coaching softball and baseball this summer,” he said in 2023. “So I’ve been at the ballpark five days a week, which I thought I was getting away from.”32 On August 5, 2023, Mauer became the 38th member to be inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. He also kept busy with the Mauer Auto Group, a Chevrolet dealership he owned and operated with brothers Jake and Billy. He also wrote the foreword to a children’s book called The Right Thing to Do: The Joe Mauer Story.

When Mauer was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2024, his class included Adrian Beltré, Todd Helton, and Jim Leyland. Mauer received 293 votes (76.1%) to gain entry on his first ballot. He was the first player elected to Cooperstown who was drafted in the 21st century. In addition, Mauer joined Ken Griffey Jr., Harold Baines, and Chipper Jones as former number-one overall picks enshrined in the Hall. Upon hearing of Mauer’s election to the Hall, Morneau heaped praise on his ex-teammate. “It was truly an honor to watch you work,” said Morneau. “You were the best at your position. You were the best at what you did. I was tearing up today when I got the news.”33 

Oakland pitcher Dallas Braden summed up Mauer’s career this way: “The dude is about as storybook as it gets – from hometown hero to living legend enshrined forever in baseball glory!”34  

Last revised: June 19, 2024

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and David Bilmes and checked for accuracy by SABR’s fact-checking team.

Sources

In addition to the sources show in the notes, the author used Retrosheet.org and Baseball-Reference.com.

Photo credits: Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Aaron Torres, “Joe Mauer: The one that got away from college football,” Fox Sports, February 2, 2015,  https://www.foxsports.com/stories/college-football/joe-mauer-the-one-that-got-away-from-college-football. February 2, 2015. Accessed May 4, 2024.

2 Society of American Baseball Research (SABR), Biographical Committee Research, Player Hall of Fame Clip File.

3 Curt Brown, “A home-grown pick,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 6, 2001: A10.

4 Kelli Anderson, “The Perfect Catch,” Sports Illustrated, August 7, 2006: 52. 

5 Anderson, “The Perfect Catch,” 52

6 Torres, “Joe Mauer:  The one that got away from college football,”

7 Torres, “Joe Mauer: The one that got away from college football,”

8 Roman Augustoviz, “The Mauer File,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 6, 2001: C10.

9 Roman Augustoviz, “Mauer goes out on top,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 16, 2001: C14.

10 Steve  Greenberg, “Sporting News Conversation: Joe Mauer,” The Sporting News, April 26, 2010: 39.

11 Roman Augustoviz, “A Great Day for No Ordinary Joe,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 6, 2001: C10.

12 John Millea, “Mauer’s double their pleasure,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 7, 2001: C9.

13 La Velle Neal III, “Gardenhire: Closer wasn’t option,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, June 6, 2003: C11.

14 Matt Hill, “Mauer Solid in Twins Debut,” Elizabethton Star, July 24, 2001: 8.

15 Steve Patterson, “Primary Education,” Quad-City Times, June 18, 2002: D6.

16 Chris Umpierre, “Three Miracle Stars Earn Promotions,” News-Press (Fort Myers, Florida), June 15, 2003: 6C.

17 Patteson. “Primary Education.”

18 New Britain Rick Cats Promotional Advertisement, The Hartford Courant, July 18, 2013: C1.

19 Torres, “Joe Mauer: The one that got away from college football.” While Florida State, coached by Bobby Bowden, was consistently a Top-20 team during the seasons in which Mauer would have been eligible to play for it, the program never finished any higher than No. 10 in the final rankings. Florida State had been a Top 4 program for the previous 16 seasons. Adrian McPherson, the team’s starting quarterback in 2001 and 2002, was dismissed from the team after being arrested in 2002.

20 Jim Souhan, “The Lock,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 4, 2004:  T4.

21 Kelly Thesier, “Twins’ Catcher Takes His Stride to Stardom in Stride,” Baseball Digest, November 2006, 34.

22 In the National League, catchers won the batting title in three different seasons: Bubbles Hargrave (1926), Ernie Lombardi (1938 and 1942).

23 Sid Hartman, “Just When you Think You’ve Seen It All, Something Magical Happens,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 2, 2006: C3.

24 Alan Schwartz, “Mauer Stays Hot and Humble in Minnesota,” Baseball America, July 3-16, 2006: 7.

25 Joe Christensen, “Strained Muscle Sidelines Mauer,” Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), May 6, 2007: C15.

26 La Velle Neal III, “Extraordinary Joe,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 24, 2009: A1.

27 Jim Souhan, “The Joe You Don’t Know,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 12, 2009:  A11.

28 La Velle Neal III, ‘Mega-Payday for Hometown Hero,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 23, 2010: C1, C3

29 La Velle Neal III, “Joe Mauer at 40:  A Little Golf, a Little Relaxation – and a lot of Being a Dad,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 28, 2023: C1, C6

30 La Velle Neal III, “Gardenhire Looking Forward to Penciling in Mauer at New Position,” Minneapolis Star Tribune November 12, 2013:  C4.

31 Paul Walsh, “Alma Mater names fieldhouse for Mauer,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 22, 2015: B2.

32 La Velle Neal III, “Joe Mauer at 40:  A Little Golf, a Little Relaxation – and a lot of Being a Dad,” C6.

33 Bobby Nightengale, “After Getting the Word, Praise Follows,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 24, 2024: C4.

34 Nightengale. “After Getting the Word, Praise Follows.”

A career .288 left-handed line-drive hitter, Dalrymple accumulated more than 1,200 hits over a 12-year major-league career that included stops in Pittsburgh and Milwaukee. Along the way he earned a batting title as a rookie that he later lost, a home run crown, and a single-game record for doubles that remains unbroken. In his prime, Dalrymple was listed as standing 5-foot-10½ and weighing 175 pounds.3

Playing much of his career in an era when batters specified pitch location, Dalrymple’s bat control awed Hall of Fame catcher Buck Ewing. “Talk about [Napoleon] Lajoie and others who can hit any kind of ball, old Abner Dalrymple was about as good as anybody I ever saw,” said Ewing, adding “he could make more off of poor balls than any of them.”4

In addition to bat skills, Dalrymple was also blessed with speed and a right arm good enough to average a dozen outfield assists a year. That skill set led sabermetrician Bill James to rank Dalrymple tenth among 19th-century left fielders.5

Gentlemanly in manner and temperate with alcohol,6 Dal, as he was called, was a fan favorite. At former stomping grounds he was routinely showered with gifts from adoring fans. But as Dalrymple’s career wound down, a less honorable side emerged. While playing for a Denver team, he racked up so many unpaid debts he asked for his release to escape local creditors. His refusal to repay a loan resulted in a sheriff’s deputy seizing gate receipts from what proved to be his final major-league game. Soon after, Dalrymple abandoned his wife to live with another woman 2,000 miles away. The couple reconciled, after which Dalrymple straightened out his life and enjoyed a lengthy second career as a railroader.

Abner Frank Dalrymple was born in September 1857 to Samuel and Harriet Dalrymple, in the southwest Wisconsin village of Gratiot. Present-day databases, dating back to at least 1951, list September 9 as Dalrymple’s date of birth, but a State of Illinois index of deaths, and an obituary published by a local newspaper from a town nearby where he lived late in life, reported that he entered the world on September 19.7

By 1870 the Dalrymple family, which included an older sister to Abner plus two younger sisters, lived across the Illinois state line, in the town of Warren. That year’s US census identified Samuel as an auctioneer born in New York and Harriet as a housekeeper born in Ohio.

At the age of 14 Dalrymple was playing for a team of Illinois Central Railroad engineers. To qualify for the team, he took a job as a brakeman. Two years later he formed a team that earned $300 (over $8,000 in 2023 dollars) by winning a tournament at the Freeport, Illinois, fair.8 By 1876 Dalrymple was playing for the Freeport Base Ball Club. The team’s number nine hitter and third baseman, he helped turn “a fine tripple [sic] play” in mid-July then did it twice more three days later.9 By season’s end Dalrymple was batting cleanup for the undefeated Red Stockings.

The following spring Dalrymple was a center fielder for the Milwaukee nine of the League Alliance. Hitless in his professional debut, he led the third-place Cream Citys in batting average, runs scored and hits.10 Moved to left field, Dalrymple’s fielding drew superlatives: “immense” in one game, and “magnificent” in a no-hitter tossed by Sam Weaver.11

The most important at-bat of Dalrymple’s season may have come in an exhibition game loss to the defending NL champion Chicago White Stockings on July 12. In the eighth inning Dalrymple broke up a no-hitter by Al Spalding,12 the man who would later lure him to Chicago.

Milwaukee’s third-place finish earned them entrance into the National League for the 1878 season. The youngest of the Grays when he debuted on May 1, Dalrymple went 1-for-4 against Cincinnati Reds hurler Will White.13 He put together a 15-game hitting streak to start the year, and by the end of June was hitting .381, second-highest in the league.14 Dalrymple’s outfield play was also dynamic; he led NL outfielders in putouts (128), errors (28), and range factor-per-game (2.28).

Milwaukee finished last in the league, but Dalrymple won the batting title, hitting .356 versus .351 for Paul Hines of the Providence Grays.15 In 1969 Major League Baseball’s Special Records Committee (SBRC) determined that “performances in all tie games of five or more innings shall be included in the official averages,” a practice not followed before 1885.16 That decision boosted Hines’ 1878 batting average to .358 but dropped Dalrymple’s to .354, giving Hines the title retroactively (and taking it from Dal posthumously).17

Before Dalrymple had even finished his debut season, he set a new course for the next one. Days before the Grays last game, he signed a contract to play for the Chicago White Stockings in 1879 at an annual salary reported to be $1,400.18

Dalrymple’s acquisition was part of a massive overhaul of a team that finished a disappointing .500 the year before. Only two ballplayers from Chicago’s 1878 season opener were in their 1879 Opening Day lineup: Cap Anson, in his first year as a playing manager/captain, and pitcher Terry Larkin. To help fans distinguish all the new faces, Chicago management had each player start the season wearing color-coordinated caps, belts, neckties and stocking stripes, with a unique color for each player.19  Dal’s assigned color was white.

Playing left field and batting at the top of the order, Dalrymple collected 21 hits in his first 12 games, but tapered off to hit .291 for the season, with 25 doubles, which tied for second in the NL. On defense, he struggled, making 40 errors, not only leading the league again, but setting a new NL record for outfielders. “Dalrymple is a splendid judge of a ball,” snarked the Chicago Telegraph. “That is he can take one in a store and tell whether it is well made or not. But when he is out in the field, and one is batted toward him, he is never dead sure whether it is going to drop ten rods in front or fly forty feet behind him.”20 This proved to be an eerie foreshadowing of a fateful play seven years hence.

Though Dalrymple’s defense was often atrocious, Spalding’s Base Ball Guide and Official League Book for 1880 considered his batting style “the embodiment of the faculty of free hitting.”21 “His quick eye,” the Guide added “enables him then to bring his bat with a rapid sweep up or down to the line of the ball, and, as he strikes with great force, the ball if hit fairly will go hard and far.”

Bolstered by the addition of pitcher Fred Goldsmith, two-way player Larry Corcoran, and a young Mike Kelly, the 1880 White Stockings cruised to the NL pennant.  In left field for every one of those games was Dalrymple, who hit .330, with a team-high 12 triples. He topped the NL in at-bats (382), runs (91), hits (126), and total bases (175). In June and July, Dalrymple compiled a career-high 17-game hitting streak that coincided with a league-record 20-game winning streak by Chicago.22 He committed 11 fewer errors than he had the year before, and on August 31, showed his ability to not just prevent baserunners, but eliminate them, as he gunned down two at the plate in a 2-1 Chicago victory.23

A half-century later, Dalrymple recounted an epic sleight-of-hand he claimed to have pulled off late in the 1880 season during a game in Chicago against Buffalo. As he recalled, with two out, the bases loaded, and Chicago leading in the ninth, “a smoky haze had settled over the field.” Buffalo batter Ezra Sutton stepped to the plate and hit a “furious wallop” in Dalrymple’s direction.24 Dalrymple leapt as if to make a catch, and at the same time pulled “an extra ball” from his shirt, which he said he kept there in case of “emergency.” The umpire, seeing the Chicago left fielder land with a ball firmly in his grasp, called the batter out.

Though Dalrymple’s tale was more fable than fact,25 he did push the competitive envelope in other ways. He admitted to carrying a small penknife to loosen the seams on darkened used balls to force umpires to replace them with easy-to-see new ones. As former White Stocking ace Clark Griffith said about Dalrymple in 1911, “He could pull off a lot of stuff for an outfielder and get away with it in a fashion that would cause a riot nowadays.”26

In 1881 the White Stockings took over first place in late May and never let go, winning back-to-back pennants. Called the hardest hitter in the country by journalist Opie Caylor, Dalrymple hit .323 over 82 games.27 On July 2 he hit his first major league home run, off  Troy’s Tim Keefe.28 Exactly one month later he became the first major leaguer considered to have been intentionally walked with the bases loaded. Trailing 5-0 in the eighth inning, Buffalo rookie hurler Jack Lynch elected to force in a run by walking Dalrymple, preferring to take his chances against the next batter, George Gore.29

Three weeks before the start of the 1882 season, Chicago’s popular president, William Hulbert, died. Without Hulbert’s steadying influence to help Anson get the most out of the team,30 Chicago stumbled out of the gate. Dalrymple’s four doubles and three triples across three mid-June games sparked Chicago to win 14 of 15, a streak that set them on a path to their third consecutive NL pennant.

On July 24 Chicago debuted new “sensible and taste-ful” short-sleeved summer uniforms, after the NL abandoned an ill-advised regulation requiring players to wear multi-colored uniforms similar to what the White Stockings tried years earlier.31 The new threads proved to be splendid batting clothes, as Chicago pasted the Cleveland Blues, 35-4, setting an NL single-game record for runs by a team that lasted 15 years.32 Dalrymple was one of five bespoke White Stockings to both collect four hits and score four times or more. For the season, he again led the league in at-bats, and he hit .295 with an excellent 130 Adjusted OPS+.

Early in the 1883 season Dalrymple was laid low for several weeks by an eye infection, which opened the door for future evangelist Billy Sunday to debut in his place.33  Following a midsummer slump,34 Dalrymple was dropped down in the batting order against lefties but responded poorly; he made 10 errors over a seven-day span. His offensive numbers finished in line with past seasons, but Chicago failed to win a fourth-straight pennant. Dalrymple did enjoy one extraordinary day at the plate on July 3, when he and Anson each doubled four times in a 31-7 demolition of Buffalo.35 Matched dozens of times since, no major leaguer has ever hit more doubles in one game.36

A number of the 121 doubles Dalrymple hit between 1879 and 1883 were ground-rule doubles knocked over the short porch in right field at Chicago’s Lake Front Park, located no more than 230 feet from home plate.37 For the 1884 season, White Stockings management reclassified those hits as home runs, a change that produced immediate and historic results.

In the first inning of Chicago’s May 29 home opener, Dalrymple hit the very first home run over Lake Front’s right field fence.38 When the opposing Detroit Wolverines came to bat, their leadoff batter George Wood did the same. The next day Dalrymple again homered to right. On August 14, he hit a pair of three-run homers at Lake Front off Buffalo’s Billy Serad, which gave him 16 on the season, surpassing Harry Stovey’s previous major league single-season high of 14, set the year before.39

Dalrymple hit 22 home runs in 1884, 18 of them at home, but teammates Ned Williamson and Fred Pfeffer hit more. Despite hitting a record-setting 142 home runs, and posting a league-high .281 batting average, Chicago finished a distant fifth to the Providence Grays. Thanks to the NL’s first season with over 100 scheduled games, Dalrymple set a new league record with 521 at-bats. He also recorded personal highs in runs scored (111) and RBIs (69).40

The White Stockings abandoned their lakeside bandbox in 1885 for West Side Park, a new ballpark on the city’s west side. Dalrymple gave up his life as a bachelor to wed Miss Minerva S. Green two days before Opening Day, then celebrated by hitting six home runs during Chicago’s five-week season-opening homestand. He only hit five more throughout the season, but 11 proved enough for the NL home run crown. Chicago hit fewer than half the number of homers they hit the year before, but held off the New York Giants in the closest pennant race in the NL’s then 10-year history. It was Dalrymple who just about sunk the Giants pennant hopes with a two-run double in the ninth inning of a White Stockings win over New York on October 1 that clinched a tie by putting Chicago five games ahead of the Gothamites with five left to play.41 The Boston Globe declared that, “Gore, Dalrymple and Kelley [sic], the mastodonic outfield of the Chicagos, have outbatted, outfielded and outrun any outfield in America this season.”42

Dalrymple proved unable to carry his late season heroics into Chicago’s “world’s series” with the American Association champion St. Louis Browns.43 He hit .269 (7-for-26) with a home run, and his Series OPS of .783 matched his regular season OPS of .782, but his shaky defense opened the door in Game Three to a five-run first inning for St. Louis. He also committed two of Chicago’s 17 errors in a sloppy Game Seven loss.44 The 1885 Series ended in a controversial draw.

After an off-season spent tending cattle on his Nebraska ranch, Dalrymple, only 28 but already graying at the temples, found himself platooned with 23-year-old right-handed hitting Jimmy Ryan. Unable to keep his batting average above .250, Dalrymple’s playing time continued to be cut by Anson who sat him out all but one game between August 23 and September 23.45 A habit Dalrymple had developed of swinging at the first pitch he saw each game didn’t help, as opposing pitchers caught on to his odd superstition, which was aimed at preventing hitless games.46 Back in the lineup for the last two weeks of the 1886 season, Dalrymple’s batting average ended up a mediocre .233, as Chicago edged out Detroit for its fifth pennant in seven years.

As was true for much of the regular season, Dalrymple had little impact in the first five games of the 1886 World Series, a rematch between Chicago and the Browns. Down three-games-to-two in the best-of-seven series, Chicago was leading Game Six in St. Louis by a score of 3-1 as the Browns came to bat in the eighth. With two out and two runners on, Dalrymple misjudged a fly ball hit toward him by Arlie Latham, breaking in when he should have stayed put.47 The ball landed behind him, allowing both baserunners to score. In the top of the ninth, with the score tied, the go-ahead run on third and two out, Dalrymple fanned on three Bob Caruthers offerings thrown out of the strike zone. A tenth-inning wild pitch by Chicago’s John Clarkson allowed the Browns’ Curt Welch to score the Series-clinching run on a play immortalized as the “$15,000 slide.”

The Denver News later quoted an un-named teammate saying “Dal’s mind was on that $525 [each winning player’s expected share] and not on the game,” and charged Dalrymple with misjudging Latham’s fly “in a style that would have disgraced an amateur.”48 Dal swore he couldn’t see the low line drive against the dark grandstand.49 Anson and Kelly reportedly accused Dalrymple of having “revenged himself” over getting benched for Ryan.50 The Sporting News concluded their Series wrap-up with the observation that “every one of the Chicagoans blamed Dalrymple for the defeat they suffered that day.”51 Decades before the term was commonly used, Dalrymple had become the very first World Series goat.52

By Thanksgiving, Spalding sold Dalrymple’s contract to the Pittsburgh Alleghenies, an American Association team that had just transferred to the NL. Spalding claimed he was reluctant to lose Dalrymple, but Dal had requested his release, feeling “a change would be beneficial.”53 Anson wasn’t sorry to see him go, an opinion made evident years later when he called Dalrymple “an ordinary fielder” whose “poor fielding cost us several games that in my estimation we should have won.”54 Sporting Life reported Dalrymple was let go due to worsening eyesight, a problem he’d long suffered with.55

Diminished or not, Pittsburgh manager Horace Phillips saw Dalrymple as an accomplished hitter who could help support the dream-team rotation that he’d pulled together: Pud Galvin, Jim McCormick, and “Cannonball” Ed Morris, who collectively won 101 games the year before. “Glad to get away from Anson’s tyrannical power,” Dalrymple terrorized him with a first-inning leadoff triple on Opening Day that sparked the Alleghenies to a home victory over the defending NL champions.56 The Chicago Tribune sarcastically referenced the negative impact on the club from jettisoning its entire 1886 outfield (Gore and Kelly had also been sold in the off-season). “If any Chicago Base Ball Club managers have any photographs or well-executed engravings of the checks received from the purchasers of Gore, Kelly, and Dalrymple, they can now go and look at them and derive some consolation therefrom in this trying hour.”57  When Dalrymple first came to bat during Pittsburgh’s first series in Chicago, he was greeted with rounds of applause and given a silver-mounted rosewood bat by “old friends and admirers.”58

Dalrymple’s season went downhill from there. Hitting .195 in mid-June, he was benched on and off for the next six weeks. But when the team’s best hitter, third baseman Alex McKinnon, lay dying from typhoid, president William Nimick named Dalrymple team captain.59 He guided Pittsburgh to its first .500 month of the year in August, but couldn’t prevent a sixth-place finish. A short-lived NL rule that counted walks as hits helped Dalrymple hit an even .300, but after MLB’s SBRC retroactively backed out walks in 1969, his adjusted average was a career-low .212.

In the waning days of the 1887 season Dalrymple haunted his former team one last time, hitting a pair of solo home runs off John Clarkson in Chicago on September 28. The first one tied the game in the eighth and the second one ended it in the tenth.60 Dalrymple’s heroics must not have alienated his former teammates. After the season he spent ten weeks barnstorming with them in cities from St. Louis to San Francisco.61

The 1888 pre-season was an uncomfortable one for Dalrymple. In line to replace Phillips as manager, Dalrymple instead lost his position as captain. His rancorous relationship with Phillips, whom he banished to the grandstand for in-game interference the year before, may have been why.62 After “old man Dalrymple” wrenched an ankle the week before Opening Day, he healed in the company of a new temporary roommate and old friend, Billy Sunday, recently acquired by the Alleghenies.63

Typical of Dalrymple’s 1888 misfortunes, a drive he hit over the center field fence during a June game in Indianapolis struck a telegraph wire and bounced back on the field, limiting him to a double.64 In August Dalrymple missed two weeks to injury after running into a fence in Washington, D.C.65 Denied the chance to play regularly after he returned, Dalrymple requested and received his release.66 He finished the season at .220 with, for the first time, a negative WAR.

Early in Dalrymple’s professional career, he’d spent several off-seasons working railroad jobs, including brakeman for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad company.67 When Pittsburgh released him, Dalrymple went back to the rails, as a gateman on the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad.

Not ready to ride the iron horse full-time, Dalrymple signed on with the Western Association Denver Grizzlies for the 1889 season. He played left field and filled in at third base “like a war horse” for manager Dave Rowe, spending over 40 games there.68 He also secured a victory in the first of the only two games he ever pitched as a professional (both in relief).69 Dalrymple hit for the cycle in his second game as a Grizzly and again on June 27, the latter giving him home runs in five-straight games.70 For the year Dalrymple hit .331, with 72 extra-base hits in 523 at-bats, and stole 54 bases, including six in one game.71

Back with Denver in 1890, Dalrymple hit the first home run in the Grizzlies’ new Broadway Athletic Field ballpark on April 18, but by the end of the month he was released.72 The Denver News claimed Dalrymple asked to be cut free to escape creditors.73 He’d opened a cigar store in town and took on debt to stock and outfit it, but proved unable to sell enough stogies.

Dalrymple caught on immediately with the Milwaukee Brewers of the Western Association and was warmly welcomed by the city where his professional career began. As he came to bat in his first home game, he was presented with a silver-headed cane by “friends of ’78,” then later received a gold watch.74 “Once more a colt,” Dalrymple stole 79 bases and hit .328 for third-place Milwaukee.75

Rechristened the Creams, Milwaukee started the 1891 season slowly, going 8-11. Dalrymple broke up a no-hitter in the ninth inning against Omaha in one of those losses.76 After he lined out three doubles in a 12-0 whitewashing of Lincoln, the Daily Nebraska State Journal joked that Dalrymple “hasn’t forgotten to use the stick even if he did play one-old-cat with Israel Putnam, Lord Cornwallis and a few others of revolutionary fame.”77 Milwaukee got hot soon after and surged to the top of the Association standings. “Often mak[ing] sick the hearts of prize pitchers,” Dalrymple led the Association in hitting in late July.78 A few weeks later, Milwaukee moved up to the major-league American Association, taking over the franchise formerly held by Cincinnati’s Kelly’s Killers, a team whose manager and namesake was King Kelly.

Dalrymple went 4-for-4 for the once-again Brewers in his second game back in the majors, and in Milwaukee’s home debut, scored five runs in a 30-3 lambasting of the Washington Statesmen.79 Two days later, on September 12, Dalrymple hit for the cycle. After tripling in a run in the opening frame, Dalrymple “illustrated to the excited multitude the law of excentric [sic] projection” by hitting a ball well over the right field fence.80 The Washington Post reported the ball went through a window of a nearby house.81 The cycle was the first of Dalrymple’s major league career; the home run his last.

Dalrymple’s final game was also memorable for what happened afterwards. Looking to boost their finances, the Brewers and Columbus Solons had agreed to move their season-ending two-game series to Minneapolis. Milwaukee won the series opener on October 2 with Dalrymple going 0-for-4. After the game, a local deputy sheriff seized the gate receipts ($120) to satisfy a judgment against Dalrymple for an unpaid debt of $98.82 Despite carrying his highest major league batting average in ten years (.311), Dalrymple did not play the next game. In the coming months, Dalrymple would stray even further from the “quiet and proper in decorum” image he’d developed.83

Rumored to be missing in November, Dalrymple turned up weeks later in Tacoma, Washington, playing house with a Milwaukee “woman of questionable reputation.”84 Undeterred, Mrs. Dalrymple traveled to Tacoma and persuaded Abner to return home with her.

Over the next four years Dalrymple bounced around the minor leagues. Favorably impressed with the Evergreen State from his scandalous time there, he signed on with the Spokane Bunchgrassers of the Class-B Pacific Northwest League for the 1892 baseball season. With his watchful wife in the stands for every game, Dalrymple hit an even .300 playing all three outfield positions, and occasionally first base, for manager Ollie Beard.85 Dalrymple left at the end of July, dismissed for “indifferent work and cranky actions in the field” according to the local papers. Dal insisted his contract had ended, coinciding with the end of a leave-of-absence from his job with the Northern Pacific Railroad.86

Dalrymple followed Beard to Macon, Georgia, and the Class-B Southern Association in June 1893, where he played in 30 games before returning to his railroad job. The following May he played in one game for Minneapolis of the Western League, then signed on with Indianapolis of the same league. Chosen to be team captain by manager Bill Sharsig, “Uncle Abner,” as one local newspaper called him, stayed on for the whole season, hitting .355 for the Hoosiers.87 

Dalrymple reunited with Beard again in 1895, back in the Southern Association. Playing for Evansville at age 37, “Grandpa Abner” did well against hurlers from both ends of the record-book.88 In an April exhibition against the NL Cleveland Spiders, he reached base twice against Cy Young, the winningest pitcher in major league history,89 and on June 4 he hit a game-winning homer off Crazy Schmit, who owns the second-lowest winning percentage of any major-league pitcher with at least 40 decisions (.163).90 For the year, Dalrymple hit .292 over 49 games with 12 stolen bases.91

Done playing professionally, Dalrymple joined various “farmer boys” teams over the next decade, first in Morris, Minnesota, where he and his wife lived, then in Crookston, Moorhead, and Fargo.92 He last played competitively in 1907 with a semipro team in East Grand Forks, Minnesota.

As baseball transitioned from career to hobby for Dalrymple, he worked as a brakeman on upper Midwest routes for the Northern Pacific, later rising to the level of conductor. He retired in 1928, with 36 years of service, at the age of 71.93

Several years before his retirement as a railroader, Dalrymple’s wife died. He remarried in 1926, to Margaret Alderson Glasgow, a widowed former “school-day sweetheart” from Warren.94

On January 25, 1939, Dalrymple died at his home in Warren after a brief illness.95 Recalling his brief stint among NL home run leaders, the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph called Dalrymple “the Babe Ruth of his era.”96 A more apt epitaph might be the lyrical description of Dal that Clark Griffith once offered: “A smooth old soul.”97

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Bill Lamb and Rick Zucker and fact-checked by Paul Proia.

Sources

The author compiled game logs for Dalrymple’s professional career from game summaries and box scores published in newspapers which regularly covered the teams on which he played, primarily the Freeport (Illinois) Journal, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Inter Ocean, Detroit Free Press, St. Paul Globe, Minneapolis Tribune, Omaha World Herald, Spokane Review, Macon Telegraph, Indianapolis Journal, Evansville Journal, Sporting Life, and New York Clipper. He also obtained pertinent material from Bill McMahon’s SABR biography of Al Spalding. In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author also consulted FamilySearch.com, Baseball-Reference.com, Retrosheet.org, Stathead.com, Baseball-Almanac.com, and Statscrew.com.

Notes

1 “’Booze’ and Base-Ball,” Chicago Tribune, September 23, 1887: 3.

2 “Diamond Field Gossip,” New York Clipper, April 6, 1895: 73.

3 “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 17, 1884: 8.

4 “Drift of the Diamond,” Pittsburgh Press, April 3, 1900: 5.

5 Bill James, The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (Free Press: New York, 2001), 713. James compared ballplayers across all major league eras, ranking Dalrymple 93rd all-time. Nineteenth-century left fielders that James rated ahead of Dalrymple (defined by the author as those with a majority of their plate appearances before 1901), were, in order, Ed Delahanty, Jesse Burkett, Joe Kelley, Jim O’Rourke, Harry Stovey, Tip O’Neill, Charley Jones, Kip Selbach, and Elmer E. Smith.

6 Orin Crooker, “When Billy Sunday Hit the Trail,” Nashville Baptist and Reflector, April 13, 1916: 10.

7 Hy Turkin and S.C. Thompson, The Official Encyclopedia of Baseball (New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1951), 72; “Illinois Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947”; “Ab Dalrymple, ‘Babe Ruth’ of the ‘70s, Dies,” Freeport (Illinois) Journal-Standard, January 26, 1939: 1. The Freeport Journal also listed September 19 as Dalrymple’s date of birth in an extensive article they published more than a decade before his death in which he shared details of his baseball career. “Al (sic) Dalrymple, ‘Babe Ruth’ of ‘70s, Retires from Railroad Work,” Freeport Journal-Standard, September 22, 1928: 4. The author was unable to uncover any contemporary record of Dalrymple’s birth in records available online from Lafayette County, Wisconsin, where Gratiot is located. The headstone at Dalrymple’s gravesite does not help eliminate this uncertainty as it lists only his year of birth.

8 “Abner Dalrymple, Champ Batter in 1878, Will Retire,” Billings (Montana) Gazette, September 23, 1928: 8.

9 “Base Ball,” Freeport Journal, July 19, 1876: 8; Chicago Tribune, July 22, 1876: 5.

10 “Good Enough,” Milwaukee News, May 19, 1877: 4; “The Milwaukee Club,” Chicago Tribune, November 11, 1877: 8. A fanciful retelling of Dalrymple’s first days with Milwaukee a decade later described him as sporting large, sunburned hands, long hair, and “the most ungainly [gait] imaginable.”  The account erroneously claimed that Dalrymple homered in his first at-bat against a “League” pitcher and added three more hits before the game ended. “Liners,” Detroit Free Press, May 9, 1887: 5.

11 “That Game,” Milwaukee News, June 21, 1877: 4; “Champions,” Milwaukee News, September 7, 1877: 4.

12 “Base Ball,” Milwaukee News, July 13, 1877: 4.

13 “Base-Ball,” Cincinnati Enquirer, May 2, 1878: 8.

14 “Personals,” Memphis Appeal, June 26, 1878: 5. Batting streak information based on game logs compiled by the author. Dalrymple’s career-opening streak may have been an NL record. Between 1901 and 2023, the longest hitting streak at the start of an NL career is 17. “Jordan Walker’s landmark debut hit streak of 12 games ends vs. Pirates,” ESPN website, April 14, 2023, https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/36183943/jordan-walker-landmark-debut-hit-streak-12-games-ends-vs-pirates

15 “The ‘Guide’ for 1879,” Chicago Tribune, March 2, 1879: 12. The league’s official statistics were released in A.G. Spalding’s Base Ball Guide for 1879. That publication included a full page “portrait of young Dalrymple, the leading batsman of 1878.” See also, “Base Ball,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, March 9, 1879: 3.

16 John Thorn, “Why Is the National Association Not a Major League … and Other Records Issues,” Our Game website, May 4, 2015, https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/why-is-the-national-association-not-a-major-league-and-other-records-issues-7507e1683b66.

17 At the time that Dalrymple lost his crown, he was the third youngest, behind Ty Cobb and Al Kaline, to have won a major league batting title, and one of only four rookies to have done it. Ross Barnes of the 1876 White Stockings, Pete Browning of the 1882 American Association Louisville Eclipse, and Tony Oliva of the 1964 American League Minnesota Twins were the other rookies to lead their respective leagues in hitting.  Since Dalrymple was originally recognized as the 1878 batting champion, Baseball-Reference.com lists both Hines’ and Dalrymple’s 1878 batting averages in bold font, which represents league leadership.

18 “Diamond Dust,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 11, 1878: 5; “General Notes,” Cleveland Leader, September 20, 1878: 8. In later years, Dalrymple claimed that his salary was the highest of any Chicago ballplayer in 1879. That claim morphed upon his death into an assertion that he was “the highest paid ball player of his day.” “Former Star of Diamond Relates Past Experiences,” Des Moines Register, October 14, 1928: 24; “Abner Dalrymple Dies in West,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, January 27, 1939: 26.

19 “Notes of the Game,” Chicago Tribune, March 16, 1879: 12. The use of differing-colored uniforms was a practice that Chicago had first adopted several years earlier but abandoned.

20 “Base Ball,” Chicago Telegraph, August 1, 1879: 1.

21 Spalding’s Base Ball Guide and Official League Book for 1880 (Chicago: A.G. Spalding & Bros., 1880), 20.

22 “Baseball Notes,” New York Clipper, July 10, 1880: 122. Abner’s streak ended during the same game in which the team’s winning streak ended, an extra inning shutout loss on July 10 to Cleveland’s Jim McCormick. In one game of Dalrymple’s streak, he and two other normally left-handed-hitting teammates, Gore and Corcoran, elected to bat right-handed against Lee Richmond, at that time arguably the nastiest left-hander in the league. “Chicago vs. Worcester,” Chicago Tribune, June 27, 1880: 13.

23 “Chicago vs. Troy,” Chicago Tribune, September 1, 1880: 3. Dalrymple was the offensive star of the game as well, doubling twice and scoring Chicago’s only two runs in their triumph over the Troy Trojans. 

24 “Former Star of Diamond Relates Past Experiences,” Des Moines Register, October 14, 1928: 24.

25 Various details of Dalrymple’s story don’t match contemporary records. Chicago did win two relatively close games over Buffalo at the close of the 1880 season, and won two more post-season exhibition games directly after the season ended, but game summaries in Chicago and Buffalo newspapers made no mention of a Buffalo rally in the ninth, nor of Dalrymple making a game-ending or otherwise extraordinary catch. In addition, Sutton never wore a Buffalo jersey; he played for the Boston Red Stockings in 1880. Chicago also won a thriller over Buffalo to end the 1882 season, but again there was no report of a great ninth-inning play by Dalrymple. “Chicago 6, Buffalo 5,” Chicago Tribune, October 1, 1882: 9.

26 W.A. Phelon, “One on Ab Dalrymple,” Pittsburg Headlight, August 1, 1911: 8.

27 “So Glad!” Chicago Tribune, May 31, 1881: 10. Anson won the batting crown, hitting .399.

28 “Chicago-Troy,” Chicago Inter Ocean, July 4, 1881: 3.

29 “Chicago vs. Buffalo,” Chicago Tribune, August 3, 1881: 4. Lynch’s decision appears to have been based on events of that game and not prior performance. Dalrymple had singled off Lynch earlier in the game but had been a modest 6-for-23 (.261) over the previous two weeks. In two earlier games against Buffalo, he’d gone 3-for-10, with no extra base hits, and was a modest 1-for-5 against Lynch. Gore was 3-for-10 batting against Lynch coming into the game but had been held hitless before the eighth inning.

30 “Gossip of the Game,” Chicago Tribune, May 28, 1882: 16.

31 “1882 Chicago,” Threads of Our Game website, https://www.threadsofourgame.com/1882-chicago/, accessed November 20, 2023.

32 “Chicago 35, Cleveland 4,” Chicago Tribune, July 25, 1882: 7. That record stood until June 29, 1897, when the Chicago Colts, as they were then known, scored 36 against the Louisville Colonels. Justin Sweetwood, “The Highest-Scoring Games in MLB History, The Analyst.com website, July 19, 2023, https://theanalyst.com/na/2023/07/highest-scoring-games-in-mlb-history/

33 “Fly Tips,” Chicago Tribune, June 3, 1883: 8; “Chicago vs. Boston,” New York Clipper, June 2, 1883: 172. Roughly a century before the term first entered baseball vernacular, Sunday took a “golden sombrero” in his debut, fanning four times.

34 See e.g., “Notes,” Buffalo Commercial, August 15, 1883: 3. Though Chicago faced southpaws infrequently during the 1883 season, dropping Dalrymple in the batting order seemed warranted. He hit only .214 against the few southpaws he faced that season (6-for-28), versus over .300 against right-handers.

35 “Chicago, 31; Buffalo, 7,” Chicago Tribune, July 4, 1883: 7.

36 From 1901 through the 2023, 50 major leaguers have hit four doubles in one game, most recently Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox on July 2, 2023. As Negro League game statistics are incorporated into official major league databases, that number will likely grow, or the record might even be eclipsed.

37 John C. Tattersall, “Clarifying an Early Home Run Record, Baseball Research Journal, January 1972, https://sabr.org/journal/article/clarifying-an-early-home-run-record/.

38 “Chicago-Detroit,” Chicago Inter Ocean, May 30, 1884: 3.

39 “Chicago, 17; Buffalo, 10,” Chicago Tribune, August 15, 1884: 2.

40 Though not an official NL statistic until 1920, the Chicago Tribune first published “runs batted home” by Chicago ballplayers in 1880. “Team Record,” Chicago Tribune, July 11, 1880: 6.    

41 “Beaten a Third Time,” Philadelphia Times, October 2, 1885: 4. “When Dalrymple made his great drive,” described the Philadelphia Times, “the crowd broke into a thunderous cheering, the contagion apparently reaching to everyone present save the immediate supporters of the New York nine, and even some of these appeared to catch the infection.”

42 “Total Bases,” Boston Globe, July 8, 1885: 5.

43 “Base Ball,” Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, October 20, 1885: 3.

44 “St. Louis Beats Chicago,” Boston Globe, October 17, 1885: 2; “No Longer Champion,” Chicago Tribune, October 25, 1885: 11.

45 While cooling his heels, Dalrymple attended the inaugural meeting of the Base Ball Players’ Brotherhood, organized by the Giants’ John Montgomery Ward. Foreshadowing changes yet to come, Dalrymple was mistakenly identified as a representative not from Chicago, but rather Pittsburgh, then still a member of the American Association. “Base Ball Brotherhood,” Semi-Weekly Age (Coshocton, Ohio), August 30, 1886: 2.

46 “Chicago Wild with Joy,” Philadelphia Times, July 18, 1886: 11.

47 “A Chicago Account of Chicago’s Defeat,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 26, 1886: 5.

48 “The National Game,” Denver News, November 2, 1886: 7.

49 “Base-Ball,” Chicago Tribune, November 27, 1886: 2.

50 “Sporting Events,” Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Northwestern, October 30, 1886: 1.

51 “At the Lindell” The Sporting News, October 30, 1886: 3.

52 For a detailed analysis of whether Dalrymple’s goat label was warranted, see Dennis Pajot, “Baseball’s First World Series Goat: Abner Dalrymple and Game Six of the 1886 World Series,” Seamheads website, April 6, 2009, https://seamheads.com/blog/2009/04/06/baseballs-first-world-series-goat-abner-dalrymple-and-game-six-of-the-1886-world-series/

53 “Base Ball,” Boston Herald, November 27, 1886: 5. Sporting Life reported that Dalrymple’s heart was broken when he lost playing time to Jimmy Ryan, and that “he made no secret of his desire to leave Chicago.” His resolve to leave was hardened after his teammates blamed the team’s World Series loss on him. Dalrymple going to the Alleghenies was also rumored to have been part of the deal that Spalding helped broker to get Pittsburgh to move to the NL. “Dalrymple for Pittsburg,” Sporting Life, December 1, 1886: 1.

54 Adrian Anson, A Ball Player’s Career (Chicago: Era Publishing, 1900), 114.

55 “Not Much,” Sporting Life, December 15, 1886: 2. Dalrymple’s eyesight was first rumored to have been failing shortly before the Series. Immediately after, The Sporting News shared with its readers that “Dalrymple is troubled with an affection of the eyes and cannot see as well as of old.” The problem was so severe that sometime during the season he traveled to Philadelphia for eye surgery. Whatever the issue was, it didn’t seem to worsen. Dalrymple continued to play for many years after the 1886 World Series with scant mention of it in the press. “Baseball Gossip,” Streator (Illinois) Free Press, October 22, 1886: 1; The Sporting News, October 30, 1886: 4; “Fly Tips,” Chicago Tribune, June 3, 1883: 8; “Base-Ball,” Burr Oak (Kansas) Reveille, August 9, 1883: 2; “Sport-Pastime Drift,” Brooklyn Eagle, December 5, 1886: 10.

56 “Diamond Points,” Boston Globe, April 19, 1887: 3; “A Brilliant Victory,” Pittsburg Post, May 2, 1887: 6.

57  Untitled, Chicago Tribune, May 2, 1887: 4.

58 “The Battery Beat ‘Em,” Chicago Tribune, May 7, 1887: 6.

59 “First Baseman M’Kinnon Dead,” Pittsburg Post, July 25, 1887: 6; “Base Ball Notes,” Philadelphia Times, July 25, 1887: 3.

60 “Dalrymple’s Home Runs,” Pittsburg Post, September 29, 1887: 6.

61 “White and Brown,” Sporting Life, November 9, 1887: 3. In addition to Dalrymple, Chicago’s barnstorming team included several other ballplayers they picked up from other teams, like American Association standouts Bid McPhee and Tony Mullane. Chris Bouton, “When Baseball Was King,” Hardball Times website, November 26, 2019, https://tht.fangraphs.com/when-baseball-was-king/; “The Chicagos Beaten,” San Francisco Examiner, December 25, 1887: 6; “At Central Park,” San Francisco Examiner, January 9, 1888: 8.

62 “Pittsburg Pencilings,” Sporting Life, October 5, 1887: 1; “Sporting News and Notes,” Milwaukee Journal, March 23, 1888: 1. Clearly aware of friction between Dalrymple and Phillips, when Nimick appointed infielder Fred Dunlap captain he made clear that Phillips was to stay out of the new captain’s hair during games.

63 “Earned and Stolen Bases,” Lynn (Massachusetts) Item, April 12, 1888: 4; “Sporting,” Pittsburg Press, April 19, 1888: 5. About the pair, the Pittsburg Press said, “two quieter or more gentlemanly men in any line of business it would be hard to find.”

64 “Base Ball Matters,” Chicago Tribune, June 28, 1888: 6.

65 “Kuehne’s Big Hit,” Pittsburgh Post, August 14, 1888: 6; “Diamond Dust,” Chicago Inter Ocean, September 2, 1888: 12. While he was recuperating, Dalrymple took a turn as a ballpark gatekeeper. “Earned and Stolen Bases,” Lynn Item, August 28, 1888: 4.

66 “Dalrymple’s Complaint,” Pittsburgh Post, September 12, 1888: 8.

67 “Diamond Dust,” Cleveland Leader, February 9, 1881: 5; “Base Ball,” Cleveland Leader, December 27, 1881: 5; “Base Ball Gossip from Chicago,” Boston Herald, April 11, 1883: 5.

68 Roxy, “Rowe’s Hard Row,” Sporting Life, July 3, 1889: 6.

69 “A Day for the Sluggers,” Sioux City (Iowa) Journal, May 24, 1889: 2. Dalrymple entered Denver’s May 23 contest against the Sioux City Corn Huskers in the middle of an eighth-inning rally that pulled Sioux City to within two runs. After escaping that inning, he recorded a 1-2-3 ninth.  Charged with two runs according to Baseball-Reference records, it’s unclear whether Dalrymple would’ve met current criteria for earning a save.

70 “Denver 23, Des Moines 4,” Omaha Bee, April 22, 1889: 2; “Down They Go,” St. Paul Globe, June 28, 1889: 6.

71 “Denver 5, Milwaukee 2,” St. Joseph (Missouri) Herald, August 15, 1889: 5.

72 “Omaha an Easy Mark,” St. Paul Globe, April 19, 1890: 5.

73 “Dalrymple Goes to Milwaukee,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, April 30, 1890: 9; “Denver Catches On,” Denver News, May 4, 1890: 4.

74 “Dalrymple Presented with a Cane,” Chicago Tribune, May 15, 1890: 6; “Caught on the Fly,” Central City (Nebraska) Courier, May 29, 1890: 7.

75 “Diamond Gossip,” Omaha World-Herald, July 20, 1890: 7; “It is All Over Now,” St. Paul Globe, October 1, 1890: 5; “The Western,” Sporting Life, October 25, 1890: 8.

76 “Dad Clarke Did the Work,” Omaha Bee, April 18, 1891: 2. The pitcher that Dalrymple denied a no-hitter to was Dad Clarke of the Omaha Lambs. Omaha’s victory in that game ended a string of 17-consecutive losses to Milwaukee.

77 “Short Hits,” Daily (Lincoln) Nebraska State Journal, April 21, 1891: 2.

78 “Base Ball Notes,” Leavenworth (Kansas) Standard, July 24, 1891: 1.

79 “Louisville vs. Milwaukee,” New York Clipper, August 29, 1891: 424; “Sat Down Upon Senators,” Milwaukee Journal, September 11, 1891: 2.

80 “Took the Third Game,” Milwaukee Sentinel, September 13, 1891: 7.

81 “Nearing the Tail End,” Washington Post, September 13, 1891: 3.

82 “Minneapolis Globules,” St. Paul Globe, October 4, 1891: 10. This was Dalrymple’s second run-in with the law over money that season. Passing through Chicago on his way to Milwaukee’s season opener, he was detained by a local constable over a suit claiming he’d failed to repay a $200 debt. “Dalrymple and the Constable,” Chicago Tribune, August 19, 1891: 7.  

83 “A Player’s Folly,” Sporting Life, January 2, 1892: 1.

84 “The Northwest Field,” Portland Morning Oregonian, December 24, 1891: 2.

85 “Gossip of the Diamond,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 12, 1892: 3.

86 “Players Released,” Sporting Life, August 20, 1892: 1; “Notes of the Game,” Spokane Review, August 2, 1892: 8.

87 “The Ball Club at Home,” Indianapolis News, May 29, 1894: 8; “Western Work,” Sporting Life, October 27, 1894: 4.

88 “Sporting Notes,” Pittsburgh Post, March 11, 1895: 6.

89 “Held ‘Em to Four,” Evansville (Indiana) Courier, April 10, 1895: 1; “One, Two, Three,” Evansville (Indiana) Journal, April 10, 1895: 5.

90 “Dal’s Lucky Hit,” Evansville Journal, June 5, 1895: 1.

91 Based on the author’s game log. Year-end averages published by the New York Clipper show Dalrymple hit .314. “Official Averages,” New York Clipper, December 21, 1895: 667. Dalrymple’s final professional season included maybe the most bizarre play of his career. Down three runs in the ninth inning of a game in New Orleans, Dalrymple hit an apparent leadoff home run into the grandstand. During his home run trot, he was told by Beard to stop at third; “in order to worry the pitcher.” Looking to outwit Beard, Pelican manager Abner Powell had his catcher position himself at the backstop fence and urged the pitcher to ignore Dalrymple (i.e. allow him to steal home). Beard’s ploy “worked” as Evansville scored three times to win the game. “Evansville 6, New Orleans 5,” New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 13, 1895: 8.

92 “Dalrymple Is a Conductor,” Buffalo Enquirer, April 17, 1902: 4; “Shortstops,” Morris (Minnesota) Tribune, May 27, 1896: 5; “Morris vs Turners,” Morris Tribune, July 6, 1898: 1; “Abner Dalrymple, Champ Batter in 1878, Will Retire,” above.

93 “Abner Dalrymple, Champ Batter in 1878, Will Retire.” Dalrymple, injured in at least one train accident, was involved in several others that resulted in fatalities, including one outside of Minneapolis in 1902 that he was initially blamed for. “Seven Injured in N.P Train Wreck,” Morris Tribune, March 23, 1917: 1. “Verdict of Accidental Death,” Little Falls (Minnesota) Transcript, February 16, 1900: 4; “Two Killed in Collision of Freight Trains in West,” Elmira (New York) Star-Gazette, December 13, 1902: 2.

94 “Abner Dalrymple, ‘Babe Ruth’ of ’76, Marries Widow,” Rock Island (Illinois) Argus, September 22, 1926: 1; “Babe Ruth of 80’s, Retired Rail Man, Visits Here with Bride,” Minneapolis Star, June 25, 1929: 3.

95 That same day, the first members of the fourth class to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame were announced, less than six months ahead of the Hall’s opening. The inductees revealed by the Baseball Writers Association that day were George Sisler, Eddie Collins, and Willie Keeler. Whitney Martin, “Sisler, Collins, Keeler Voted to Hall,” (Phoenix) Arizona Republic, January 25, 1939: 9. 

96 “Abner Dalrymple Dies in West,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, January 27, 1939: 26. In first reporting Dalrymple’s death, Sun-Telegraph columnist Harry Keck mistakenly referred to Dalrymple as Abner Doubleday, another Abner of early baseball fame. With centennial celebrations then underway to commemorate Doubleday’s supposed invention of baseball in 1839 (a fiction long since debunked), the mistake was understandable. Harry Keck, “Vignettes of Sport,” Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, January 28, 1939: 12.

97 W.A. Phelon, “One on Ab Dalrymple,” Pittsburg Headlight, August 1, 1911: 8.

But Sheffield’s personality was as explosive as his bat, and he carried a large chip on his shoulder. He felt he was treated unfairly because he was a Black man, reacted emotionally to perceived slights, and did not hesitate to vent to the media. His outbursts often belittled management and sometimes teammates, creating distractions and disunity that led to stints with eight different teams. Writers described him as self-destructive, temperamental, mercurial, selfish, petulant, and duplicitous. Trouble seemed to follow him. He was arguably good enough to make the National Baseball Hall of Fame, but damaged his chances by using performance enhancing drugs (PEDs).

Gary Antonian Sheffield was born November 18, 1968, and grew up in the Belmont Heights section of Tampa, Florida. His father was Marvin Johnson.3 His stepfather and mother were Harold and Betty Jones. (Sheffield’s last name came from Lindsay Sheffield, the man Betty planned to marry after being abandoned by Johnson. However, before the wedding could be held, Sheffield was shot dead attempting to rob a nightclub.) Betty’s little brother was former New York Mets pitching star Dwight Gooden. Gary and his uncle Dwight grew up together and Gooden, four years older, always had the physical advantage. Exposed to Gooden’s blazing fastball, Sheffield developed quickly as a hitter. Their competition, Sheffield said, “ignited a fire in me that would never go out.”4

Sheffield’s Belmont Heights Little League team, which included future major leaguer Derek Bell, advanced to the finals of the 1980 Little League World Series, where it lost to Taiwan.5 The following year Sheffield was expelled from the team when, after being benched for skipping a practice, he chased his coach with a bat, finally having to be held back by teammates.6

Sheffield described himself as a product of his environment.7 It was rough and so was he. In eighth grade, he made a schoolmate pay him every day, otherwise he would thrash the kid. “There was no reason to do it,” Sheffield said. “I just did it because I felt I could.”8 In case fists weren’t enough, he sometimes brought a gun to school.9 When he and his friends went to another neighborhood, Sheffield said, “We’d have to fight our way out … The games we played almost always ended with blood.”10

With Gooden already tearing up the National League, Sheffield thought he would follow in his uncle’s footsteps as a pitcher. At 16, the right-handed Sheffield struck out 21 batters in one game.11 In 1986, his senior year at Hillsborough High School, his ERA was 1.81. But Sheffield was an even better hitter, batting .500 with 14 home runs and 31 RBIs in 22 games.12 Consequently, he was named the Gatorade National (High School) Player of the Year.13

Sheffield hoped to play for the Braves, like his hero Hank Aaron.14 But in June, the Milwaukee Brewers chose Sheffield with the sixth overall pick of the amateur draft. Brewers vice president Al Goldis called Sheffield the best hitter he ever scouted.15

Seventeen years old and already the father of two, Sheffield was sent to the Brewers’ rookie-level team in Helena, Montana. He said the transition from his predominantly Black neighborhood to lily-white Helena made him feel as though he was “on the moon.”16 Nevertheless, he hit .365 with 15 homers and led the Pioneer League with 71 RBIs in 57 games.17

That December, Sheffield and Gooden were arrested after a late-night altercation with Tampa police. The police report stated that the two, driving separate cars, were pulled over for weaving recklessly. The encounter became physical and, while being handcuffed, Sheffield allegedly told the officer, “I’m going to kill you.”18 The ballplayers were charged with resisting arrest and battery of a police officer. Sheffield, by then an 18 year-old adult, pleaded no contest and was put on two years’ probation.19 He later claimed he and Gooden were targeted because they were driving fancy cars and that the charges were dropped.20

Sheffield excelled at all his minor-league stops. In 1987, he played the entire season with Single-A Stockton (California) and drove in 103 runs. He started the 1988 season at Double-A El Paso, hit .314 with 19 home runs in 77 games, and was named the Texas League’s Best Batting Prospect.21 Later that year, he advanced to Triple-A Denver, batted .344, cracked nine homers, and drove in 54 runs in 57 games.22 He was called up to the majors in September and started the Brewers’ final 23 games at shortstop.

As the 1989 season began, Sheffield was called the American League’s best prospect in 15 years and the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award.23 However, by mid-July, he was mired in a deep slump, led the Brewers in errors,24 and was sent back to Denver.25 While there, doctors discovered a broken bone in his foot.26 Sheffield had complained of discomfort since mid-May, but at the time it was diagnosed as a bone bruise.27 The misdiagnosis likely contributed to Sheffield’s poor performance and subsequent mistrust of the Milwaukee organization.

When Sheffield returned to the Brewers in September, he was displeased to find manager Tom Trebelhorn had installed Bill Spiers at shortstop and wanted Sheffield to play third base.28 “If they don’t need me to play shortstop, I’d rather go somewhere else,” Sheffield said. 29 Overall, he hit .247, with five homers and 32 RBIs in 95 games, and his predicted Rookie of the Year Award did not materialize.

Despite his complaints, the Brewers kept Sheffield at third base in 1990. On June 22, Sheffield’s .319 batting average led the Brewers, and he was on a 13-game hitting streak. But he still didn’t like playing third, and lobbied to return to shortstop, saying, “[Spiers is] a good player, but he’s not a Gary Sheffield-type player.”30 Trebelhorn’s response was, “Tough sh–.”31

Sheffield felt he was being mistreated, saying, “There was a lot of pressure put on me last season (1989). I felt some of it was because of racism.” He added, “Racism is everywhere. Some guys just hide it better than others.”32

Seeds of Sheffield’s perception of racism were sown by his grandfather, Dan Gooden, who told the five-year-old Sheffield about the hate mail Aaron received during his quest to break Babe Ruth’s career home run record. “Most white people are fine,” Gooden said, but others don’t want to see the record broken by a Black man. “They think the color of their skin entitles them to every honor [and] makes them superior.”33

Although Sheffield didn’t show much power, in 1990 he kept his batting average above .300 through late August before a slump reduced his final mark to .294 with an OPS34 of .771. An injured shoulder, which would plague his entire career, ended his season on September 12.

In early 1991, angry that Milwaukee had traded Dave Parker, Sheffield said, “[General Manager Harry Dalton] is ruining the team and will keep ruining it, because, as far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t know too much about [baseball].” Brewers coach Don Baylor, who doubled as Sheffield’s counselor, was asked if they had discussed the grievances and replied, “I’m sick of talking to him about complaints.”35

Sheffield’s season was a washout due to a jammed left shoulder and irritated wrist tendon.36 He played only 32 games after April 30, the last on July 24. A month later, he underwent surgery to relieve an impingement in the shoulder. His final batting average was .194 and his OPS, .597.

On March 26, 1992, the Brewers traded Sheffield to the San Diego Padres along with Geoff Kellogg for Ricky Bones, Matt Mieske, and José Valentín. Afterward, Sheffield smiled and said, “It’s a load off my back. It’s what I’ve been wanting for … a long time.”37 He added, “The Brewers brought out the hate in me … I was a crazy man. I hated Dalton so much I wanted to hurt the man.” 38

He also admitted, “If the official scorer gave me an error, I didn’t think was an error, I’d say, ‘OK here’s a real error,’ and I’d throw the ball into the stands on purpose.” Sheffield asserted that Milwaukee’s management never wanted him to be the face of their franchise. “If I was white …,” Sheffield said, “I would have been the All-American guy.” 39

In San Diego, Sheffield was given a clean slate by Padres’ manager Greg Riddoch. After watching him play for two months, Riddoch said, “He’s been a godsend, an absolute gift from above.” 40

Indeed. Sheffield was named The Sporting News’s Player of the Year and nearly won the Triple Crown,41 leading the National League with a career-high batting average of .330 and finishing third in home runs (just two off the lead) and fifth in RBIs (just nine back). Sheffield also won The Sporting News’s National League Comeback Player of the Year Award and, for the first time, made the All-Star Team and won a Silver Slugger Award.

But after Sheffield’s great year, the Padres feared they would not be able to afford him when his contract expired at the end of the following season. Not wanting to lose him in free agency, they traded Sheffield and Rich Rodriguez to the Florida Marlins for two minor leaguers and future Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman on June 24, 1993.

Although Sheffield had an above-average season, all his offensive statistics declined from 1992. Nevertheless, unlike the Padres, the Marlins were not afraid to give him a huge payday. In late September, they signed him to a four-year, $22.45 million contract, making him the highest-paid third baseman in baseball.

On December 5, 1993, around 3 a.m., Sheffield was arrested for driving 110 mph under the influence. He apologized to Marlins’ manager Rene Lachemann and General Manager Dave Dombrowski and began counseling with the team psychologist.42

After Sheffield led major-league third basemen with 34 errors in 1993,43 the Marlins moved him to right field in 1994. Except for a handful of games, he remained a corner outfielder the rest of his career. Despite playing only 87 games in ’94 due to his troublesome left shoulder and the players’ strike that shortened the season, Sheffield drove in 78 runs, a pace of 145 in 162 games.

The following year, Sheffield was again hampered by injury. On June 10, 1995, he tore a ligament in his left thumb. It was thought he would be out for the season.44 But he gamely returned and hit .343 with 10 homers and 27 RBIs in September. Although he played just 63 games overall, he excelled, batting .324 with a 1.054 OPS.

Between the early parts of 1995 and 1996, Sheffield was beset by a series of disturbing events. First, he was told a former girlfriend was plotting to kill his mother.45 Then, he was pulled off the team plane by sheriff’s deputies after they received a tip that he was carrying illegal drugs.46 Next, while stopped at a red light in Tampa, an unknown man fired a shot at Sheffield which grazed his shoulder. 47 Last, he was slapped with a restraining order after the mother of one of his children (before marrying, he had four, with four women) received a threatening phone call from a man claiming to be Sheffield. On her driveway, she found a menacing note with two bullets on top.48

Sheffield was never shown to be at fault in any of those incidents, and no drugs were found on him on the team plane. Even so, the Marlins brought in Major League Baseball security to investigate and had Sheffield undergo a psychiatric evaluation. 49 Shortly thereafter, he hired a public relations firm to help transform his image.50

Sheffield gave generously to the Miami community. He sponsored Sheff’s Kitchen, a program that provided free tickets to all Marlins home games and autographs for 25 underprivileged kids.51 He also donated $200 for every home run and $100 for every double and triple to the Florida RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program. Most philanthropic of all, he paid $100,000 for a man’s liver transplant.52

Sheffield started the 1996 season by tying the then-major-league record53 with 11 home runs in April54 and continued his hot hitting throughout the summer. Injury-free, he played a career-high 161 games, and led the NL in OBP (on-base percentage55) (.465), OPS (1.090), and OPS+56 (189) – all of which would remain career highs.57 His 42 homers ranked second, and – exemplifying the fear that Sheffield struck in opposing pitchers – he was walked 142 times (19 intentional), the second-most in the major leagues in the 27 seasons since 1969.58

However, after Dombrowski told him he would be traded if ownership decided to play younger players, on August 16 Sheffield let loose with what was described as his “longest and most vicious tirade of the season.” He called Dombrowski a liar and criticized his ability, saying, “This team is not set up to [win the division],” a statement denouncing not only the GM, but also Sheffield’s own teammates. Dombrowski said, “I knew he wouldn’t be happy [if the youth movement happened], because I understand he wants to be with a winner. I didn’t say we were going to trade him. I said if … I felt like I was doing him a favor [by letting him know].”59

But rather than go with young players in 1997, the Marlins did the opposite. In an effort to boost declining attendance, Miami committed nearly $100 million to six free agents including Alex Fernandez, Moisés Alou, and Bobby Bonilla. 60 They even added two-time Manager of the Year, Jim Leyland.

Through June 1, Sheffield’s slugging percentage was just .386, but from then until the end of the season, he slugged .471 with an .889 OPS, not as impressive as usual, but enough to give the Marlins a boost. The team finished with the NL’s second-best record, 92-70, and earned a wild-card playoff spot.

The Marlins swept San Francisco in the Division Series, and defeated Atlanta in the NLCS, four games to two. Against Cleveland, Florida won the World Series on Edgar Renteria’s two-out single in the 11th inning of the seventh game. In Game Three, Sheffield led the Marlins to a 14-11 victory, as he went 3-for-5 with a double, homer, and five RBIs, and robbed Jim Thome of an extra-base hit with a leaping catch at the wall to preserve a seventh-inning tie. Sheffield’s cumulative postseason slash line was .321/.521/.540/1.061,61 with 20 walks in 71 plate appearances.

Although the Marlins’ attendance increased by about 35 percent in 1997, to 2.4 million fans, the team still failed to turn a profit. With ownership claiming to need to cut salary by more than half, the franchise broke up its championship roster, trading most of its top players. On April 19, 1998, Sheffield, still with the team, told ESPN he felt betrayed, was having a hard time staying motivated, and was embarrassed by the Marlins’ poor performance.62 It was apparently the last straw for Marlins’ brass.

On May 14, Sheffield was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with Manuel Barrios, Jim Eisenreich, Bonilla, and Charles Johnson for future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza and Todd Zeile. To coax Sheffield to waive his no-trade clause, the Dodgers paid him $5 million.63

Sheffield was voted to the All-Star team but said he would skip the game because he missed his family in Florida. “My kids have been … calling me all the time,” he said. “It’s making me homesick, and I need to see their faces.”64 Fearing the organization would look bad if Sheffield didn’t show up, the Dodgers reportedly paid for his family to attend.65

On June 28, Sheffield fought with Pirates catcher Jason Kendall when Kendall thought Sheffield had maliciously knocked his helmet off during a play at the plate. Sheffield said the contact was unintentional. Both players were ejected and later suspended for three games.66

Though Sheffield’s home run and RBI totals were not gaudy, he exceeded the benchmarks of .300 BA (.302), .400 OBA (.428), and .500 SLG (.524), an achievement indicating all-around excellent batting performance. In his career, he accomplished this triad seven times.

In 1999, Sheffield became the first L.A. Dodger to exceed a .300 batting average with at least 30 homers, and 100 walks, RBIs, and runs scored in a season.67 The only Brooklyn Dodger to do it was Duke Snider in 1955.

When Sheffield duplicated the feat in 2000, his career-high 43 homers tied Snider’s 1956 franchise record.68 Sheffield finished second in the NL with a 176 OPS+ and ninth in MVP voting.

On February 5, 2000, Sheffield married gospel singer DeLeon Richards, who had been the youngest person ever nominated for a Grammy,69 for an album she recorded when she was just seven years old.70 As of 2023, the couple remained married and had three children together.71

In February 2001, the Dodgers said Sheffield demanded to be traded or given a lifetime contract extension. Sheffield denied it, called the team’s brass “liars,” and said club chairman Bob Daly bungled the situation and had “set out to bury” Sheffield.”72 Sheffield threatened to boycott spring training and implied that – if forced to play for the Dodgers – he would give less than full effort. “If they keep me, I will play,” he said, “but I don’t want to hit one more home run for the Dodgers.” 73

Sheffield played, and hit home runs, 36 of them, but he remained irritated because he believed the Dodgers had given bigger contracts to less-worthy players. The focus of his animosity was Shawn Green, who made $2 million more annually. He fumed when Green broke his single-season Dodgers home run record, grumbled when he batted behind Green in the lineup, and the two nearly came to blows when Sheffield thought Green didn’t try hard enough to score on a hit that would have gotten Sheffield closer to his 100th RBI.74

On New Year’s Day 2002, Sheffield said, “I don’t want to be with an organization that constantly tells me one thing and then does another.”75 Nor did the Dodgers want to endure another season of turmoil. On January 15, L.A. accommodated Sheffield by trading him to the Atlanta Braves for Brian Jordan, Odalis Pérez, and Andrew Brown.

After the trade, former teammate Paul Lo Duca revealed that Sheffield’s feud with management had caused internal trouble. Lo Duca said, “It set a tone for the entire season, and I think a lot of guys walked lightly around Gary. That’s something you don’t want in a clubhouse.”76 Nevertheless, through 2022, Sheffield held Dodgers career records for OBP (.424), slugging (.573), and OPS (.998).77

During the 2001-2002 offseason, Sheffield spent two months at Barry Bonds’s home, where the two worked out daily.78 Fresh off his record-setting, 73-homer season, Bonds introduced Sheffield to his new diet and training regimens. 79

Although Sheffield’s homer and RBI totals declined in 2002 because he missed games due to injuries, his batting average and OPS were typically excellent. The Braves moved into first place in the NL East on May 28 and never left, building a 19½ game lead by August 15 and winning the most games in the NL. Despite that, they lost to the San Francisco Giants in the first round of the playoffs. Sheffield went 1-for-16 but drew seven walks and hit a home run.

In 2003 Sheffield, age 34, had his best season. He attained career highs in runs, hits, doubles, RBIs, and total bases, batted over .300 for the sixth year in a row, and his OBP exceeded .400 for the ninth consecutive season. He finished third in NL MVP voting, made his seventh All-Star team, and won his third Silver Slugger Award.

The Braves again won the NL East in a runaway (their ninth straight NL East title) and again won the most games in the National League. But again, they lost in the NLDS, this time to the Chicago Cubs. Sheffield contributed just two singles and one RBI in 14 at bats.

An investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) – a company suspected of selling illegal steroids to athletes – had begun that summer. Sheffield’s name appeared in BALCO’s records, and in December, he and Bonds were called to testify before a grand jury.

Afterward, Sheffield denied taking PEDs, saying he hadn’t put on a pound since he was a rookie.80 “Anybody that wants to say I (should) take the challenge of taking a test,” Sheffield said, “I’ll be the first guy up there and I won’t back down.”81 However, when Newsday reporter Jon Heyman set up a drug test, Sheffield did back down, saying, “Talk to the Players Association.”82

In October 2003, Sheffield admitted he used a BALCO-supplied topical ointment (known as “the cream”) to heal scars on his leg and was shocked to find out it was a testosterone-based steroid. 83 But Sheffield’s name appeared on a drug calendar kept by BALCO trainer Greg Anderson, which suggested Sheffield used not only the cream, but also human growth hormone and injectable testosterone.84

The cost-cutting Braves, coming off an eighth consecutive playoff failure, offered free agent Sheffield $10 million for 2004, a decrease from his $11.4 million salary the previous year.85 Instead, negotiating without an agent, Sheffield got a better deal from the New York Yankees, a reported $39 million over three years, despite the BALCO reports.

Over Sheffield’s 12 NL seasons (1992-2003), he produced the league’s second-highest OPS+ (156), trailing Bonds’ 200, but better than future Hall-of-Famers Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker, Chipper Jones, and Piazza.

Despite a shoulder injury that caused “unbearable” 86 pain and later required surgery, Sheffield was terrific in 2004. He hit 36 home runs, led the Yankees in RBIs (121), runs scored (117), and OPS+ (141), and finished second to Vladimir Guerrero in American League MVP voting.

New York won the most games in the AL and defeated the Minnesota Twins in the Division Series. But the Yankees famously lost the ALCS to the Red Sox after leading three games to none. Sheffield batted .333 with a homer and seven walks in that series, but after a torrid 9-for-13 with five RBIs in the Yankees’ three wins, he (along with several teammates) disappeared in the four subsequent losses, a single his only hit in 17 at-bats.

Sheffield turned in another fine year in 2005, producing batting statistics remarkably similar to 2004. For the third consecutive season – and final time in his career – he exceeded 30 home runs and 120 RBIs, finished in the top eight in MVP voting, made the All-Star team, and won a Silver Slugger Award.

A midsummer magazine article quoted Sheffield as saying, “I know who the leader is on the team. I know who the opposing team comes in knowing they have to defend to stop the Yankees. The [fans] don’t know. Why? The media don’t want them to know. They want to promote two players in a positive light, and everyone else is garbage.”87 It was widely assumed the two players were Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Initially, Sheffield claimed the writer “lied.”88 Later he recanted saying, “If that’s what I said, that’s what I said.”89

In 2006, Sheffield had a great start, batting .341 with 18 RBIs in the first 22 games. But he injured his left wrist, underwent surgery, and appeared in just 39 contests. 90 The Yankees led the AL with 97 victories, and won the first game of the ALDS against the Tigers. But Detroit swept the next three, eliminating New York in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season — following being knocked out in five games by the Angels of Anaheim in 2005. Sheffield returned to action for the playoffs but mustered just a single in 12 at bats.

That off-season, the Yankees sought to trade Sheffield against his wishes. As he had before, he tried to sabotage the effort, announcing that any team trading for him would be getting an unhappy player. The ploy did not work, and he was dealt to the Tigers for minor-leaguers Anthony Claggett, Humberto Sánchez, and Kevin Whelan. Sheffield later said he was glad to rejoin former Marlins colleagues Leyland and Dombrowski in Detroit.91

Sheffield remained an above-average offensive player (cumulative 109 OPS+) his final three seasons, two with the Tigers and his last, with the Mets, with whom he hit his 500th career homer on April 17, 2009.

Sheffield was a unique player, one of just seven to amass at least 500 home runs, 1,500 runs scored, 1,500 RBIs, and 200 stolen bases.92 A good contact hitter who rarely swung at pitches outside the strike zone, he also walked more than he struck out. Only three players in baseball history meet each of the five preceding criteria: Sheffield, Bonds, and Aaron.

Setting aside his link to PEDs, Sheffield’s career totals justify him as a serious candidate for the Hall of Fame. As of 2023, his career totals in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, and walks all ranked in the top 40 all-time. His 140 OPS+ was better than Hall-of-Fame right fielders Al Kaline (134) and Roberto Clemente (130). But, unlike them, Sheffield was a defensive liability. In 15 of the 16 seasons in which he played at least 50 games, advanced statistics rated him a below-average fielder.93 However, even after taking defense into account – as wins above replacement (WAR)94 does – Sheffield compares favorably. Of the 28 right fielders in the Hall, Sheffield’s 61 WAR ranked 15th, smack in the middle, behind Dave Winfield (64) and ahead of Guerrero (60).95

After retiring, Sheffield returned to Tampa and worked as an agent for baseball players. From 2013 through 2020, Sheffield was a studio analyst for TBS. After retiring from the role, he admitted he no longer watched baseball, and stated that while at TBS, “I never watched the games during the season. I would get educated on it when I got there.”96

Sheffield received between 11 and 14 percent of votes in his first five years on the Hall of Fame ballot. He jumped to 31 percent in 2020, 41 percent in 2021 and 2022, and 55 percent in 2023, still short of the 75 percent required for induction. The 2024 ballot will be his 10th and final chance to be voted in by the baseball writers, although the various veterans committees could later vote him in.

In an interview in January 2023, Sheffield stated he believed he should be elected to Cooperstown, saying: “I grew up in an era where they say there are the benchmarks, once you hit the benchmarks [like 500 home runs] that’s … it. All the things people want to put into play … It’s good to get all the facts straight and if you get the facts straight, you’ll see a lot of things you’re saying [about alleged steroid use] are not true. There’s always hope.”97

Last revised: August 9, 2023

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Malcolm Allen and David Bilmes and fact-checked by Steve Ferenchick.

Photo credits: Trading Card DB.

Sources

In addition to sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted www.baseball-reference.com.

Notes

1 Bob Nightengale, “A Dugout from Hell,” Los Angeles Times, June 9, 1992: C4.

2 Michelle Genz, “Gary Sheffield: The Bat Man,” Miami Herald, June 1, 1997: 9A.

3 Gary Sheffield and David Ritz, Inside Power, (New York, New York: Crown Publishers, 2007), 154.

4 Gary Sheffield, “Where I’m Coming From,” The Players’ Tribune, July 15, 2016. https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/gary-sheffield-where-im-coming-from

5 Chris De Luca, “Hard Knocks,” Times-Advocate (Escondido, California), March 21, 1993: C1.

6 Sheffield, “Where I’m Coming From.”

7 Sheffield, “Where I’m Coming From.”

8 De Luca, “Hard Knocks.”

9 Scott Tolley, “Trouble Plagues Marlins Star,” Palm Beach Post, March 24, 1996: 1A.

10 Sheffield, “Where I’m Coming From.”

11 “Notes & Quotes,” Tampa Bay Times, September 2, 1984: 4C.

12 Bob Nightengale, “No More Trouble Brewing,” Los Angeles Times, March 29, 1992: C3.

13 https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winner/gary-sheffield/20847.

14 Sheffield, Inside Power, 43.

15 Nightengale, “No More Trouble Brewing.”

16 Sheffield, Inside Power, 59.

17 Sheffield, Inside Power, 154.

18 Joey Johnston, “Tampa Police Arrest Mets Pitcher Gooden,” Tampa Tribune, December 15, 1986: 1A.

19 Nightengale, “A Dugout from Hell.”

20 Sheffield, Inside Power, 52.

21 1989 Score Gary Sheffield Rookie Card #625.

22 1989 Fleer #196 Gary Sheffield Baseball Card.

23 Andy Baggot, “Unhappy Sheffield Unloads,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin), May 27, 1989: 1B.

24 Staff, “Sheffield Fires at Brewers,” Wisconsin State Journal, July 18, 1989: 1D.

25 AP, “Sour Notes Spoil Sheffield’s Tune,” La Crosse Tribune (La Crosse, Wisconsin), July 16, 1989: B-1.

26 AP, “Sheffield Returns as Third Baseman; Molitor at Second,” Capital Times, July 18, 1989: 16.

27 Andy Baggot, “Sheffield Break May Be Old One,” Wisconsin State Journal, September 16, 1989: 3B.

28 AP, “Sheffield Questions Future,” Chippewa Herald-Telegram (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin), September 20, 1989: 1B.

29 Andy Baggot, “Take My Advice,” Wisconsin State Journal, September 20, 1989: 1B.

30 Andy Baggot, “Sheffield Erupts Again,” Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wisconsin), July 20, 1990: 1C.

31 Gregg Hoffmann, “Sheffield Checks Out in Confusion,” Kenosha News, September 27, 1990: 21.

32 Gregg Hoffmann, “Baylor Helped Sheffield Adjust,” Kenosha News, July 29, 1990: D5.

33 Sheffield, Inside Power, 16.

34 OPS is short for On-base percentage Plus Slugging percentage (OBP+SLG). It has become popular because it correlates well with team runs scored and is easy to calculate. https://www.eg.bucknell.edu/~bvollmay/baseball/runs1.html

35 Gregg Hoffmann, “Sheffield Stirs Resentment,” Kenosha News, April 6, 1991: 19.

36 Andy Baggot, “Sheffield Tries to Hit, Encounters Pain in Arm,” Wisconsin State Journal, May 26, 1991: 6E.

37 AP, “Brewers Roll the Bones, Trade Sheffield,” Sheboygan Press, March 28, 1992: 11.

38 Nightengale, “A Dugout from Hell.”

39 Nightengale, “A Dugout from Hell.”

40 Nightengale, “A Dugout from Hell.”

41 Bob Nightengale, “Sheffield Honored by TSN,” Los Angeles Times, October 24, 1992: C2.

42 Amy Niedzielka, “Sheffield Apologizes, Seeks Help,” Miami Herald, December 9, 1993: 2D.

43 Amy Niedzielka, “Money Can’t Buy Gary Glove,” Miami Herald, October 1, 1993: 1D.

44 Dave Sheinin, “Sheffield Out for Season,” Miami Herald, June 12, 1995: 6D.

45 Ken Rodriguez, “Sheffield’s Ex-Girlfriend: Plot on his Mom ‘A Hoax’,” Miami Herald, February 19, 1995: 11C.

46 Gordon Edes, “FBI, League Investigating Sheffield Incident,” News Press (Fort Myers, Florida), January 8, 1996: 6B.

47 Bill Chastain, “Sheffield Thankful to Be Alive,” Tampa Tribune, November 1, 1995: Sports-3.

48 Edes, “FBI, League Investigating Sheffield Incident.”

49 Tolley, “Trouble Plagues Marlins Star.”

50 Gordon Edes, “Sheff Concocts Image Makeover,” South Florida Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida), April 4, 1996: 1C.

51 Evan Grant, “Shades of Sheffield,” Florida Today (Cocoa, Florida), March 12, 1996: 1C.

52 Mike Phillips, “Bright Future, Troubled Past,” Miami Herald, April 30, 1995: 12B.

53 The record of 11 in April previously held by Sheffield and Mike Schmidt (1976) has since been shattered and stands at 14 as of 2023, held by Albert Pujols (2006), Alex Rodriguez (2007), Cody Bellinger (2019) and Christian Yelich (also 2019).

54 Phillips, “Bright Future, Troubled Past.”

55 Also known as on-base average. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On-base_percentage

56 OPS+ is defined by baseball-reference.com as 100*(OBP/league OBP + SLG/league SLG -1) adjusted to the player’s ballpark. It is NOT 100 times the ratio of a player’s OPS to league OPS (100*OPS/league OPS). OPS+ is a more meaningful statistic than OPS because it correlates well to run production for players with a similar number of plate appearances and it shows how much the player is above-average (an OPS+ of 150 is 50 percent above average). It also penalizes the player whose home park helps run scoring, and vice versa. For example, this is why Larry Walker’s career OBP and SLG (.400 and .565) are both higher than Sheffield’s (.393 and .514), yet Walker (who played nine seasons at Coors Field) and Sheffield have nearly the same career OPS+ (Walker, 141 and Sheffield, 140).

57 For seasons in which he qualified for the batting title.

58 Bonds walked 151 times, also in 1996.

59 Mike Phillips, “Sheffield Tirade Rips Dombrowski,” Miami Herald, August 17, 1996: 12C.

60 AP, “Sheffield Gets Biggest Bucks,” Tampa Bay Times, April 3, 1997: 5C.

61 A batter’s slash line gives batting average (BA)/on-base percentage (OBP)/slugging percentage (SLG)/ and sometimes OPS (OBP+SLG).

62 David O’Brien, “Sheffield Stands by Betrayal Statements,” South Florida Sun Sentinel, April 19, 1998: 10C.

63 Jason Reid, “Sheffield Is Officially on the Block,” Los Angeles Times, February 19, 2001: D1.

64 Staff, “Sheffield Recants, Accepts His All-Star Assignment,” Los Angeles Times, July 2, 1998: C8.

65 Ross Newhan, “Dodgers Need to Find Answers,” Los Angeles Times, March 15, 1999: B1.

66 Jim Hodges, “After Brawl, Dodgers Not So Sure What Hit Them,” Los Angeles Times, June 29, 1998: C1.

67 Jason Reid, “Sheffield Discovers a New Motivation,” Los Angeles Times, February 25, 2000: D14.

68 Sheffield’s share of the team record lasted just one year, as Shawn Green set a new record (still standing through 2022) with 49 home runs in 2001.

69 https://www.grammy.com/artists/deleon-richards/13725.

70 Susan Taylor-Martin, “No More Trouble Brewing,” Tampa Bay Times, December 7, 2017: C3.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/Tampa-Realtor-wife-of-baseball-s-Gary-Sheffield-stars-in-not-quite-real-reality-TV-show_163300485/

71 Sheffield, Inside Power, 221.

72 Jason Reid, “Sheffield Says Daly Is One to Blame,” Los Angeles Times, February 23, 2001: D1.

73 Reid, “Sheffield Says Daly Is One to Blame.”

74 Bill Plaschke, “Last Word Belongs to Dodgers,” Los Angeles Times, January 16, 2002: D1.

75 Jason Reid, “Sheffield Claims Dodgers, Evans Have Misled Him,” Los Angeles Times, January 2, 2002: D1.

76 Thomas Stinson, “Sheffield’s Best Might Be Ahead,” Atlanta Constitution, March 31, 2002: P1.

77 Among Dodgers with 2,000 or more plate appearances.

78 Tim Tucker, “Bonds Helps Sheffield Keep His Eye on the Prize,” Atlanta Constitution, April 7, 2002: E2.

79 Stinson, “Sheffield’s Best Might Be Ahead.”

80 Thomas Stinson, “High Profile,” Atlanta Constitution, March 9, 2004: C1.

81 Sam Borden, “Ready for Tests and Any Challenge,” Daily News, February 20, 2003: 85.

82 Mike Penner, “Steroid Use is Putting Pro Leagues to the Test,” Los Angeles Times, March 3, 2004: D2.

83 Ken Davidoff, “Sheff’s Bombshell,” Newsday (New York, New York), October 5, 2004: 72

84 Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, Game of Shadows, (New York, New York: Gotham Books, 2006), 130,131.

85 Stinson, “High Profile.”

86 Jim Baumbach, “Sheffield Gets Good News on Aching Shoulder,” Newsday, August 19, 2004: 74.

87 Stephen Rodrick, “Gary Sheffield is the Yankees’ MVP,” New York Magazine, August 3, 2005.

https://nymag.com/nymetro/news/sports/features/12398/

88 Sam Borden, “Sheffield Claims Mag Writer ‘Lied’,” Daily News, August 6, 2005: 47.

89 Wallace Matthews, “When Sheff Stirs Pot, Anger Bubbles Over,” Newsday, August 10, 2005: 74.

90 Anthony Rieber, “Slumping Rodriguez Hears Jeers,” Newsday, June 14, 2006: 61.

91 Sheffield, Inside Power, 225.

92 The other 6 players in baseball history through 2022 with such numbers are Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, Reggie Jackson, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Alex Rodriguez.

93 https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sheffga01.shtml (Standard Defense Table, Rtot column).

94 WAR measures a player’s value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he’s worth than a player just good enough to play in the majors. Piper Slowinski, “What Is WAR,” February 15, 2010.

https://library.fangraphs.com/misc/war/

95 Three right fielders, Dwight Evans (67), Reggie Smith (65), and Shoeless Joe Jackson accumulated more WAR than Sheffield, but are not yet enshrined.

96 Kyle Koster, “Is It Too Much to Ask That Studio Analysts Watch the Sport They’re Analyzing?”, The Big Lead, April 22, 2021. https://www.thebiglead.com/posts/gary-sheffield-tbs-didnt-watch-baseball-01f3x47b59yb

97 Tom D’Angelo, “Gary Sheffield says he belongs in Baseball Hall of Fame: ‘It’s good to get all the facts straight’,” Palm Beach Post, January 31, 2023. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2023/01/31/gary-sheffield-derek-jeter-speak-out-hall-fame-voting-process/11155312002/

John Garrett Olerud was born to John E. and Lynda (Daley) Olerud on August 5, 1968, in Seattle, Washington. John was later joined by his sister, Erica. As of 2021, the elder Olerud works as a dermatologist and professor of medicine at the University of Washington. He had also been a minor-league baseball player who saw his son’s talent and love for the game develop at an early age.1

“I’d go to spring training and he was a little kid who really loved balls and to hit,” Dr. Olerud said.2 “I remember once in spring training I was with the Montreal Expos organization, and we were in West Palm Beach, he’d be down there with this little plastic bat. I’d be throwing balls and he’d be ripping the balls into the surf. People would stop and say, ‘Wow, that little kid is good!’”

John G. Olerud played baseball and golf at Interlake High School in Bellevue, Washington, lettering for three years on both teams.3 Baseball was his top passion, and as a junior he led his team to the Kingco Athletic Conference championship game. He batted .435 and had a pitching record of 9-2 with a 1.54 earned run average. During his senior season, he was named to the All-County and All-State teams, and was awarded Most Valuable Offensive Player of the All-State game.

Olerud was drafted out of high school by the New York Mets in the 27th round of the 1986 major-league draft, but decided instead to attend college at Washington State University.4

In his first year with the WSU Cougars, he earned All-American honors after he hit .414 with five home runs and 20 runs batted in. He also had an 8-2 pitching record with a 3.00 ERA.5

As a sophomore in 1988, he had arguably the best season all-time for a two-way college baseball player. As a pitcher, he went 15-0 with a 2.49 ERA over 122 2/3 innings. He recorded 113 strikeouts and just 39 walks. At the plate, he batted .464 with 23 home runs and 81 RBIs. He was the first player in college baseball history to win 15 games as a pitcher and hit 20 home runs in the same season. He broke or tied 12 school records, including: batting average (.464), hits (108), home runs (23), total bases (204), slugging percentage (.876), longest hitting streak (22 games), pitching victories (15), innings pitched (122 ⅔), and strikeouts (113).6 He was also named College Player of the Year by Baseball America.7

A similar performance in 1989 would have easily made him a top draft pick after his junior year. However, a severe health issue almost derailed his dream of playing professional baseball.

In December 1988, he suffered an intense headache while working out. It happened again another week later. He didn’t think they were too worrisome and didn’t tell anyone about them.8 But things got worse on January 11, 1989, when he collapsed while jogging around the Washington State athletics complex.9 He didn’t wake up until an hour later. He stayed in the hospital for two weeks before returning to school in February, planning to resume baseball in March.10

His recovery process hit another snag on February 24 when he went to see Dr. Richard Winn, the head of neurosurgery at the University of Washington. Dr. Winn took several X-rays of Olerud’s brain and found something potentially deadly: an aneurysm near the brain.11

“The guy brings out the X-ray, and I go, ‘There it is,’” Olerud said. “You didn’t have to be a brain surgeon to pick it out.”12

John underwent six hours of extremely high-risk surgery. The operation was a success, but he still faced a multitude of challenges. Surgeons had to cut open his head to get to the aneurysm, which left an unprotected portion when they were finished. As a result, he began to wear a helmet on the baseball field at all times, a practice he continued his whole career.13

He made his season debut on April 15, less than two months after going under the knife. Over his entire junior season, he batted .359 with five home runs and 30 RBIs in 78 at-bats, and had a 3-2 pitching record with a 6.68 ERA.14

“I definitely feel a little more mortal because of what happened,” Olerud said. “Being young and in good shape, I obviously had no idea anything like this could happen to me. I feel fortunate it turned out the way it did.”15

Even after a solid post-surgery season, he decided to skip the 1989 major-league draft and return to Washington State for his senior year. He even went so far as to explicitly tell teams not to select him.16

The Toronto Blue Jays, however, didn’t seem to listen and took him in the third round. Toronto made him an offer of $400,000, which would have been the highest bonus in baseball history. Olerud turned it down, but later that month signed a three-year deal for $800,000 that included a $250,000 bonus. It also guaranteed that he would start his career in the majors.17

“They made me an offer that was too good to pass up,” Olerud said.18 “I had an opportunity to be in a pennant race, and that’s something a lot of great players never experience… I didn’t think they could offer me enough to drive me away from Washington State, but what they came up with were things I couldn’t have had after my senior year.”19

Despite playing for only three years in college, Olerud left WSU as the school’s record holder in batting average (.434), slugging percentage (.824), and wins for a pitcher (26).20

Olerud joined the Blue Jays in September 1989, becoming one of the rare players to skip the minor leagues and debut in the majors – other players in that group include Hall of Famers George Sisler, Frankie Frisch, Mel Ott, Bob Feller,  Sandy Koufax, Jim “Catfish” Hunter, Dave Winfield, Eppa Rixey, and Ted Lyons.

Olerud went 3-for-8 with two runs in six games to close out the 1989 season. During the offseason, he and the Blue Jays decided that he would no longer be a two-way player and would solely be a hitter. “I knew sooner or later I’d have to give one of the two up,” he said about no longer being a pitcher. “I was expecting it but hoping to postpone it as long as I could. I still dream about doing both every now and then, but Toronto said concentrate on one and become the best I can be.”21

In 1990, Olerud’s first full professional season, he was leading all major-league rookies in home runs (10), RBIs (33), walks (35), slugging percentage (.465), and on-base percentage (.375) at the All-Star break.22 He platooned with Glenallen Hill as designated hitter and served as backup to Fred McGriff at first base.23 He finished fourth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting behind Sandy Alomar Jr., Kevin Maas, and Kevin Appier.

“He has unbelievable ability,” Blue Jays catcher Pat Borders said about Olerud. “It makes me mad, because I work so hard and I could never have a swing as nice as his. He reminds you of Wade Boggs – he has a super eye and a great swing. Everything is so compact, it’s hard to make him look bad on any pitch.”24

During his second full season, 1991, Olerud established himself as the team’s main first baseman after Fred McGriff, who had averaged 35 home runs over the previous three seasons, was traded away. With McGriff gone, Olerud had 17 home runs and 68 RBIs. The Blue Jays lost the ALCS to the Minnesota Twins, four games to one. Olerud hit .158 but drove in three of the Blue Jays’ 19 runs.

In 1992, he finished third on the Blue Jays in average (.284), on-base percentage (.375), and walks (70). In the World Series, he started 0-for-7 with three strikeouts, but then went four for his next six, scoring twice. Toronto beat the Atlanta Braves in six games to win their first championship in franchise history. “I’ve had some bad stretches where I haven’t hit the ball too well,” Olerud said. “I’ve been hurt. But overall, I’ve done my share and made my contributions when I was asked. It’s been a great season.”25

It was a good year all around for Olerud; on November 28, 1992, he married Kelly Plaisted. They had known each other in high school and become a couple while in college.

The 1993 season was the best single year of Olerud’s career. He had a 25-game hitting streak at one point and was batting above .400 into August. His incredible run even caught the eye of another legendary ballplayer – Ted Williams.

“John Olerud may just be the No. 1 subject on Ted’s mind these days,” said Bobby Doerr, Williams’ former Red Sox teammate. “Ted’s very impressed with him. He said he’s never seen a youngster with as much discipline at the plate as John has. Ted really thinks John has a chance to become the first player since himself to hit .400… Ted and I agreed that, if any kid has the combination of ability and personality makeup to hit .400 nowadays, it’s John.”26

Olerud ended up falling short of .400, but he still led the majors in on-base percentage (.473) and doubles (54). He also led the American League in batting average (.363), OPS (1.072), and intentional walks (33). 

“As it got closer and closer to the end of the season, I started to think I could do it,” he said about his quest for .400. “And that’s maybe when I started struggling a little bit. When you change your focus, that’s usually not a good thing.”27

Olerud finished third in MVP voting behind Frank Thomas and teammate Paul Molitor. He also earned his first selection to the All-Star game. He hit .300 in the playoffs on his way to collecting his second World Series ring, helping beat the White Sox in the ALCS and the Phillies in the 1993 World Series.

He was also awarded the Hutch Award, named after former pitcher and manager Fred Hutchinson, who died of cancer in 1964, and is given to a player who showed the kind of character and fighting spirit as Hutchinson. Olerud was honored for overcoming his brain aneurysm in college.28

During the following offseason, Olerud and the Blue Jays managed to avoid arbitration, and the reigning American League batting champion signed a three-year, $17 million contract that came with a $6.5 million option for the fourth year, well above the $1,562,500 he earned in 1993.29

Despite the new deal, his performance at the plate declined in 1994. He hit .297 with 12 home runs and 67 RBIs while playing in 108 of the team’s 115-game strike-shortened season. It wasn’t just Olerud who faltered; the Blue Jays finished 55-60, ending a streak of 11 consecutive years with a winning record.

The Blue Jays, like the rest of the major leagues, played a shortened schedule of 144 games in 1995, but they only won 56, tying the Twins for the worst record in the AL. Olerud also had the worst season of his career up to that point, falling under .200 at the start of May and going into the All-Star break at .246. He turned things around during the second half of the year, posting a .336 batting average the rest of the way, finishing at .291 with eight homers and 54 RBIs.

After the 1996 season, in which Olerud hit .274 (nearly 90 points lower than his .363 mark just three years prior), the Blue Jays traded him to the New York Mets for right-handed pitcher  Robert Person, who went 4-5 with a 4.52 ERA that season. Toronto also gave New York $5 million, meaning the Mets would only have to pay Olerud $1.5 million for the upcoming year.

“It’s been frustrating the last couple of years to not play as well as I feel I’m capable of playing,” Olerud said. “I’m looking forward to the new opportunity, turning things around and having a good year.”30

The newest Met quickly found himself among the millions of people looking for a place to live in the Big Apple. “New York is a big city; there are a lot of things to do,” he said. “I want to make sure we’re conveniently located to Shea Stadium. I definitely don’t want to be stressed out about getting to the ballpark every afternoon. But we’d also like to see some things in the city and be somewhere safe.”31 He and Kelly ultimately decided to live in Manhattan, joining Derek Jeter and David Cone as the only New York ballplayers to live inside the city itself.32

When the 1997 season started, Olerud wasted no time making an impact on his new team. On Opening Day, he led off the third inning with an opposite-field single to left, and scored the Mets’ first run of the season when he was driven in by a two-run homer off the bat of Todd Hundley. He walked to load the bases with two outs in the fourth, setting up a two-run single by Bernard Gilkey. He also doubled to left-center in the sixth and hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth.

Over the next two games, he recorded a home run, two doubles, a single, and two walks.

In September, Olerud hit for the cycle – the first of his career – and drove in five runs. His night included an RBI double in the first, a single in the third, a solo homer in the seventh, and a bases-loaded triple in the eighth. He became the seventh Met to hit for the cycle and the first to do it at Shea Stadium since Tommie Agee in 1970.33

Olerud’s first year with the Mets saw a return to a high level of offensive production, a .294 batting average with 22 home runs and 102 RBIs. His performance took a dip during the middle of the year, but he picked it back up at the end. After the season, he signed a two-year deal with the Mets worth $8 million. 

“What determines the salary is the previous few years,” Olerud said about the new deal. “The pay cut is directly related to those years. I’m going with a two-year deal and look forward to having two solid years and getting the value up.”34

Unlike previous years when Olerud’s performance dropped in the summer months, 1998 was a different story. In July, he started a hitting streak that lasted 23 games, and he also took the lead in the NL batting race with a .349 average.

“I don’t know if there is a better pure hitter there,” Mets manager Bobby Valentine said about Olerud. “But as far as who I want up there for one hit or who hits the best, I’d have to vote for John. Maybe I’m prejudiced because he’s my guy, but if I wanted to go out and watch a pure hitter in New York I’d have to buy a ticket to see John.”35

In September 1998, Olerud left the Mets during a road trip to join his wife Kelly in New York after hearing she would soon be going into labor.36 He was heading back to the hotel on the team bus after a game in Philadelphia when he received the call. He boarded the 12:37 A.M. train to New York, making it back home to bring Kelly to the hospital in the morning. That night around 9:00 Kelly gave birth a 9-pound, 4-ounce boy named Garrett.37

“Garrett takes after his father – very steady, calm, and laid back,” Kelly said when their son was just nine days old.38

Olerud returned to the team with 14 games left in the season, and the birth of his son seemed to give him a boost. He hit .468 over those last two weeks, with 3 home runs, 10 runs batted in, and nine runs. He finished at .354, breaking the club record for a single season set by Cleon Jones in 1969 – Olerud’s mark still stands.39

“There could be something to that,” Olerud said about his impressive stats after becoming a father. “When you have your first child, you look at things from a different perspective. It seems like the ball slows down; I’m picking up the off-speed pitches sooner.”40

Olerud started the 1999 season by reaching base safely in each of the first 30 games. He batted .330 over those 30 games with a 1.099 OPS, six home runs, and 17 RBIs.

“He’s climbing rapidly,” Mets catcher Mike Piazza said about Olerud. “He’s so disciplined. You watch him every day and he just does not make mistakes with his at-bats.”41

“I don’t feel like I’ve got it all figured out just yet,” Olerud said about himself. “But I feel like I’ve gotten better and more comfortable as the years go by at just knowing what I need to do to be successful and to help a team.”42

He ended up playing in all 162 games of the 1999 season, enjoying his third straight season with an on-base percentage above .400.

Defensively, Olerud, along with second baseman Edgardo Alfonzo, shortstop Rey Ordóñez, and third baseman Robin Ventura, were named the “greatest infield in baseball history” by Sports Illustrated. They committed just 24 errors all season (Olerud had eight), taking down the 1964 Baltimore Orioles as the best-fielding team in history.43

Olerud was eligible for free agency for the first time after the 1999 season, and after his years in New York, his market value was pretty good. The Detroit Tigers were reportedly willing to offer him around $8 million, while one agent said he could get a contract similar to Robin Ventura’s from the year before, which was for four years and $32 million.44

Ultimately, Olerud decided to return to his home state of Washington, signing a three-year, $20 million deal with the Mariners.45

“This was a real difficult decision for me,” Olerud said. “There were times where I was leaning towards the Mets, definitely. I came close, but never to the point where I said, ‘Let’s go for it.’”46 “One of the big things was family considerations. It’s definitely a tough decision. You look at the things you’re going to miss with the Mets, but I think this is the right decision for me, the right decision for my family. I have a good feeling about it, a peaceful feeling about the decision.”47

He finished the first year in his new uniform with his third triple-digit RBI total (103) to go with 45 doubles, his second season with 40+ two-baggers. He also led all American League first basemen in fielding percentage, while winning his first career Gold Glove.48

On June 16, 2001, he became just the second player in major-league history to hit for the cycle in both the American and National Leagues, joining Bob Watson in that exclusive club.49 His night included a double in the second inning, a triple in the third (the ball got caught under a bench in the Mariners’ bullpen, helping Olerud, who was never known for his speed, reach third base), a single in the fifth, and a two-run home run in the ninth to complete the cycle.50

In June 2002, he became the 46th player in major-league history to record 400 doubles, 1,000 walks, and 1,000 RBIs. At the time, the only other active players in that club were Jeff Bagwell, Barry Bonds, Mark Grace, Rickey Henderson, Fred McGriff, Rafael Palmeiro, and Edgar Martinez.51

Olerud also won his second Gold Glove Award in 2002 after posting a .996 fielding percentage, with only five errors in 1,275 chances, as well as 101 assists.52

Over 2001 and 2002, he averaged .301 with 21 homers and 98 RBIs. Those stats helped him sign a two-year deal worth $15.4 million to stay with the Mariners.53

On June 16, 2003, he hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning against the Anaheim Angels, his 2,000th career hit.54 It took him 1,933 games to reach that number.55

“That was nice, especially the ovation I got,” he said about becoming the 224th player to join the 2,000-hit club. “I think it means I’m getting older. But it is a big milestone, a nice milestone to get to.”56

That ended up being one of the lone high points of 2003 for Olerud. He finished the year with a .269 batting average, 28 points below his career average and his lowest in 12 years. His 83 RBIs were 16 fewer than his average over the previous six years. It was also the last season in which he played at least 150 games. He recorded 145 hits, breaking his streak of six consecutive 150+ hit seasons. He did, however, collect his third Gold Glove award thanks to his usual stellar play at first base. 

Entering the 2004 season, the 35-year-old Olerud began seriously considering whether it was time to retire. “I’ve been thinking of retirement for some time, but it really entered my thoughts last year,” he said. “The team would take a loss and you’d have a bad game, and you sit at your locker and think, ‘Maybe the time is drawing near.’ You can’t help but think like that. No one wants to go through stuff that is no fun.”57

When Opening Day 2004 came around, Olerud was still playing for the Mariners in the last year of his contract. On July 24, he was designated for assignment. But he wasn’t out of a job long. Less than a month later, he was picked up by the New York Yankees to play first base while Jason Giambi was injured.58

“This is a place I’ve always admired, a team I’ve always admired because of the way they do things,” Olerud said. “I think it’s going to work out well around here.”59

“He’s a very good player. He’s had a very good career. I think this is going to work out well for both of us, the team and for John,” Yankees manager Joe Torre said.60

When Olerud joined the team, there was already a fan waiting for him in the clubhouse. “He’s the best player I ever played with,” said Álex Rodríguez, who played with Olerud in Seattle. “I’m very excited because I know what he can do for any team. He just completes our team.”61

Olerud wasted no time making an impact for the Yankees, going 5-for-8 with four RBIs in his first two games in pinstripes. Over his final three weeks with the Mariners, he went just 4-for-37 with three RBIs.

He spent the 2004 offseason without a team to call home as he recovered from a torn ligament that occurred during Game Three of the ALCS against the Boston Red Sox when he hit his foot with his bat while running out of the batter’s box.62

He eventually signed a contract with the Red Sox in May 2005 worth about $750,000. The deal meant more than just a new team for Olerud; it also meant the first time he would play in the minor leagues.63

He hadn’t played baseball outside the major leagues since he played for the Alaska Summer League Palouse Cougars in 1989. But age 36, he found himself suiting up for the Pawtucket Red Sox.

“When I went to Pawtucket, other players called me up and said, ‘You’re doing things backwards,’” he said. “But I was hurt, and I needed to do a rehab assignment. It was just a normal thing to do. Everybody starts in the minors. Going down there was a good experience. I had a great time there.”64

When he made it back to the major leagues, he showed that he could still contribute to an offense. He hit .294 with four doubles, six RBIs, and one home run in his first 22 games.

“When a young player doesn’t play, he fears that people will forget about him,” he said about his role on the Red Sox. “He thinks, ‘If I stay backup too long, they’ll look at it as if it’s all I can do.’ He’s afraid that’ll be his role instead of playing every day. For me, I’m established. I’m not trying to make a name for myself. Everybody likes to play every day. But my circumstances were that I was hurt, and the Red Sox picked me up after the season started. I understand the role that I have, and that makes it easier to accept. Still, there isn’t anybody in here who wouldn’t want to play every day if they could fill out the lineup.”65

By season’s end, he had appeared in 89 games and hit for a .289 average with 37 RBIs. He was 2-for-7 in three postseason games, as the Red Sox lost to the White Sox in the 2005 ALCS.

The 2005 season turned out to be Olerud’s final year in the majors; he retired in December. In typical Olerud fashion, there was no big press conference for him to announce he was hanging up his cleats. In fact, most people in the baseball world didn’t even know until the winter meetings when Boston was asked why Olerud’s name wasn’t listed among the unsigned free agents.

“He retired,” assistant to the general manager Jed Hoyer said.66

Olerud finished his career with a .295 batting average, a .398 on-base percentage, 255 home runs, 1,230 RBIs, 2,239 hits, and 500 doubles. He never struck out more than 96 times in a season and had a career strikeout rate of 11%. He also had a .995 fielding percentage at first base, collecting three Gold Glove awards throughout his career.

In 2007, Olerud was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. Three years later, the College Baseball Foundation created the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, which is now given annually to the best dual hitter/pitcher at the collegiate level.67

“There have been a lot of great players in college baseball and for the College Baseball Foundation to name it after me, I am humbled and honored,” he said about having the award named after him.68

In 2011, Olerud’s first year on the Hall of Fame ballot, he received only four votes, eliminating him from future ballots.

In 2016, Olerud was selected as the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Century for his stellar play as both a hitter and pitcher, as well as for the way he returned to the field after overcoming his potentially life-threatening brain aneurysm.

After retiring from baseball, Olerud and his wife, Kelly, moved back to Washington with their three children: Garrett (b. 1999), Jordan (b. 2000), and Jessica (b. 2004).

Garrett and Jessica were both healthy children, but unfortunately, Jordan has had a much more difficult time. She was born with a condition known as “tri-some 2p, 5p-,” which meant she had an extra second chromosome and was missing part of her fifth chromosome. She spent the first years of her life eating through a tube, unable to walk or speak, save for the occasional “yes” or “no.” She underwent close to a dozen surgeries and other medical procedures in her first five years of life. At the time of her diagnosis, she was the only person in the world known to have the condition.69

“You never expect something like that to happen,” Olerud said about Jordan’s diagnosis. “You figure you’re going to have healthy kids. Just not knowing what to expect down the road, what sort of life our daughter is going to have. It’s tough. It’s still tough.”70

In 2003, the Oleruds started the Jordan Fund to help other parents with special needs children pay for their treatments.71

“The thing that really hit us about having Jordan and a special needs child is that we had the financial means to get help and to get as good as care as we could get for her,” Olerud said. “We have family and friends around to help us out and it’s still really hard… We came up with the Jordan Fund, because that was our desire to help kids and families with special needs. If there were things we could do to help out families, we wanted to make sure that we could do that.”72

Jordan passed away in 2020 at the age of 19.73 Those who are interested in learning more about the organization can visit the Jordan Fund here.

In December 2014, Olerud, joined by his family, received the honor of raising the “12th Man Flag” at CenturyLink Field before a Seattle Seahawks NFL game. Talking about the highlights of his career, he said: “A lot of great times, great teams and teammates…it’s hard to pick just one, but I would say probably the 1993 World Series, just because in ’92 I was a nervous wreck the whole time during the World Series – in ’93 I felt like I could relax more and contribute more to that team.”74

Even in 1990, Olerud put his overall life in perspective well: “[Baseball is] hardly a life-and-death situation for me. I’ve had the chance to think about dying. I know what’s really important… [That’s to] live life to its fullest. Don’t waste a moment. I plan to enjoy whatever life brings my way and be thankful I have a life to enjoy.”75

Acknowledgments 

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Jan Finkel, and fact-checked by Alan Cohen.

Notes

1 He had been a catcher who put in seven seasons in the minors, including five at Triple A.

2 Larry Clark, “John E. Olerud ’65 – Science Is A Lot Like Baseball,” Washington State Magazine, April 26, 2012.

3 “John Olerud,” Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. http://www.wiaa.com/ardisplay.aspx?ID=333

4 “Former Washington State, Seattle Mariners Standout John Olerud To Be Inducted Into Pac-12 Conference Hall Of Honor,” Spokesman-Review, March 9, 2019.

5 Greg Johns, “John Olerud: The Ultimate Two-Way Player,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 18, 2010.

6 Tom Leo, “Not Invincible, But Still A Top Prospect,” Syracuse Herald American, March 24, 1990.

7 Jim Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm,” Baseball America, 1989.

8 Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

9 Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

10 Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

11 Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

12 Hank Hersch, “A Gentleman And A Slugger,” Sports Illustrated, August 15, 1991.

13 Jim Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

14 Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

15 Anstine, “John Olerud.”

16 Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

17 Callis, “Olerud Rebounds To Success After Near-Fatal Aneurysm.”

18 Mike DiGiovanna, “Big Leagues No Big Deal To Him: Blue Jays,” Los Angeles Times, May 24, 1990.

19 Tracy Ringolsby, “Draft Gambles Sometimes Hit Big,” Baseball America, July 10, 1990.

20 “Timeline: John Olerud’s Baseball Career,” Washington State Magazine. https://magazine.wsu.edu/web-extra/timeline-john-oleruds-baseball-career/

21 Tom Leo, “Not Invincible, But Still A Top Prospect,” Syracuse Herald American, March 24, 1990.

22 Jeff Redd, “Olerud Makes Smooth Move,” USA Today, July 20, 1990.

23 Leo, “Not Invincible, But Still A Top Prospect.”

24 DiGiovanna, “Big Leagues No Big Deal To Him: Blue Jays.”

25 Larry Whiteside, “Olerud breathing easier at first,” Gazette (Montreal), October 25, 1992: D1.

26 Marty York, “Williams Keeps Eyes On Olerud,” Toronto Globe And Mail, June 19, 1993.

27 Jeff Bradley, “Olerud Knows Pressure Will Build Up On O’Neill,” New York Daily News, May 25, 1994.

28 Hal Bodley, “Honors,” USA Today, 1994.

29 “Blue Jays Sign Olerud For $17 Million,” USA Today, February 4, 1994.

30 Chuck Johnson, “Mets Figure Timing Is Right To Acquire Olerud From Jays,” USA Today, December 23, 1996.

31 Thomas Hill, “Heading For Home,” New York Daily News, January 12, 1997.

32 Hill, “Heading For Home.”

33 “Mets’ Olerud Hits For Cycle,” Associated Press, September 12, 1997.

34 David Waldstein, “Olerud Returns To Mets For 2 Years At $4M Per,” New York Post, November 25, 1997.

35 David Waldstein, “Olerud Streaks Closer To Amazin’ Record,” New York Post, August 14, 1998.

36 Tom Keegan, “John Gets Wide Birth,” New York Post, September 11, 1998.

37 Filip Bondy, “With Sleep, Pop’s Ready To Do More Than Dream,” New York Daily News, September 21, 1998.

38 Bondy, “With Sleep, Pop’s Ready To Do More Than Dream.”

39 Mike Piazza also hit .348 in 1998.

40 Bondy, “With Sleep, Pop’s Ready To Do More Than Dream.”

41 Joel Sherman, “Olerud Is Following O’Neill’s Recipe For Success,” New York Post, April 30, 1999.

42 Jason Diamos, “The Most Cosmopolitan Met,” New York Times, May 7, 1999.

43 Tom Verducci, “Glove Affair,” Sports Illustrated, September 6, 1999.

44 Rafael Hermoso, “Mets Take Stock Of Olerud Market,” New York Daily News, October 31, 1999.

45 “Olerud Returns To Seattle Roots,” Associated Press, December 7, 1999.

46 “Olerud Returns To Seattle Roots.”

47 Murray Chass, “You Can Go Home Again: Olerud Joins Mariners,” New York Times, December 8, 1999.

48 “American League Winners,” USA Today, November 16, 2000.

49 “Season Of Accomplishments,” USA Today, October 9, 2001.

50 “Olerud Hits For Cycle In Dramatic Seattle Win,” Associated Press, June 17, 2001.

51 New Jersey On-Line, July 1, 2002.

52 “Molina Halts I-Rod’s Streak, 3 M’s Win AL Gold Gloves,” ESPN, November 13, 2002.

53 “Baseball: Garciaparra, Hamm Engaged,” New York Post, December 7, 2002.

54 Jim Street,” Olerud Milestone Highlights Win,” MLB.com, June 17, 2003.

55 Jim Cour, “John Olerud Homers For 2,000th Career Hit,” Midland Daily News, June 15, 2003.

56 Street,” Olerud Milestone Highlights Win.”

57 Bob Finnigan, “Olerud On Fence, But Still In Ballpark,” Seattle Times, March 15, 2004.

58 Anthony Reiber, “It’s Olerud At First Soon,” Newsday, August 2, 2004.

59 Mike Vaccaro, “Yanks & John A Perfect Match,” New York Post, August 4, 2004.

60 Vaccaro, “Yanks & John A Perfect Match.”

61 Jack Curry, “Olerud Will Be Satisfied Being Lost In The Mix,” New York Times, August 6, 2004.

62 Dom Amore, “Olerud Out With Foot Injury,” Hartford Courant, October 18, 2004.

63 Chris Snow, “Olerud Signed To Give First Aid,” Boston.com, May 2, 2005.

64 Ron Indrisano, “Olerud Has Role Down Pat,” Boston Globe, June 29, 2005.

65 Indrisano, “Olerud Has Role Down Pat.”

66 John Blanchette, “Olerud Retired In Typical Way, With Quiet Class,” Spokesman-Review, December 8, 2005.

67 Mark Zwolinski, “Old Blue Jays Rarely Fly Together,” Toronto Star, August 7, 2009.

68 Zwolinski, “Old Blue Jays Rarely Fly Together.”

69 Adam Kilgore, “Growing Family: Oleruds’ Faith Helps Them Cope With Their Daughter’s Illness,” Boston Globe, June 24, 2005.

70 Kilgore, “Growing Family: Oleruds’ Faith Helps Them Cope With Their Daughter’s Illness.”

71 Kilgore, “Growing Family: Oleruds’ Faith Helps Them Cope With Their Daughter’s Illness.”

72 Jason Krump, “John Olerud ’88: Faith, Hope, and Horses,” Washington State Magazine, November 3, 2011.

73 Alyssa Newcomb, “John Olerud’s daughter Jordan, born with a rare chromosome disorder, dies at 19,” Today, March 1, 2020.

74 https://www.seahawks.com/video/12-flag-raiser-john-olerud-interview-104736

75 Leo, “Not Invincible, But Still A Top Prospect.”

Johnson is not a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame—nor has he ever gotten particularly close. Despite that, there are very few players in history who can approach his offensive dominance. Among players with 1,000 or more major-league plate appearances, Johnson’s .370 batting average ranks second all time, just four points behind Josh Gibson (and four points ahead of AL/NL leader Ty Cobb). As early as October 1922, phrases like “Johnson is Babe Ruth,”1 “ Babe Ruth’ has nothing on ‘Heavy’,”2 “the Black Babe Ruth,”3 and “the Babe Ruth of the colored league”4 began appearing in papers to describe his hitting prowess.

Oscar Johnson was born April 20, 1895, in Atchison, Kansas. Also the birthplace of aviatrix Amelia Earhart, Atchison is about 50 miles northwest of Kansas City, Missouri and sits along the Missouri River. Johnson’s father (Frank, born October 1848) and mother (Harriet, born February 1857) were both born in Lebanon, Virginia, “almost certainly” as slaves.5 Frank, a laborer in a brick yard, and Harriet were married in 1872. They would have 11 children, with nine still living when the 1900 Census was taken. Oscar was the youngest of the nine. Not much else is known about his youth beyond the fact that he received a sixth-grade education.6

On December 10, 1913, Johnson (by then living in Youngstown, Ohio) enlisted in the Army at Columbus Barracks in Ohio. He listed 1892 as his birth year, adding three years to his actual age (21 instead of 18).7 He would use the 1892 birth date for the rest of his life.8

Johnson was assigned to Company K in the 25th Infantry Regiment, one of four all-Black US Army units formed in 1866 and collectively known as the “Buffalo Soldiers.” The 25th Infantry’s baseball team was established in 1893 by Colonel Andrew S. Burt.9 On January 15, 1913, the 25th Infantry arrived at Schofield Barracks on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It was here that the regiment baseball team became known as the “Wreckers”—one of the top professional teams in the country. In this era before the founding of the NNL, playing baseball for Uncle Sam was among the steadiest paychecks a Black ballplayer could find.

In Hawaii, the Wreckers were part of an incredible melting pot of baseball talent. They played against other Army teams, civilian clubs (that were mostly organized by ethnicity), traveling All-Star squads made of major- and upper minor-league players, teams from the Pacific Coast League or universities, and anyone else who wanted to test their skill against the Wrecking Crew.

A “Johnson” appeared for the Wreckers in a contest against the 2nd Infantry on May 14, 1914, batting eighth and playing right field.10 He made at least six more appearances in 1914. The evidence is inconclusive, but this could be Oscar Johnson. Additionally, there is another “Johnson” who appeared in at least two games in the winter of 1913-14, but it is less likely (though not impossible) that this is Oscar.

In 1915 Johnson was definitely a full-time member of the team. The 25th Infantry team was in first place with an 8-1 record when the Schofield Barracks League finished play on September 22. That day, in a 7-3 win against the 1st Infantry in front of 8,000 fans, Johnson hit his first homer as a Wrecker. The Honolulu Advertiser wrote, “When Mr. Johnson connected, the ball went sailing to the score board. The score board is 475 feet from home plate. When [center fielder] Wheeler reached the ball, Johnson was drinking a pop on the bench.”11 In 34 box scores found for the 1915 Wreckers against all competition, Johnson batted .333 and slugged .552 in 24 appearances.12

The 25th Infantry opened 1916 with two games against the traveling Olympic Club of San Francisco. These games were the first that Walter “Dobie” Moore would play with the Wreckers. The Olympics’ arrival was highly publicized, but the last game of their tour was spoiled by a Johnson walk-off home run.13 In June, the Wreckers finished atop the Oahu Senior League with an 8-1 record. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin named Johnson to their All-Star team, along with teammates Rogan, Allie Crafton, Lemuel Hawkins, and Clyde Aulston.14

On August 27, Rogan (as pitcher) and Johnson (who had transitioned from the outfield to become the team’s primary catcher) combined for a dominant 10-0 win against the Cruiser St. Louis team. Rogan allowed just a lone single while striking out 20 and hitting a home run. Johnson clubbed two home runs, a triple, and a single. Of the 27 outs recorded by the Wreckers, Johnson had 21 putouts and four assists as he caught three soldiers stealing. He would have caught a fourth if his shortstop hadn’t dropped the throw.15

The 1916 Post League season stretched into January 1917 as the 25th Infantry (who finished 9-2) played a best-of-three series against the 32nd Infantry for the championship. The 25th won the opener, 14-1. Johnson and Rogan each collected three hits.16 A week later, the 25th earned the title with a 2-0 victory.17 In 39 box scores that have been located from the Wreckers’ 1916 campaign, Johnson hit .318 with a .563 slugging percentage in 38 games. In addition to five home runs, he legged out 10 triples and stole 15 bases. Rogan batted .312 while the rest of the team combined to hit .229.18

In 1917, Rogan went on furlough for three months. That didn’t stop the Wreckers from going 8-0 in the Oahu Service League. With Rogan back in action in September, Johnson hit for the cycle in a 16-2 win against a combined 1st and 32nd Infantry team. He had five hits in all, collecting two singles.19 He played in 31 of the Wreckers’ 33 games for which box scores have been found in 1917 and batted .379 with six homers and a .661 slugging percentage.20

During that season, Johnson’s nickname “Heavy” began to appear in the papers.21 In addition to his offensive prowess, he stood 5-foot-7 and weighed 200 pounds (though some sources list him as tall as 6-feet and 250).22 His “neck bulged and his chest was massive” while “his biceps matched most men’s thighs.”23 Johnson threw right-handed but there is no conclusive evidence that he batted either left- or right-handed.

The Wreckers steamrolled the rest of the Oahu-Service League in 1918, going 8-0 in the First Series, scoring 54 runs and allowing just 10. On May 26, Johnson caught Rogan’s no-hitter against Waikiki, tagging out a runner in the first inning who tried to steal home.24 Two weeks later, he caught a Rogan one-hitter and hit for the cycle again (with an additional single for another five-hit game).25

The Honolulu Star-Bulletin named Johnson the catcher on their All-Star team for the circuit.26 The Second Series began in late July. However, the Wreckers soon learned that they would be relocating to Arizona. Their final game in Hawaii was played on August 11. Johnson went 2-for-4 with a double in a 4-0 win against the Marines.27 In 12 available box scores from the 1918 season, Johnson hit .444 and slugged .711.28

Coverage of the Wreckers in Hawaii was extensive and descriptive. They were beloved by the locals and known across the country. The Spalding Company even approached them about sponsoring a West Coast tour, but it never came to fruition because of the team’s military obligations.29 Overall, between 1914 and 1918, Johnson batted .346 in Hawaii over his 111 appearances for which box scores have been located. In 422 at-bats, he also clubbed 18 doubles, 22 triples, and 14 homers for a .592 slugging percentage, with 101 runs scored, and 30 stolen bases. Only Rogan (.338 average, .624 slugging, 22 homers, 39 steals) could boast similar numbers among his teammates. Only Rogan (.338 average, .634 slugging, 22 homers, 38 steals) could boast similar numbers among his teammates.30

While the 25th Infantry was making its way to the mainland from Hawaii, the Battle of Ambos Nogales broke out on the United States–Mexico border on August 27. Four Americans and about 129 Mexicans were killed with approximately 330 wounded. As a result of the conflict, a two-mile barbed wire fence was installed to separate Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. This was the first permanent border barrier constructed between the two countries.31

The 25th Infantry began arriving on August 30 and were assigned to guard the new border wall.32 “After that, not much baseball was played,” Wreckers teammate William “Big C” Johnson told author Phil S. Dixon.33 Once World War I ended in November, there would be more time for baseball.34

Oscar Johnson was honorably discharged from the Army in March 1919, but he soon re-enlisted (perhaps immediately).35 The Arizona District League commenced on June 14 with a 21-2 win over the 1st Cavalry.36 That summer, Johnson, Rogan, Moore, and pitcher George Jasper also played for the integrated Nogales Nationals.37

Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Casey Stengel brought an all-star team of major- and high minor-league players to Nogales in November 1919. Stengel’s team arrived with an undefeated record, including a pair of victories over the Chicago American Giants, who would finish atop the Negro National League the following season.38 Though there are no known box scores for the Wreckers 1919 season, they were 22-2 leading up to a three-game series against Stengel’s squad.39 Johnson had definitely re-enlisted by this time and was available. However, the 25th Infantry would be without Rogan and other prominent players like Crafton, Hawkins, Fred Goliah, and Saki Smith.40

Despite the key absences, the Wreckers won the first game, 5–4. After Stengel’s team scored all of its runs in the first inning against Jasper, the 25th’s comeback was highlighted by a Moore home run. Pitchers named “Johnson” started the second and third games for the Wreckers, though it’s not clear whether it was Oscar or William Johnson. (By January 1920, “Big C” was no longer living in Nogales according to the census, but he may still have been with the Wreckers in November 1919.) Either way, the hurler was inexperienced—and it showed. Game Two was a slugfest with Stengel’s All Stars winning, 14-11.41

In Game Three, the Wreckers fell behind by six runs in the second inning. Jasper relieved Johnson (who moved to catcher) and shut Stengel’s side down the rest of the way while the 25th completed the 8-6 comeback win.42

Immediately after the third contest, two more games were added to the series. They received much less coverage. Game Four was won by the Wreckers, 8-6. The fifth and final game was a blowout with Stengel’s team winning, 19-3. One can only wonder which 25th Infantry pitchers were available for that game given the workloads of Johnson and Jasper throughout the series.43

In June 1920, the 25th Infantry were among more than 400 soldiers in St. Louis for the Olympic trials ahead of the 7th Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium.44 Although Rogan, Moore, and many of the Wreckers’ stars had already moved on, there was clearly immediate interest in some players from the 25th upon their arrival. On June 24, Johnson appeared in a game for the NNL’s St. Louis Giants against the Cuban Stars, coming off the bench to catch and collecting his first major-league hit (a single).45 When the 25th Infantry played those same Giants on June 28, Johnson was in the lineup for the Wreckers. The soldiers prevailed, 4-1.46

A few days later, the Chicago Defender reported that the Giants had signed Johnson, Mose Herring, and an infielder named Stewart (first name unknown) from the 25th Infantry. Johnson was described as “a catcher who is said to be the peer of them all.”47

On July 4 and 5, Johnson made two starts for the Giants, the first a 4-2 loss to the Kansas City Monarchs. The Monarchs lineup featured former Wreckers Moore and Rogan batting fourth and fifth. The next day, Johnson started behind the plate in St. Louis’s 10-6 win over the Cuban Stars. He had two hits—one a bases-loaded triple in the seventh inning.48 That would be Johnson’s last appearance for the Giants, however, as he “was kept out of the game after Monday by the Army authorities.” Herring and Stewart were allowed to stay with St. Louis.49 The Army didn’t seem to be in a rush to let its biggest diamond asset leave before they had to. Unfortunately, 25th Infantry results and box scores are very hard to come by for the rest of 1920 and 1921.

While Johnson was a great ballplayer for Uncle Sam, he did not have a great reputation as a soldier. Johnson “was the regiment misfit,” wrote William McNeil. He added that Johnson “was in the guardhouse as often as he was out of it. If an important baseball game happened to coincide with his sentence, however, the colonel would order Johnson’s release and, if Johnson played well in the game, the colonel would let him stay out of the guardhouse—until his next offense.”50

By May 1922, Johnson was finally honorably discharged. He joined many of his former Wreckers teammates (Rogan, Moore, Hawkins, Branch Russell, and William Linder) on the Kansas City Monarchs. On May 20, he made his first appearance, going 0-for-1 in a win against the St. Louis Stars. Against the same club the next day, he started and went 2-for-4 with a double. Johnson’s first Monarchs’ homer also came against the Stars, on June 2.51

Johnson’s debut campaign for the Monarchs was magnificent. He finished with a .406 batting average and .715 slugging percentage in 68 games (including league and interleague contests, and games against major Blackball teams). He clubbed 19 doubles, 11 triples, and 11 homers while stealing nine bases.52

In 1922-23, Johnson played in the integrated California Winter League with the Los Angeles White Sox. His teammates included many Monarchs and Wreckers (Hawkins, José Méndez, Rube Curry, Bob Fagan, Pinky Ward, and George Carr) as well as Biz Mackey.53 Los Angeles won the championship and Johnson led the league in batting at .340 (16-for-47, just .0004 ahead of Mackey).54

The Monarchs opened the 1923 season at home against the Chicago American Giants on April 28. Johnson went 0-for-3 but, the next day, he had his first of many big performances that season. He went 4-for-5 with a home run, triple, and pair of doubles against Chicago, driving in five runs and scoring three. He hit .425 in May, highlighted by a 3-for-3 game on May 21 with a pair of home runs, a triple, and six runs batted in. By the end of the month, he had already hit nine home runs in just 25 games—seven in an eight-game span (all on the road).55

On June 4 against Milwaukee, Johnson had the first three-homer game in Monarchs history.56 He went 4-for-5 and drove in five that day. On July 1, he had another four-hit explosion, driving in six against Toledo.57 As part of a three-hit, five-RBI day on July 31, Johnson hit the first home run at Kansas City’s new Muehlebach Field (a stadium the Monarchs would share with the Kansas City Blues of the American Association before it became the home of the Kansas City Athletics in 1955).58

On August 1, Johnson married 23-year-old Juanita Powell of Kansas City. Unfortunately, nothing else is known about Juanita and their relationship beyond the fact that the marriage apparently didn’t last though the end of Johnson’s playing career.59

Johnson’s incredible 1923 campaign resulted in another .400 season and the NNL Triple Crown. His .406/.471/.722 slash line over 98 games included the league’s top slugging percentage, and he also paced the circuit in OPS (1.193), homers (20), RBIs (120), doubles (32), and runs scored (91).60

After the season, Johnson played his second and final season of winter ball. He joined the Santa Clara Leopardos, considered not only the best Cuban League team ever, but simply one of the best baseball squads, period. The roster boasted future Hall of Famers Oscar Charleston and Méndez, plus strong candidates like Johnson, Moore, Alejandro Oms, and Oliver Marcell. The depth of talent also featured Frank Duncan, Frank Warfield, Bill Holland, Dave Brown, Eustaquio Pedroso, and Curry. The Leopardos went 36-11-1 and won the league title comfortably by 11½ games. In 15 appearances, Johnson hit .370 and slugged .556 before he left the team early to return to the United States for an unknown reason.

The 1924 campaign was Johnson’s final season with the Monarchs. While he didn’t repeat his 1923 totals, he still batted .366 with five home runs and 55 RBIs, finishing third in the NNL in average and hits, and fourth in total bases. Including non-league competition, some sources report that Johnson hit more than 60 homers that year.61

After winning their third consecutive NNL title, Johnson and the Monarchs played in the very first Colored World Series against Hilldale of the Eastern Colored League (ECL). Johnson hit .296 in the series and slugged .407—modest totals for him, but well above the team figures of .228 and .295, respectively. Ahead of the pivotal Game Eight, the series was tied at three games apiece (one tie) with five wins needed to clinch the championship.

Johnson doubled, but he uncharacteristically dominated the game with his defense. In the fifth inning with the game scoreless, he robbed George Johnson of a triple. In the eighth with Hilldale up 2–0, he made a “shoestring catch” to rob Judy Johnson of a hit. Oscar Johnson kept the Monarchs’ deficit to just two by throwing out Carr at the plate on an Otto Briggs hit in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the inning, he contributed to the game-winning rally by getting hit in the buttocks to load the bases with two outs ahead of Duncan’s decisive two-run single.62

Hilldale won the ninth game, forcing a winner-take-all Game 10. With Méndez starting against Script Lee, the game was scoreless through seven. In the bottom of the eighth, Johnson doubled home Moore for what proved to be the series-winning run. Kansas City tacked on four more to put the game out of reach, with Johnson scoring on Newt Allen’s single.

In March 1925, Johnson was traded to the Baltimore Black Sox of the ECL for Wade Johnston.63 Batting behind Jud Wilson and John Beckwith,64 Johnson hit .327 and slugged .538. Midway through 1926, Beckwith joined the Harrisburg Giants. After hitting .350, Johnson joined him that offseason. In Harrisburg, Johnson was part of one of the greatest outfields of all time with Fats Jenkins in left, Charleston in center, and Johnson in right (with Rap Dixon also playing when he wasn’t touring the Far East). In 1927, Johnson slashed .379/.461/.568 in 58 games to rank third in the ECL in batting, on-base percentage, and slugging.

Johnson returned to the NNL in 1928 with the Cleveland Tigers. Despite hitting .387 and slugging .547 in 20 games, Johnson was released along with several other players, general manager S.M. Terrell, and manager Duncan when owner M.C. Barkin cleaned house.65 Barkin complained that “several of the players were not keeping in condition and that the manager had no control over the players.”66 Johnson joined the NNL’s Memphis Red Sox for the remainder of the season and hit .331 in 49 games.

Outside of five appearances for Memphis spread out over a two-month span in 1930, it is not known what Johnson did over the next two years. He started 1931 with the independent Dayton Marcos but left the club to join the Louisville White Sox of the NNL in June. Johnson went 6-for-21 with a homer for Louisville before returning to Dayton.67

Johnson joined the Newark Browns of the upstart East-West League in 1932, once again recruited by manager Beckwith. Before the East-West League season even started, though, many players had jumped to other teams.68 Newark’s club lasted just four games before folding, losing them all. Johnson saw action in two of them, going 0-for-3. The Negro Leagues continued to suffer through the Depression and the East-West League folded before the end of 1932. By the time the second Negro National League commenced in 1933, Johnson’s major-league career was over.

Across all or parts of 11 seasons in major Negro Leagues, Johnson hit .370 with a .428 on-base percentage and .592 slugging percentage. Per 162 games, he averaged 109 runs, 215 hits, 39 doubles, 17 triples, 19 home runs, 141 runs batted in, 16 stolen bases, and six wins above replacement.69 Though he never played at the top level again, Johnson reportedly played for the independent Detroit Cubs in 1935 at age 40.70

On October 17, 1936, Johnson married Cora Mason in Wayne, Indiana. This marriage lasted at least through 1952 and likely until his death. Piecing together what Johnson did after his playing career is difficult, but public records provide some clues. In 1940, he was living in Dayton, Ohio and working as a laborer.71 Two years later in the same state, he was employed by the Chester Garage Company.72 Johnson and his wife lived in Cleveland as of 1950, with Cora’s daughter Louise and Louise’s family. Johnson was a flour blender for a baking company.73

Oscar Johnson died on October 9, 1960, in Cleveland, Ohio. There is no obituary. There is no gravesite. All we know is that a tremendous baseball player quietly passed.

In 2006 Johnson was one of 94 preliminary candidates for the National Baseball Hall of Fame via the Committee on African-American Baseball, but he did not make the final ballot. If his perceived lack of longevity was the sticking point, it’s worth noting that his former Wreckers and Monarchs teammate Moore received further consideration despite playing only six seasons in major Negro Leagues. When Johnson spent eight years in the Army, he did so, in part, because it was one of the few reliable options where a Black ballplayer could earn a steady paycheck while the American and National Leagues remained segregated. Although the competition he faced there varied greatly, Johnson’s statistics kept pace with Hall of Famer Rogan’s (and both were far above everyone else).

Johnson, who began his career as a catcher before shifting to the outfield, was also burdened by his reputation as an “unpolished fielder.”74 Modern metrics like Total Zone Rating agree that he was a below-average fielder, costing his team about seven runs per 162 games. But that pales in comparison to the 59 he added with his bat in the same span.75

Johnson might compare well with modern players like Manny Ramírez or Gary Sheffield—enormous bats who were among the worst defenders in history by advanced metrics. But he may have been closer to Harry Heilmann, a peer of Johnson’s (1914-32) who similarly dominated at the plate but was not as big a defensive liability.

In 2012, Johnson was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame along with 13 other Negro Leaguers.76 In 2021, a mural created in Atchison by artist Vaughn Schultz was painted that depicted Johnson in mid-swing.77

Thanks to the tireless work of researchers Gary Ashwill, Scott Simkus, Mike Lynch, Kevin Johnson, and Larry Lester of the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database, the statistics of Johnson and several thousand Negro League players are presented as major-league statistics on Baseball Reference. Because of that, we can apply tools such as Bill James’ similarity scores and Black Ink scores (a measurement of “how often a player led the league in a variety of ‘important’ stats”) to Negro League players. By these measures, Johnson’s most similar player is Hall of Famer Willard Brown and his Black Ink score is 31. The average Hall of Famer has a score of 27 (and Johnson’s score does not include his prime years in the Army).78

Yet, when more Negro Leaguers were considered for Hall of Fame induction in 2022, Johnson was not included on the Early Baseball Era Committee’s ballot. Oscar Johnson seemed to fade from memory as quickly as he burst on the Negro Leagues scene. Modern researchers have rebuilt his playing record from the box score up and contemporary analysis suggests he may be one of the greatest overlooked legends in Negro Leagues history.

Acknowledgments

This biography was reviewed by Malcolm Allen and Rory Costello and fact-checked by Ray Danner.

Sources

In addition to sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted www.baseball-reference.com and game logs provided by Kevin Johnson of the Seamheads Negro Leagues Database.

Notes

1 “Famous Colored Ball Club to Tour State with Bears,” Black Dispatch (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), October 5, 1922.

2 “Sporting News,” Buffalo (New York) American, October 26, 1922.

3 “Champion Monarchs Play at Rick Monday,” Birmingham (Alabama) News, September 16, 1923.

4 “Trident-Monarch Game a Thriller,” Morning Chronicle, August 19, 1923.

5 Gary Ashwill, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” Agate Type, https://agatetype.typepad.com/agate_type/2007/09/he-aint-heavy-h.html, accessed July 21, 2022.

6 1940 United States Federal Census. Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29955112?h=478d39.

7 Gary Ashwill, “Will the Real Oscar Johnson Please Stand Up?” Agate Type, https://agatetype.typepad.com/agate_type/2007/09/will-the-real-o.html, accessed July 21, 2022.

8 Ashwill, “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”

9 Jerry Malloy, “The 25th Infantry Regiment Takes the Field,” The National Pastime, Vol. 15 (1995), accessed July 21, 2022.

10 “Saunder’s Outfit Star at Batting,” Honolulu Advertiser, May 16, 1914.

11 “Post Championship is Won by Twenty-Fifth,” Honolulu Advertiser, September 23, 1915.

12 Darowski, “25th Infantry Wreckers.”

13 “Burke’s Men Meet Defeat in Great Contest with Twenty-Fifth Infantry Diamond Stars,” Honolulu Advertiser, February 27, 1916.

14 “Schofield Has Say on Leading Diamond Stars,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, August 12, 1916.

15 “Navy Drops One to Sluggers of 25th Infantry,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, August 29, 1916.

16 “Wreckers Start Champ Series at Schofield, Beating 32nd 14 to 1,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, January 22, 1917.

17 “Wreckers Win Big Post League Pennant at Schofield Barracks,” Honolulu Advertiser, January 29, 1917.

18 Darowski, “25th Infantry Wreckers.”

19 “Great Slaughter at Moiliili Park,” Honolulu Advertiser, September 10, 1917.

20 Darowski, “25th Infantry Wreckers.”

21 “‘Heavy’ Johnson Breaks Up Game with Chinese on Sunday,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 23, 1917.

22 James A. Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, (New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1994), 440.

23 Phil S. Dixon, Wilber “Bullet” Rogan and the Kansas City Monarchs, (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2010), 51.

24 “Rogan Pitches No-hit Game,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 27, 1918.

25 “Coast Defense Fails to Swat Pitcher Rogan,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, June 10, 1918.

26 “All-Star Squad of Oahu-Service League Selected,” Honolulu Star-Bulletin, July 5, 1918.

27 “Wreckers Farewell with Hard-Earned Victory Over Pearl Harbor Marines,” Honolulu Advertiser, August 12, 1918.

28 Darowski, “25th Infantry Wreckers.”

29 William F. McNeil, Black Baseball Out of Season, (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2015), 57.

30 Darowski, “25th Infantry Wreckers.”

31 Carlos Francisco Parra, “Battle of Ambos Nogales signaled birth of border fence,” Nogales International, accessed July 21, 2022.

32 McNeil, Black Baseball Out of Season, 60.

33 Dixon, Wilber “Bullet” Rogan and the Kansas City Monarchs, 28.

34 McNeil, Black Baseball Out of Season, 61.

35 Ashwill, “Will the Real Oscar Johnson Please Stand Up?”

36 “Initial Game in Series of the Military District League,” Daily Morning Oasis (Nogales, Arizona), June 15, 1919.

37 Bill Staples Jr., “The Making of a Monarch: Dobie Moore, Casey Stengel, and the Lost Box Scores of 1919,” International Pastime, http://billstaples.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-making-of-monarch-dobie-moore-casey.html, accessed July 21, 2022.

38 Staples Jr., “The Making of a Monarch: Dobie Moore, Casey Stengel, and the Lost Box Scores of 1919.”

39 “Stengel to Play Camp Little Teams November 3, 4, 5,” Tucson Citizen, November 2, 1919.

40 “Nogales Doughboys Will Play Three Games with Casey Stengel’s Stars,” Arizona Daily Star, October 31, 1919.

41 Staples Jr., “The Making of a Monarch: Dobie Moore, Casey Stengel, and the Lost Box Scores of 1919.”

42 Staples Jr., “The Making of a Monarch: Dobie Moore, Casey Stengel, and the Lost Box Scores of 1919.”

43 Staples Jr., “The Making of a Monarch: Dobie Moore, Casey Stengel, and the Lost Box Scores of 1919.”

44 “400 Soldiers to Try out for Olympic Team,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 30, 1920.

45 Heavy Johnson Game Logs provided by the Seamheads Negro League Database, July 24, 2022.

46 “Infantry Team Beats St. Louis Giants, 4-1,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 29, 1920.

47 Gary Ashwill, “From the Wreckers to the St. Louis Giants,” Agate Type, https://agatetype.typepad.com/agate_type/2006/11/from_the_wrecke.html, accessed July 21, 2022.

48 “Giants Gain Victory Over Cuban Stars, 10-6,” St. Louis Globe Democrat, July 6, 1920.

49 Dr. Layton Revel and Luis Munoz, “Forgotten Heroes: Oscar “Heavy” Johnson,” http://www.cnlbr.org/Portals/0/Hero/Oscar-Heavy-Johnson.pdf, accessed July 21, 2022.

50 McNeil, Black Baseball Out of Season, 61.

51 Heavy Johnson Game Logs provided by the Seamheads Negro League Database, July 24, 2022.

52 Baseball-Reference.com, accessed August 16, 2022.

53 William F. McNeil, The California Winter League: America’s First Integrated Professional Baseball League, (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2002), 88.

54 McNeil, The California Winter League: America’s First Integrated Professional Baseball League, 87.

55 Heavy Johnson Game Logs provided by the Seamheads Negro League Database, July 24, 2022.

56 Dixon, Wilber “Bullet” Rogan and the Kansas City Monarchs, 52.

57 Heavy Johnson Game Logs provided by the Seamheads Negro League Database, July 24, 2022.

58 Phil S. Dixon [@NegroLeagueMan], “July 31, 1923, Oscar “Heavy” Johnson became the first Monarch to hit a home run at Kansas City’s Muehlebach Field with a first inning blast off American Giants’ Jack Marshall.” Twitter, July 31, 2018, https://twitter.com/negroleagueman/status/1024481195961270283.

59 Missouri, U.S., Marriage Records, 1805-2002. Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29954889?h=5f94a8.

60 Baseball-Reference.com, accessed August 16, 2022.

61 Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, 441.

62 Larry Lester, Baseball’s First Colored World Series: The 1924 Meeting of the Hilldale Giants and Kansas City Monarchs, (Jefferson: McFarland & Company, 2014), 162.

63 “Monarchs, And Sox in Big Trade,” Pittsburgh Courier, March 14, 1925.

64 Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, 441.

65 “Cleveland Tigers (Baseball),” Encyclopedia of Cleveland History, Case Western Reserve University, https://case.edu/ech/articles/c/cleveland-tigers-baseball, accessed August 15, 2022.

66 “Cleveland Tigers Release,” Birmingham Reporter, June 9, 1928.

67 “Marcos Beat Foe Twice; Lose One,” Pittsburgh Courier, July 4, 1931.

68 “New League Follows Trail of Old,” New York Age, May 21, 1932.

69 Baseball-Reference.com, accessed August 15, 2022.

70 Revel and Munoz, “Forgotten Heroes: Oscar “Heavy” Johnson.”

71 1940 United States Federal Census. Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29955112?h=478d39.

72 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942. Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29955369?h=75a9ab.

73 1950 United States Federal Census. Ancestry, https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/29955205?h=967ef6.

74 Riley, The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues, 441.

75 Baseball-Reference.com, accessed August 15, 2022.

76 Mark Schremmer, “Ks. Hall inducts Topeka’s Negro League greats,” Topeka Capital Journal, https://www.cjonline.com/story/sports/2012/02/04/ks-hall-inducts-topekas-negro-league-greats/16443539007, accessed August 16, 2022.

77 Laura Spencer [@lauraspencer], “Oscar “Heavy” Johnson mural in @atchisonks. @NLBMuseumKC @nlbmprez” Twitter, July 16, 2022, https://twitter.com/lauraspencer/status/1548332326244868096.

78 Baseball-Reference.com, accessed August 16, 2022.

After a nine-year career in Japan, where he won an unprecedented seven consecutive batting titles, seven consecutive Gold Glove awards, and three consecutive MVP awards, Ichiro Suzuki became the first position player from Nippon Professional Baseball in the major leagues in 2001. Proving many doubters wrong, his stellar hitting continued in the U.S. against major-league pitching, as he began his big-league career with an unprecedented 10 straight 200-hit seasons, including a record-setting 262 hits in 2004.

Ichiro’s style was reminiscent of an earlier era. Although he could hit for power, Suzuki usually used his tremendous bat control to spray the ball around the field. Appearing almost to run before his bat struck the ball, he sped down the line from the left-hand batter’s box and beat out many infield choppers and bunts. His pre-pitch ritual was inimitable and distinctive. Swinging the bat in a long arc, he pointed it at the pitcher, and then tugged on his right sleeve. Only then was he ready to hit. Baseball columnist Thomas Boswell opined, “To see Ichiro hit is to be taken back almost a century to the hit ’em where they ain’t technique.”1

His outstanding offensive abilities were complemented by great defense. Playing primarily in right field, as well as some time in center, he also won 10 consecutive Gold Glove awards. One highlight reel of his defensive gems contains 10 minutes of diving catches, stolen home runs, and frozen-rope throws.2 After one strong throw from right field to third base, Mariners announcer Dave Niehaus, making one of his most famous calls, exclaimed, “I’m here to tell you that Ichiro threw something out of Star Wars down there at third base!”

In addition, he enjoyed All-Star appearances each year during his first decade in the majors. His outstanding play in two countries made him an international celebrity, known by one word alone like soccer hero Pelé. Ichiro’s success in the U.S. changed the perception that major-league teams had of Japanese baseball players. He paved the way for future stars such as 2009 World Series MVP Hideki Matsui and 2021 AL MVP Shohei Ohtani.

Suzuki played major-league baseball for 19 years. He had a 28-year professional career in Japan and the U.S. combined. His longevity exceeds that of major-league leaders Nolan Ryan and Cap Anson, who each played for 27 seasons. Suzuki finished with 3,089 big-league hits, which puts him 24th on the all-time career hit list (as of 2022). Adding his 1,278 hits while playing in Japan’s Pacific League gives him a total of 4,367 hits at the top level in each nation. That total exceeds the record 4,256 hits that Pete Rose amassed during his big-league career.

Suzuki also excelled on the basepaths. He is one of only seven major-leaguers to have 3,000 hits and 500 stolen bases.3 Ichiro and Lou Gehrig are the only players in the modern era to have eight seasons with 200 hits and 100 runs scored. His stellar offense, superb defense, and success running the bases meant that Ichiro Suzuki was the first Japanese player elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2025.

Ichiro (the name means brightest, most cheerful) Suzuki was born on October 22, 1973, in Nichi Kasugai-gun (a suburb of Nagoya), Japan.4 His parents are Nobuyuki and Yoshie Suzuki, and his only sibling is his older brother, Kazuyasu.5 Ichiro’s love of the game, and famous work ethic, were instilled in him by his father. Nobuyuki was a former high school pitcher who bought Ichiro his first glove, and played catch with him, when Ichiro was just 3 years old. Although Suzuki was naturally right-handed, Nobuyuki taught Ichiro to bat left-handed because lefties get to first base faster. When Ichiro was 7, the two established a daily afternoon routine – summer and winter, regardless of the weather. The boy would throw 50 pitches, hit 200 tosses from his father, and do 50 infield and 50 outfield fielding plays. After dinner every day, the two would go to the local batting cage, where Ichiro would take 250 to 300 swings.

By the time Ichiro was 12, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. In a sixth-grade essay he wrote, “My dream when I grow up is to be a first-class professional baseball player…. I have the confidence to do the necessary practice to reach that goal…. I only had five or six hours (per year) to play with my friends. That’s how much I practiced. So I think I can become a pro.” Reflecting on this period, Nobuyuki said, “Baseball was fun for both of us.” Ichiro replied, “It might have been fun for him, but for me … it bordered on hazing and I suffered a lot. But I also couldn’t say no to him. He was doing his utmost to help me.”6

High school baseball in Japan is taken with the same seriousness that Texans take high school football. For promising Japanese baseball players, the choice of where to go to high school is given the same consideration as where to go to college is given in the U.S. The high school that Ichiro attended, Aikodai Meiden Kokko, in Nagoya, is one of the top baseball schools in Japan and is well known for sending its best athletes to the professional ranks. Ichiro’s time there was difficult. As a freshman he had to scrub the dormitory floors and got up at 3 A.M. to do laundry for the upperclassmen. After he became a starter in his junior year, the chores were replaced with running, and drills such as throwing car tires, and hitting Wiffle balls with a shovel. Ichiro called his time at Meiden “the hardest thing I have ever experienced.”7

But the hard work paid off – Ichiro batted .502 during his high school career. He never struck out swinging in over 500 high-school at-bats and was called out on strikes just 10 times. He twice led Meiden to the most prestigious high school baseball tournament in Japan. However, in spite of these stellar numbers, he was not chosen until the fourth and final round (36th overall) of Japan’s 1991 draft, by the Orix Blue Wave. Scouts for most teams did not think he could compete because of his small stature (he was then 5-feet-9 and just 120 pounds).8

Ichiro made his Nippon Professional Baseball debut with the Blue Wave at age 18 in 1992. But the manager of the team had doubts about his future in baseball because of his small size and unorthodox hitting technique, so he spent most of his first two seasons in the minor leagues. As part of his development, Orix sent Suzuki to play in the Hawaii Winter Baseball League after the 1993 Japanese season. Playing for the Hilo Stars of the four-city circuit, Ichiro led the team to a 28-20 record and a first-place finish. League owner Duane Kurisu said Suzuki’s play stood out even then. He exclaimed, “Ichiro, man. His name would keep popping up throughout. It was from Day 1. One day I was with some farm directors, they said you gotta look at this kid. Here was this small guy hitting bombs. This was the first inkling of who Ichiro was. I saw it in BP. He was hitting things beyond these warehouses that were over 450 feet away.”9

When Orix changed managers in 1994, Ichiro was allowed to play every day. Leading off for the Blue Wave for most of the season, his 210 hits marked the first time anyone exceeded 200 hits in the circuit’s 130-game season. He batted .385 and scored 111 runs. His reward for this stellar offense was the Most Valuable Player award in the Pacific League.10 In addition, he won the first of seven consecutive Gold Gloves (in Japan) for his defensive prowess.

It was also in 1994 that he became known as Ichiro. Suzuki is a common surname in Japan, so in order to draw attention to their budding star, the Blue Wave decided to put Ichiro on his jersey rather than Suzuki. The team also announced his at-bats by Ichiro. Suzuki did not like the idea at first. “I’ve got to admit, though, that it embarrassed me when the public address announcers announced the starting lineup with me as ‘Ichiro,’ not as ‘Suzuki’ and there was a great stir among the crowd.”11 But over the course of the season, as he became famous nationwide and endorsement offers came rolling in, it was the only name by which he wanted to be known.12 How famous was Ichiro in Japan? He said that letters with the address, Ichiro, Japan, would reach him as long as the address was written in katakana (Japanese phonetics).13

The Orix club is based in Kobe, Japan. Suzuki was there when the Kobe earthquake struck in January 1995. Of the experience he said, “I really felt like I might be killed. I can’t put into words how frightening it was.”14 Yet the baseball season went on as planned, in spite of extensive loss of life and damage to the city, and Ichiro continued his offensive onslaught in 1995. He led the Pacific League in hits (179), RBIs (80), stolen bases (49), and batting average (.342), and won his second consecutive MVP award. The Blue Wave won the Pacific League by 12 games, then played in the Japan Series against the Central League champion, the Yakult Swallows. Although Orix lost the series in five games, the season set the stage for 1996. Paced by Ichiro’s 193 hits and .356 batting average, the Blue Wave won their second consecutive Pacific League title. Facing the famed Tokyo Yomiuri Giants in the Japan Series, Orix prevailed in five games, and Suzuki won his third consecutive MVP award.

Although the Blue Wave never won another league title while Ichiro was there, his offensive heroics continued over the next four years. With batting averages of .345, .358, .343, and .387, he earned an unprecedented seven consecutive batting titles. The press started referring to him as the “Human Batting Machine” and later simply as kaibutsu. This is high praise in Japan: kaibutsu means monster. Ichiro thought he could be the first Japanese player to bat .400 for a season.15

It was during this period that Ichiro married Yumiko Fukushima, an announcer at a major Tokyo television station who spoke fluent English. The wedding took place on December 3, 1999, at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. The small, private ceremony was held outside of Japan in order to avoid the media crush that certainly would have accompanied an in-country wedding. Recalling the experience, Ichiro mused, “After it was all over, I thought to myself what a wonderful thing a wedding is.”16

Ichiro had played against American stars in postseason exhibition games and became interested in playing in the U.S. During one exhibition series, Barry Bonds is reported to have said, “That little s–t can really hit the ball.”17 But getting to play in the U.S. was a complicated proposition. Japanese players couldn’t become free agents for nine years, and Ichiro’s sense of duty to Orix precluded him from using the “voluntarily retired” loophole that Hideo Nomo had used to come to the U.S. in 1995.18 However, the financially strapped Orix club, aware that Ichiro would become a free agent soon, and knowing they could get a big payment from an American team, agreed to “post” him. This meant that U.S. teams could bid on his services.19

How did the small-market Seattle Mariners get Ichiro instead of one of the big-market teams? Jim Colborn, the Pacific Rim scouting coordinator for the Mariners, had been the pitching coach for Orix in the early 1990s. When Ichiro was shooting Nissan commercials during the winter, he stayed at Colborn’s house in California. Colborn had also given him jerseys from Ken Griffey Jr. (Suzuki’s favorite player). In addition, Orix and the Mariners had an agreement to share marketing ideas in exchange for information about Japanese players.

When Orix posted Ichiro, Colborn convinced the Mariners’ general manager, Pat Gillick, that the team should vigorously pursue him. Gillick then sold the Mariners’ principal owner, Hiroshi Yamauchi, president of Nintendo, on the idea. Yamauchi wanted Ichiro badly enough to add a few million of his own money to the Mariners bid.20 Seattle’s $13 million offer earned the club the right to negotiate with Ichiro, and Suzuki soon signed a three-year, $14 million contract with the Mariners. The ploy worked in part because most big-league teams believed Ichiro was too small to be successful in the U.S.

Ichiro was the Mariners’ starting right fielder on opening day, 2001. It didn’t take him long to prove he could play in the U.S. In Seattle’s eighth game of the season, at Oakland, Ichiro’s leadoff single in the top of the eighth inning sparked a three-run rally to break a scoreless tie. In the bottom of that inning, he made a defensive effort that is now simply referred to as “The Throw.” Playing right field, he threw Terrence Long out at third base with a perfect throw. Rick Rizzs, the Mariners radio announcer, called it a “laser beam strike,” and said it was one of the greatest throws he had ever seen.21

Yet despite this start to the season, there were still doubts, even among his teammates, that he could play in the major leagues. In an interview Ichiro stated, “If I said there wasn’t concern among the team, I wouldn’t be telling the truth. There were all sorts of views about my performance among the Mariners players then, not just positive opinions. It took longer than the month of April to gain their trust.”22

But his stellar play continued. By the All-Star break, he led the majors with 133 hits. Ichiro started the All-Star Game in center field for the American League and beat out an infield single against 6-foot-10 southpaw Randy Johnson. His success against Johnson was not unusual. Unlike many left-handed hitters who struggle against lefty pitchers, Ichiro batted .329 versus southpaws compared to .304 against righties during his major-league career. Suzuki felt honored to be among the All-Stars. Asked about his All-Star experience, he gushed, “I loved playing in that game. Every time I looked around during the game, I got the feeling of Wow! These are the All-Stars.”23

In addition to putting up tremendous individual numbers, Ichiro sparked the entire team to play great baseball. The Mariners had a 63-24 (.724!) record at the All-Star break and led the American League West by 19 games. Seattle wound up winning 116 games – tying the 1906 Cubs’ all-time win record and surpassing the 1998 Yankees’ AL mark of 114. The Mariners beat Cleveland in the ALDS before losing in five games to the three-time defending champion Yankees in the ALCS. Asked about that opponent, Ichiro said, “There’s a sense of awe that’s always there with the Yankees. The atmosphere’s different. The Yankees had gone to the World Series four years in a row, and I think they’re amazing.”24

The numbers that Ichiro put up in 2001 were pretty amazing too. Although his lengthy Japanese career meant that the 27-year-old Suzuki was far from a typical rookie, he won the American League Rookie of the Month awards for April, May, August, and September. In 157 games, he led the league in batting average (.350) and ranked second with his career-high 127 runs scored. He led the major leagues in plate appearances (738), at bats (692), hits (242), and stolen bases (56). His 242 hits were the highest total since Bill Terry’s 254 in 1930. Ichiro was the first player to lead a league in batting average and stolen bases since Jackie Robinson in 1949. His efforts were rewarded with a Silver Slugger award, a Gold Glove, and Rookie of the Year honors. In a close vote, he edged the Oakland Athletics’ Jason Giambi for Most Valuable Player honors, 289 points to 281. Seattle’s Bret Boone also received seven first-place votes. Suzuki was surprised that he won, saying, “I really hadn’t been thinking about the MVP at all. I was sure all the time that my teammate, Bret Boone, would win it. I figured Boone was the best man for the MVP.”25

In both the 2002 and 2003 seasons, Suzuki recorded at least 200 hits, scored 111 runs, won a Gold Glove, and started the All-Star Game. The Mariners won 93 games each season but failed to make the playoffs. The stage was set for one of the greatest hitting seasons in baseball history.

At the end of April 2004, Suzuki was batting just .255, and the Mariners’ record was 8-15. While Seattle struggled all season, finishing 63-98, Ichiro was hitting .315 by the end of June. In July, however, he collected 51 hits and batted .432. In August, he added 56 more hits with a .456 average. In the 60 games between July 1 and September 6, he hit safely a record 121 times, and batted .458. Only Rogers Hornsby (.486 in 1924) produced a higher average over the same number of contests.26

Through September 6, Ichiro had 226 hits, with 25 games remaining to chase George Sisler’s record of 257 in 1920. He managed just 10 hits over the next 12 games but added 13 hits in the following four contests to put the mark within reach. On October 1, in front of a sellout crowd at Safeco Field that included Sisler’s daughter, Ichiro broke the record with a three-hit performance in Seattle’s 160th game. When he hit safely in his final at-bat of the season two days later, the new record was 262.

Ichiro was glad that the pressure of the chase was over. He said, “It was a big relief. I felt like something got off my shoulders. To see the fans and to see my teammates, it was just a very exciting time for me. It was a very special moment, definitely the highlight of my career.” His father, Nobuyuki, watching in Japan, added, “You can tell how happy and proud I am just by looking at me. The tears just won’t stop flowing.”27

It was truly a season for the ages. In addition to setting the hits record, Ichiro became the first player to get 200 hits in his first four years in the major leagues. His 924 hits in those four years are the major-league mark for most hits in any four-year span. His 225 singles are the major-league record, and his 80 multi-hit games set the club record. He had 50 hits in a month three times (50 in May, 51 in July, 56 in August) and was the first player since Pete Rose to have four 50-hit months (Suzuki also had 51 hits in August 2001). He had five hits four times and led the majors with 57 infield hits. He set career highs in batting average (.372, which also led the majors), OBP (.414), and OPS (.869). He stole 36 bases and had a career-high four steals against Boston on July 20.28 He also earned his fourth straight All-Star appearance and fourth straight Gold Glove award. Ichiro had proved his doubters wrong, and showed that Japanese position players could compete in the U.S.

The Mariners never made it back to the playoffs after 2001 while Ichiro was on the team. Seattle was in first place in August of 2002 and 2003 but faded down the stretch both years. In 2007 the team got within a game of first place in August, but soon fell off the pace. However, Suzuki was a model of consistency. By the end of the 2010 season, he had produced at least 200 hits in 10 straight campaigns – no other player has ever done that – while being selected to the All-Star Game and winning a Gold Glove in each campaign.

Noteworthy events during this period include career highs in home runs (15) and triples (12) in 2005. He set the American League record with 45 straight successful steals from April 19, 2006 to May 17, 2007. In 2009, he had a career high 27-game hitting streak from May 6 to June 3, and he victimized Mariano Rivera with his first career walk-off home run on September 18.

One of Ichiro’s All-Star Game highlights came in 2007. He came to bat in the fifth inning with the AL trailing, 1-0. Suzuki crushed a pitch from Chris Young to the right field wall at AT&T Park in San Francisco. The ball took an unexpected carom off the wall, and Griffey could not track the ball down soon enough to prevent Ichiro from scampering for an inside-the-park home run – the only such homer in All-Star Game history. Ichiro went 3-for-3 in the game and was voted MVP in the American League’s 5-4 victory. Surprisingly, he never hit an inside-the-park home run during the regular season.

During this portion of his career Ichiro also played for Japan in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic and the second edition in 2009. In 2006, Japan played Cuba in the final game of the tournament. Ichiro’s two hits and three runs in the final game contributed to Japan’s 10-6 victory to win the tournament. Defending their title in 2009, Japan played the U.S. in one of the semifinal games. Facing three-time All-Star Roy Oswalt, Japan scored five runs in the fourth inning to break open a close game, earning a berth in the final against South Korea. As the home team, South Korea got a run in the bottom of the ninth inning to send the final game into extra innings. In the top of the 10th, Ichiro came to bat with two outs and two men on. His single scored the two runs that proved to be the margin of victory, as Japan won the World Baseball Classic for the second consecutive time.29

Ichiro was reserved when talking to the media, always speaking through a translator so he would not be misunderstood, even though he could speak English well. Even so, teammates said that he was exuberant and very funny in private. Mariner teammate Aaron Sele opined, “I don’t think people realize how funny he was.” Mike Sweeney was part of the All-Star team that visited Japan to play exhibition games after the 2000 season. When an American got a hit, the public address announcer would say, “Nice batting.” Sweeney thought he would return the favor when Ichiro got a hit the following season, saying “Ichiro, nice batting.” Ichiro replied, “Mike Sweeney, nice ass.”

When Ichiro spoke English, he used the F-word liberally. Mariners trainer Rick Griffin said, “He dropped many, many F-bombs in many different varieties and different forms. Just screaming and yelling and hopping up and down — and then he walked away and sat down like nothing happened.” A story from the 2002 All-Star Game is a good example. Before the game, Joe Torre (the manager for the AL team) made a calm, professional speech to the players. Torre then pointed to Ichiro and asked him if he had anything to add. After a brief pause, Ichiro shouted out, “Let’s kick their f—ing fat asses.” The other players cheered, “Yeeeaaahhhhh!” So, Ichiro got the last pregame word at every All-Star game he played in, and he always finished with similar remarks.30

But even Ichiro’s talent and hard work could only fend off Father Time for so long. In 2011, at age 37, he batted .272 – his first sub-.300 average as a professional, and his first season with fewer than 200 hits (184) since coming to the majors. He was batting just .261 at the 2012 All-Star break when the Mariners – who hadn’t been to the playoffs since 2001 – decided to trade their beloved star rather than give him a lucrative contract for the following year.31 The Yankees, believing Ichiro could regain his form in a new setting, traded relievers D.J. Mitchell and Danny Farquhar to acquire him.

From September 1 through the end of the 2012 season, Ichiro batted .362 with 38 hits in 31 games as the Yankees went 20-11 to win the AL East by two games. New York faced Baltimore in the AL division series. Although Ichiro batted only .217 for the series in his second taste of postseason action, he drove in a crucial run in the sixth inning of the decisive Game Five victory. Subsequently, Suzuki’s .353 batting average in the ALCS was the team’s best, but the Yankees were swept by the Tigers. This was Ichiro’s last postseason appearance, and he never played in a World Series.

Ichiro was unable to continue his late 2012 season form into 2013, as he batted .262 with 136 hits. After he followed that up with a .284, 102-hit showing in 2014, the Yankees allowed him to become a free agent. He was signed by the Miami Marlins as the team’s fourth outfielder for 2015. He played more than expected because of an injury to Giancarlo Stanton, appearing in 153 games, but batted just .229 with 91 hits. (He also made his only big-league appearance on the mound that year.) Nonetheless, that was enough, combined with his still formidable defense, to entice the Marlins to re-sign him for 2016.

That set the stage for another career highlight. Ichiro was just 65 hits shy of 3,000 for his major-league career on Opening Day. The total increased slowly through the year because he was used mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement. But on August 7, at Coors Field, the 42-year-old Suzuki ripped a stand-up triple off the right-field wall to become the 30th player with 3,000 hits (Paul Molitor was the other player to achieve the milestone with a triple).

Good defense, and Suzuki’s .291 batting average, caused the Marlins to re-sign him for another year. But even though he said he wanted to play until he was 50, the Marlins didn’t offer him a contract after he batted .255 with 50 hits in 2017.32 That season, he had 27 pinch-hits (in 100 at-bats), falling just one short of John Vander Wal’s single-season mark.

Ichiro wanted to play in 2018, but even though his agent had contacted every major-league team, he still didn’t have a contract in early February of that year. Wright Thompson of ESPN the Magazine spent five days with Suzuki in February and wrote a widely read feature article about him. Thompson portrayed Ichiro as a compulsive baseball savant, but also as someone having difficulty envisioning a life beyond baseball. Former Marlins teammate Dee Gordon said, only half-jokingly, “I really just hope he keeps playing, because I don’t want him to die. I believe he might die if he doesn’t keep playing. What is Ichiro gonna do if he doesn’t play baseball?” Suzuki echoed the sentiment. When asked by a Miami journalist what he will do after baseball, Ichiro replied, “I think I’ll just die.”33

Fate then intervened to bring a storybook ending to Ichiro’s stellar career. During spring training in 2018, three Mariners outfielders were injured, and Seattle was unable to find any suitable short-term replacements. They turned to Ichiro. Despite not arriving at spring training until March 8, Suzuki was in the starting lineup for the Mariners’ opener on March 29. At 44 years, five months, and seven days, he was the fifth-oldest player to make an Opening Day start in the major leagues. The largest regular-season crowd in Safeco history, 47,149 fans, gave Suzuki a thunderous ovation when his name was announced, and chants of “I-chi-ro!” filled the stadium when he came to bat. When asked about getting to play for the Mariners again, he replied, “The dreams that I have, one of them came true.”34

Ichiro started 10 of the first 15 games for the Mariners in 2018, and played in 15 games total, batting just .205, before his last appearance on May 2. The Mariners used Suzuki as a mentor, front-office advisor, and a batting, base running, and outfield defense instructor for the rest of the year, with the intention of keeping him in the organization for the long term.35

The fates were not through with Ichiro just yet. The fairy tale ending continued in 2019, as MLB scheduled the Mariners to play in the Japan Opening Series at the Tokyo Dome. After starting both games for the Mariners, in the eighth inning of the second game his teammates left the field; Ichiro, tipping his hat, exited to a standing ovation from the adoring Japanese crowd. He announced his retirement at a press conference immediately following the game. After answering questions for 30 minutes, Griffey told Suzuki that the fans were still waiting for him to make a curtain call. In a manner similar to Cal Ripken after he broke the consecutive games played record, Ichiro walked slowly around the perimeter of the field, surrounded by photographers, saluting the crowd. Ichiro was overcome with emotion. He said, “I’m very thankful to the fans, to the Mariners and all the people that work for the Mariners…it doesn’t get better than tonight. Nothing can top what happened tonight for me.” It was a fitting ending to his unparalleled career.36

At his retirement press conference Suzuki exclaimed, “I have achieved so many of my dreams in baseball, both in my career in Japan and, since 2001, in Major League Baseball. I am honored to end my big-league career where it started, with Seattle, and think it is fitting that my last games as a professional were played in my home country of Japan.” He added, “I want to thank not only the Mariners, but the Yankees and Marlins, for the opportunity to play in MLB, and I want to thank the fans in both the U.S. and Japan for all the support they have always given me.”37

Since his retirement Ichiro has served as special assistant to the chairman in the Mariners organization. His role in that capacity has been as a uniformed instructor during spring training for the team.38 He lives in Seattle with his wife and their dog, Ikkyu.

He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame with 99.7% of the vote in 2025.

Last revised: January 21, 2025

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to SABR members Malcolm Allen and Rory Costello. Their careful review of this biography, and the numerous additions they suggested, significantly improved the final product.

This biography was also reviewed by Norman Macht and fact-checked by David Kritzler.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-reference.com.

Notes

1 Robert Whiting, The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime (New York, New York: Warner Books, 2004), 33.

2 Made the Cut, “Ichiro Suzuki Defensive Highlights,” March 21, 2020, You Tube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnzgoNELh3w, (last accessed February 4, 2022).

3 The other six are Lou Brock, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, Rickey Henderson, Paul Molitor, and Honus Wagner.

4 Ichiro’s name is often incorrectly translated as “first boy.” Reddit, “Baseball,” https://www.reddit.com/r/baseball/comments/dah7c/the_japanese_name_ichiro_is_often_written_郎, (last accessed January 6, 2022).

5 Dennis Normile, “Museum Showcases Ichiro’s Baseball Career,” New York Times, August 27, 2012.

6 Whiting, 5-6.

7 Whiting, 10.

8 All of the information about Ichiro’s childhood and high school career came from the book, Whiting, The Meaning of Ichiro: The New Wave from Japan and the Transformation of Our National Pastime, 1-12.

9 Matt Monagan, “Baseball in Hawaii, As Cool as it Sounds,” MLB.com, https://www.mlb.com/news/hawaiian-winter-league-look-back, (last accessed February 5, 2022).

10 Sports Team History, “The Career of Ichiro Suzuki,” https://sportsteamhistory.com/the-career-of-ichiro-suzuki-yesteryears-player, (last accessed January 5, 2022).

11 Narumi Komatsu (translated by Peter Gabriel), Ichiro on Ichiro (Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2004), 167.

12 Whiting, 16.

13 Michael Knisley, “Baseball,” The Sporting News, March 19, 2001: 13.

14 Komatsu, 169.

15 Whiting, 18.

16 Komatsu, 182-185.

17 Whiting, 20.

18 Whiting, 96-106.

19 Tyler Conway, “MLB-NPB Japan Posting System: Explaining Rules, Format, and Bid Process,” BleacherReport, https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1831683-mlb-npb-japan-posting-system-explaining-rules-format-and-bid-process, (last accessed January 10, 2022).

20 Jake Kring-Schreifels, “The Colossal Legacy of Ichiro’s Rookie Season, 20 Years Later,” The Ringer, https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2021/9/14/22664414/ichiro-suzuki-seattle-mariners-2001-rookie-season-legacy, (last accessed January 10, 2022).

21 Kring-Schreifels.

22 Komatsu, 21.

23 Komatsu, 30-31.

24 Komatsu, 43-44.

25 Komatsu, 5.

26 Matt Kelly, “The Best 60-Game Stretches in MLB History”, MLB.com, https://www.mlb.com/news/best-60-game-performances-in-mlb-history, (last accessed January 14, 2022). Kelly’s article says Hornsby batted .466 between June 21, and August 29, 1924. But Hornsby played in 71 games during that time period, not 60. From July 1 to August 29, 1924, Hornsby played in 60 games, and went 106 for 218, batting .486 over that period.

27 Tim Korte, “The Record Falls: Ichiro Breaks Sisler’s 84-year-old Mark for Hits,” Indiana Gazette, October 2, 2004.

28 Misc. Baseball, “Some Trivia About Ichiro’s 262 Hit Season in 2004,” https://miscbaseball.wordpress.com/2010/02/15/some-trivia-about-ichiros-262-hit-season-in-2004/ (last accessed January 15, 2022).

29 Jack Curry, “Ichiro Suzuki Delivers Memorable End to World Baseball Classic,” New York Times, March 24, 2009.

30 Corey Brock, Rustin Dodd, Jayson Jenks, “Untold Stories of Ichiro: Wrestling With Griffey, All-Star Speeches, and Ichi-Wings,” The Athletic, https://theathletic.com/2678297/2021/07/06/untold-stories-of-ichiro-wrestling-with-griffey-all-star-speeches-and-ichi-wings/, (last accessed January 18, 2022).

31 Luis Torres, “Trade Retrospective: Mariners Trade Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees,” Beyond the Box Score, https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2018/1/31/16927274/ichiro-suzuki-mariners-yankees-trade-retrospective, (last accessed January 18, 2022).

32 ESPN.com News Services, “Ichiro Suzuki Wants to Return to Marlins, Play Until at Least 50,” https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20868828/ichiro-suzuki-wants-return-miami-marlins-play-least-50, (last accessed January 19, 2022).

33 Wright Thompson, “When Winter Never Ends,” ESPN the Magazine, http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/22624561/ichiro-suzuki-return-seattle-mariners-resolve-internal-battle, (last accessed February 5, 2022).

34 Steve Freidman, “March 29, 2018: Ichiro Returns to the Seattle Mariners,” First Games Back Project, SABR Games Project, https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/march-29-2018-ichiro-returns-to-the-seattle-mariners/#_ednref11, (last accessed January 20, 2022).

35 Bill Shaikin, “Ichiro Suzuki Retires — for This Year, at Least,” Los Angeles Times, May 3, 2018.

36 Mariners Blog, From the Corner of Edgar and Dave, “Ichiro’s Historic Career Wraps up at the Tokyo Dome,” https://marinersblog.mlblogs.com/ichiros-historic-career-wraps-at-the-tokyo-dome-56ae3b5839d4, (last accessed January 21, 2022).

37 Mariners Blog, From the Corner of Edgar and Dave, “Ichiro’s Historic Career Wraps up at the Tokyo Dome.”

38 Larry Stone, “Ichiro Makes Seamless Transition From Star Player to Seattle Mariners Coach,” The Spokesman Review, https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2020/feb/29/larry-stone-ichiro-makes-seamless-transition-from-/, (last accessed January 25, 2022).

What is fame? “I’m not too sure but I’ll know it when I see it!” That sounds like something that may have been said or attributed to Yogi Berra, but when a person has a presence, be it on the ball field, at the television studio, or in any room he enters, and if his short, four-letter hyphenated nickname is all that is needed to identify him, and only him, A-Rod has fame. His celebrity, much like that of Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, and Tiger Woods, has transcended sport.

The mention of Alex Rodríguez conjures up images favorable and unfavorable. For almost three decades, his image has been in the public eye, often for all the wrong reasons. In an era of “you love him or you hate him” personalities, there are times when he seems to be the most loved, and others when he is the most vilified. His record-high salary in 2001 at the age of 25 was the envy of many, but his 156 home runs over the next three seasons seemed to validate all that money. Eight years later, in 2009, he was at the center of a scandal, largely of his own making.

Propelled into the national spotlight during his senior year of high school at the age of 17, Alex Rodríguez was destined for a baseball life that would make him one of the premier players in the game for two decades. With that spotlight would come a scrutiny that would entangle him in controversy for the final years of his baseball career, and beyond, as his name would be linked to the steroid abuse that regrettably defined the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Never lacking in confidence, he confronted each situation from gunning out runners with a rifle arm to using his sweeping swing to hit 696 home runs during a major-league career that extended, with a very public interruption, from 1994 through 2016.

Alexander Enmanuel Rodríguez was born on July 27, 1975, in New York City. His parents, Victor and Lourdes (Navarro) Rodríguez, were Dominican immigrants who lived in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. They owned a shoe store in the neighborhood. The business was run by his father, and his mother worked in a GM assembly plant just north of New York City.

Alex’s father had been married previously, from 1955 until 1961, and in 1960, Victor and his wife, Pouppe Martinez, had a son named Victor Rodríguez Jr. Alex did not get to know his older brother when he was growing up, as Victor, who was raised by his mother, joined the Marines when Alex was three years old. In 2003, Victor, by then a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force, reunited with Alex.2

Alex was raised along with a half-brother and half-sister, Joe and Suzy Dunand, children from his mother’s first marriage. When Alex was four years old his parents moved back to the Dominican Republic. The family owned a pharmacy there for several years, during which they enrolled Alex at an Americanized school in Santo Domingo. They struggled to make the business successful but eventually it failed.

The family moved back to the United States and settled in Miami when Alex was nine. Shortly after their return, his father left the family. In a 1998 interview, Rodríguez said, “From talking with Mom, I found out that Miami wasn’t fast-paced enough for Dad, that he wanted to go back to New York and Mom didn’t. They talked but couldn’t agree. So, he split.”3

Alex’s mother raised the three children by herself. She worked two jobs to provide for the family. She eventually owned two businesses, an immigration office and a Latin American restaurant. Rodríguez later said that his mother’s work ethic made a big impression on him. “My mom is hard-working and smart. She is also a good businesswoman. I wanted to give her $10,000 once to go away on a great vacation to rest, so as to thank her for all she had done for us. She said she would invest the money instead.”4

Although Alex was born in New York and his early education came at an Americanized school in the Dominican Republic, Spanish was spoken at home, and his English comprehension was at a level below that of his classmates when he entered school in the United States.5 But his mastery of the language of baseball opened doors as he overcame the absence of a father and eventually acquired the skills to effectively communicate with the American audience.

His interest in baseball started on the streets of Santo Domingo and fully developed after he met Juan Diego Arteaga, who coached a youth-league team at Alex’s elementary school in Miami. Arteaga invited Alex to join his team when they were short a player, and Arteaga, who also coached his son J.D. Jr., on the team, ended up being a second father to Rodríguez.

“[Arteaga] didn’t really have a preference for one boy over the other, he treated them both as equals and rode them pretty hard. That’s why they were so disciplined,” said Juan Pascual, another coach in the league. Arteaga took Alex to school with his son, enrolled him on travel teams and tournaments, and even had him eat with his family when Alex’s mother was working. “I’m telling you that without J.D. Arteaga, there would have been no Alex Rodríguez,” said Pascual.6

Rodríguez started high school at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami but thanks to Arteaga, he earned a scholarship to Westminster Christian School in Miami after his freshman year. He played shortstop on the baseball team and quarterback on the football team for the next three years.

Rodríguez thrived at Westminster, becoming one of the best high-school players in the country. “By his junior year, I was predicting big-league success for him and first-round draft status before most people did,” said his coach, Rich Hofman.7 Rodríguez batted .505 with 9 home runs, 36 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases in 1993, his senior year. He was American Family Insurance ALL-USA High School Baseball Player of the Year that year as well.

Rodríguez had committed to attending the University of Miami. Shortly after his high-school graduation, the Seattle Mariners made him the first pick in the first round of the June 1993 amateur draft. On the eve of his first university class, Rodríguez signed a professional contract with the Mariners. He received a $1 million signing bonus and a three-year, $1.3 million contract.

Taking a leading role in the negotiations (along with agent Scott Boras) with the Mariners was Alex’s sister, Suzy Durand-Silva, who had become an attorney.

“We think he’s a special player. The last time we had the No. 1, we got a very special player in Ken Griffey Jr. We’re not trying to put pressure on Alex, but we feel he deserved to be the top pick,” said Mariners President Chuck Armstrong.8

Rodríguez quickly moved up the minor-league ladder of the Mariners organization, advancing from Class A to the majors in a matter of months. He started the 1994 season with the Appleton Foxes of the Class A Midwest League. He hit .319 with 14 home runs and 55 RBIs in 65 games there. After playing 17 games with the Double-A Jacksonville Suns, he was called up to the Mariners in July.

Rodríguez made his major-league debut, batting ninth, at Boston on July 8, 1994, just three weeks before his 19th birthday. He became the youngest position player to start since 18-year-old Brian Milner took the field for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1978. After batting just .204 in 17 games, Rodríguez was sent back down at the end of July, and he spent the rest of the season with the Triple-A Calgary Cannons (Pacific Coast League). The demotion proved fortuitous as the major-league players went out on strike on August 12. In 32 games with Calgary, Rodríguez regained his hitting stride, finishing with a .311 batting average while stroking seven doubles and six home runs.

Rodríguez split time between the Mariners and the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers (PCL) in 1995. He spent the first month of the season with Tacoma and was there for another stint in August, batting .360 with 15 home runs and 45 RBIs for the year in Triple A. He told a Tacoma sportswriter that he “was still trying to find my stroke. I know it’s going to take some time, but it’s something I’m always working on.” He went on to say that “Any time you’re up here, you feel a little more comfortable.”9 Rodríguez ended up getting into 48 games with the Mariners that season, batting .232 with 5 home runs and 19 RBIs. The first of his 696 big-league homers came on June 12 against Tom Gordon of the Kansas City Royals in a 10-9 Seattle loss at the Kingdome.

The Mariners made Rodríguez their everyday shortstop in 1996, the year in which he began to be called A-Rod. Per author Selena Roberts, during the spring of 1996, Rodríguez took to writing “A-ROD” on his equipment bag and before long teammates and media personalities were using the term,10 arguably one of the most recognized nicknames in big-league history.

When told of his being named the everyday shortstop, he said, “It’s time. There is no doubt in my mind that I’m ready. None whatsoever. I can bring the team good defense, energy, speed, and some power.”11 Rodríguez had an outstanding 1996 season, finishing with a league-best .358 batting average. It made him, at 21, the third youngest batting leader behind Al Kaline in 1955 and Ty Cobb in 1907, who were each 20 when they won their titles.

Rodríguez was selected for his first All-Star Game that year and entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the top of the seventh inning. In the bottom of the inning, he went into the game at shortstop, replacing Cal Ripken Jr. When the season ended, he had set major-league records for a shortstop in runs scored (a league-leading 141), hits (215), and extra-base hits (91). Rodríguez finished second in the balloting for the MVP award, just three points behind Juan Gonzalez of the Texas Rangers. When asked about the results, Rodríguez said, “How can I be considered the MVP of the league when I’m not even the MVP in this room?” — a reference to his teammate Ken Griffey Jr. who finished fourth in the voting.12

In 1997 Rodríguez’s productivity was affected when he suffered a rib injury. On June 11 he collided with the Red Sox’ Roger Clemens at home plate, spent two weeks on the disabled list, and was hampered for the balance of the season. He had been batting .320 through his team’s first 63 games, including a game in Detroit on June 5 when he hit for the cycle. After returning, he batted .283 for the balance of the season. While he batted .300 for the season with 29 homers and 84 RBIs, the numbers were well below expectations.

Over the next three years, Rodríguez resumed his record-setting pace with the Mariners. He became the third major leaguer to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in the same season when he homered against Jack McDowell of the Anaheim Angels on September 19, 1998. That season, his only 40/40 campaign, he batted .310 with 42 homers, 124 RBIs, and 46 stolen bases, while playing in all of his team’s games, but the Mariners, despite a wealth of offensive talent, finished in third place in the AL West with a 76-85 record. The team finished below .500 again in 1999, but Rodríguez continued to flourish, batting .285 with 42 homers and 111 RBIs, and receiving his third Silver Slugger award. The Mariners, who moved into Safeco Field on July 15 of that season, finished third again, at 79-83. Rodríguez went on to eclipse the 40-homer mark in each season through 2003.

After Seattle traded Griffey to Cincinnati before the 2000 season, Rodríguez became the team leader. Scott Boras, his agent, said, “This begins the Alex Rodríguez era there. He’s going to be called upon to do a great deal more than his personal performance. Alex wants to bring a team attitude to the Mariners.”13 Rodríguez had another successful season, becoming the first shortstop to record at least 100 RBIs, 100 runs scored, and 100 walks in the same season. His 41 homers gave him three straight seasons at the 40-homer plateau and were a major factor in Seattle’s improving to 91-71. Their record secured them a second-place division finish and a wild-card berth in the playoffs.

In the three-game sweep over the Chicago White Sox in the American League Division Series, Rodríguez batted .308 (4-for-13) with two RBIs.

Rodríguez led his team in the Championship Series, batting .409 with two home runs and five RBIs, but the Mariners lost to the Yankees in six games. He finished third in the voting for the American League MVP.

When Rodríguez became a free agent after the 2000 season, his services were sought by several teams. He eventually signed the largest contract ever given to a professional athlete, $252 million over 10 years, to play with the Texas Rangers. Rangers owner Tom Hicks was quoted as saying that he “‘fell in love’ with Rodríguez and told Rodríguez’s agent that he would do whatever was necessary to sign him.”14

With the Rangers in 2001, Rodríguez had one of his best seasons. He played in all of his team’s games, hitting 52 home runs, scoring 133 runs, and amassing 393 total bases, each the best in the American League. He pounded a career-high 57 home runs in 2002 to again lead the league, and his 142 RBIs and 389 total bases were also the best in the league. Rodríguez won his first Gold Glove that year. His .987 fielding percentage was the highest of his career to that point.

Rodríguez married Cynthia Scurtis in 2002. They had two children, Natasha, born on November 18, 2004, and Ella, born on April 21, 2008. In July 2008, Cynthia filed for divorce in a highly publicized proceeding that focused on Alex’s infidelity.

Rodríguez earned his first MVP award in 2003. His 47 home runs were the best in the American League for the third consecutive year. Rodríguez also led the league in runs scored (124) and slugging percentage (.600). Despite his success at the plate, the Rangers failed to make the playoffs in each of A-Rod’s three years with the team, finishing below .500 in each season. And there was “an elephant” in the clubhouse. The identification of that problem, years later, would overshadow A-Rod’s success. It would bring into question the legitimacy and authenticity of any and all of the achievements by him, his teammates, and their adversaries.

After the 2003 season, Texas began to look for a way to trade Rodríguez. In December the Rangers reached an agreement to send A-Rod to the Boston Red Sox, but the Players Association vetoed the deal because it would have required a restructuring of Rodríguez’s contract with the Rangers.15 After Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone injured his ACL on January 16 and it was determined that he would miss the entire 2004 season, New York went shopping for a replacement. On February 16 Rodríguez was traded to the Yankees for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later (Joaquin Arias).16 The Rangers agreed to pick up $67 million of the remaining $179 million of Rodríguez’s contract to facilitate the trade.17

Scott Boras said that Rodríguez was looking forward to playing in New York. “He really is excited about the idea of going to the park every day as part of a winning environment, a team of that caliber, being a part of it. First base, center field, third base, just to be part of it would be worthwhile,” Boras said.18

Rodríguez had worn number 3 on his uniform throughout his career in Seattle and Texas, but that number was unavailable with the Yankees. Babe Ruth’s iconic number had been retired in 1948. Rodríguez chose 13, quarterback Dan Marino’s number with the Miami Dolphins. He explained his choice saying, “Thirteen was my number when I played quarterback [in high school] and carrying the legacy of Dan Marino and my roots in Miami to the Bronx was pretty cool.”19

Rodríguez moved to third base after joining the Yankees. Derek Jeter was established as New York’s shortstop, having played the position regularly since 1996. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said at the time, “You go with the man who brought you to the dance, and Derek Jeter continues to get us to the dance at that position. This move would not happen if Alex Rodríguez would not agree to switch positions and play third base.”20

The reunion of Jeter and Rodríguez was bittersweet. They had become the closest of friends after they first met in the spring of 1993 at a Michigan-Miami baseball game in Florida.21 The close friendship of the two of the three premier shortstops in the game (they shared the cover of a Sports Illustrated issue in February 1997) was fractured in 2001 when Rodríguez, in an interview with Esquire magazine, said, “Jeter’s been blessed with great talent around him. He’s never had to lead. He can just go and play and have fun. And he hits second – that’s totally different than third or fourth in a lineup. You go into New York, you wanna stop Bernie (Williams) and (Paul) O’Neill. You never say, ‘Don’t let Derek beat you.’ He’s never your concern.”22

In 2004 Rodríguez batted .286 with 36 home runs, 106 RBIs, 112 runs scored, and 28 stolen bases. It was the seventh consecutive season that he had hit at least 30 home runs, scored at least 100 times, and batted in 100 or more runs.

When the Yankees reached the postseason in 2004, Rodríguez played well in both the Division and Championship Series. He batted against .421 when New York eliminated the Twins three games to one in the ALDS. In the decisive fourth game, the score was tied 5-5 after nine innings and was not decided until the 11th inning. With one out, Rodríguez hit his second double of the game, stole third base, and scored on a wild pitch by Kyle Lohse.

In the ALCS, Rodríguez also hit well as the Yankees played the Red Sox for the American League crown. In Game Three, he tied the single-game postseason record when he scored five runs as the Yankees romped to a 19-8 win and were poised to return to the World Series in quest of their 27th Series championship. In Game Four, a third inning two-run homer by Rodríguez gave New York an early 2-0 lead. But after the lead had changed hands twice, the Red Sox tied the score in the bottom of the ninth and forced Game Five when David Ortiz homered in the bottom of the 12th inning. The Red Sox went on to win the series in seven games. A-Rod’s quest for a World Series ring went unfulfilled one more time.

Rodríguez had another outstanding season in 2005. He led the league in home runs (48), runs scored (124), and slugging percentage (.610). When he hit two home runs against the Brewers at Milwaukee on June 8, the second off Jorge De La Rosa in the eighth inning, he became the youngest player to reach the 400-home-run plateau. “It was a very special day for me, especially if you do it in a win that we needed most desperately,” he said.23 The 12-3 win broke a three-game losing streak and brought the team’s record to 29-30. They went on to post a 95-67 record, tying them for first place with the Red Sox and securing their 11th of what was to become 13 consecutive postseason berths.

The Yankees’ postseason lasted only five games as they fell to the Los Angeles Angels in the best-of-five ALDS. Rodríguez was not a factor in the series, batting just .133 with two hits.

He won his second MVP award, becoming one of five players to win the award with two different teams. When asked how he narrowly beat David Ortiz for the award, the outspoken Rodríguez said, “There are probably like 15 or 16 offensive categories, if you want to be a baseball junkie. I’m not sure, but I think I won in 10 or 12 of those. But I think defense, for the most part, and being a balanced player and also taking away a lot of runs on the defensive side was a major factor.”24

Rodríguez played in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in March 2006 as part of Team USA. Although the team, managed by Buck Martinez, was eliminated from the tournament in the second round (finishing eighth of the 16 teams entered) Rodríguez felt that he benefited from the experience of being part of the team. “To me, I got a little bumps and chills when I saw my uniform, No. 13, Rodríguez, and I saw the USA, the red, white, and blue, as corny as it sounds. This is an enormous deal. Nobody’s here for the money. You’re here for the pride, and to represent the U.S., and I like that part of it.”25

Rodríguez notched his 2,000th hit on July 21, 2006. It was also the 450th home run of his career and came off A.J. Burnett in a 7-3 loss at Toronto. Coming during what was to be a three-month batting and fielding slump, Rodríguez said, “In a week of so much criticism, it’s good to get a little reminder that you’ve done some special things in this game from an early age. I think it’s pretty cool.”26 He was named to the All-Star team for the 10th time in 11 seasons, but a World Series ring with the Yankees remained elusive.

The Yankees failed to get past the Division Series for the second consecutive year. Rodríguez got just one hit in the series as the Tigers came back to win three straight after losing the opener. When A-Rod was criticized for his 2006 performance, rumors circulated that he might opt out of his contract.27

But he told the press on November 15 that he was committed to staying in New York and improving. “There’s no question last year was a very challenging year for me personally, but I think New York wants to see people have a tough time and come out of it and fight through it,” Rodríguez said.28

The challenges of 2006 to which A-Rod referred stemmed from on-field frustrations which, in New York, were amplified by an always-present media onslaught. In what was considered an off-year by A-Rod standards, he batted .290 with 35 home runs and 121 RBIs. As Tom Verducci noted in Sports Illustrated, “his (year-end) statistics (couldn’t) erase the pain he felt during his three-month slip into a dark abyss, when he lost his confidence, withered under media and fan pressure, and, some teammates believe(d), worked a little too hard at keeping up appearances, displaying, per teammate Jason Giambi, ‘a false confidence.’”29

For three months, A-Rod had underperformed. From June 1 through August 30, he batted only .257. On defense, his fielding woes were amplified. On July 17, in a game at Yankee Stadium, he made three errors while going 0-for-4. Although the Yankees won the game, 4-2, there was a sense of frustration, and the headline in the New York Daily News, “E-Rod’s Night a Mess,” distracted from the win that kept the team within one-half game of the division-leading Red Sox.30

When Rodríguez showed up for spring training in 2007, he had lost 12-14 pounds and was down to about 225 pounds. He also worked on his swing with the new Yankees hitting coach, Kevin Long, over the winter. Rodríguez “shortened his swing, examined video, tried to cut down on upper- and lower-body movement, worked on trying to swing less forcefully and with a more technical approach.”31

Rodríguez started the season on a tear, and it was clear that his hard work had paid off. By the end of April, he had 14 homers and 34 RBIs. When asked about Rodríguez on April 19, by which time Rodríguez had 10 homers, including two of the walk-off variety, Jeter said, “I haven’t seen anything like it before. It’s like everything he hits is a home run.”32 The Yankee captain added, “It’s fun to watch. Everyone should enjoy it.”33

A year later, when asked to contribute a memory or two to Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective, Rodríguez remembered the April 7 walk-off grand slam against Baltimore:

“You dream of situations like that. To be able to come through and have the Stadium go crazy was pretty special. Bottom of the ninth, two strikes (the count was 1-2), bases loaded – that’s as good as it gets. I was the happiest guy in the Stadium. Sixty thousand people, and I was the happiest one. Right when I hit it, I knew it was a home run. It’s a feeling you get.”34

Rodríguez’s success continued through the rest of the season. He hit his 500th home run on August 4 off Kyle Davies of Kansas City to become the youngest player, at age 32, to reach that milestone. “I acted like a goofball running around the bases, but you only hit 500 once,” he said. “It was awesome and then you kind of get that high school reception when you hit a home run and all of the guys are out of the dugout. Pretty cool.”35

Rodríguez ended up leading the American League in runs scored (143), home runs (54), RBIs (a career-high 156), and slugging percentage (.645). The Yankees lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third consecutive year. Rodríguez batted .267 (4-for-15), including one home run in the best-of-five Division Series as New York lost to the Cleveland Indians in four games.

Rodríguez earned his third MVP award in 2007. He noted that there was still something missing. “There’s definitely a huge hole in the resume. It’s my third MVP and I’m here to say that I would trade all three for one world championship. I wouldn’t think twice about it.”36

Throughout the 2007 season, Rodríguez had told the press that he wanted to remain with the Yankees even though he could opt out of his contract. But during the fourth game of the World Series, Scott Boras announced that Rodríguez would not return to the Yankees, causing an uproar due to the timing of the announcement.

Bob Dupuy, MLB’s chief operating officer, said, “We were very disappointed that Scott Boras would try to upstage our premier baseball event of the season with his announcement. There was no reason to make an announcement last night other than to try to put his selfish interests and that of one individual player above the overall good of the game.”37 Rodríguez eventually signed a new 10-year contract with the Yankees. He severed his relationship with Boras in the process.

Rodríguez had another solid season in 2008. He batted .302 with 35 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a league-leading .573 slugging percentage. But it was not enough to help the Yankees reach the postseason, as they finished in third place in the AL East under new manager Joe Girardi.

Rodríguez’s name became linked to steroid use in early 2009. Sports Illustrated published a story on its website saying that he tested positive for the anabolic steroid Primobolan in 2003 while with the Texas Rangers.38 Although Rodríguez had, as early as a December 17, 2007, interview on 60 Minutes, denied using steroids,39 he eventually said in an ESPN interview that “[w]hen I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform and perform at a high level every day. I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance. And for that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful.”40

On March 4, 2009, Rodríguez was diagnosed with a torn labrum and cyst in his right hip that required surgery41 and forced him to miss the World Baseball Classic (he was scheduled to play for the Dominican Republic) and the first month of the season. After he returned, Rodríguez continued to set records. By the end of the season, he had hit 583 home runs, placing him 10th on the all-time list. Despite playing in only 124 games, Rodríguez was second on the Yankees in homers (30) and RBIs (100).

The Yankees returned to the postseason in 2009. They swept the Division Series against the Minnesota Twins and, in the ALCS, beat the Los Angeles Angels in six games to return to the World Series for the first time in eight years. Rodríguez excelled in both series. He was 5-for-11 against the Twins with a pair of homers including a seventh-inning blast in the third game that gave the Yankees their first run of the game. Against the Angels, he went 9-for-21 with three home runs and six RBIs.

The Yankees faced the Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series and won the championship in six games. Rodríguez played important roles in New York’s wins in Games Three and Four. In Game Three, his two-run homer in the fourth inning put the Yankees on the scoreboard, and they went on to gain an 8-5 win. The next day, he came to bat in the top of the ninth inning with the score tied, 4-4. There were two outs and runners on the corners. His double scored Johnny Damon with the lead run and the Yankees went on to win the game, 7-4.

Rodríguez was chosen by the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America as postseason MVP. Upon receiving the organization’s Babe Ruth Award, he said, “I’ve been to these dinners a couple of times to receive MVP awards and those, I’m very proud of those accomplishments. But none of those accomplishments will ever compare to the feeling you get from being part of a team that won a world championship.”42

Rodríguez continued to produce in 2010, and, in the last season in which he drove in more than 100 runs, he reached another major milestone. He hit his 600th home run on August 4, the third anniversary of his 500th homer, becoming the youngest player to have done it. The two-run first-inning homer came off Toronto’s Shaun Marcum in a 5-1 win at Yankee Stadium. Rodríguez had 30 homers and 125 RBIs in 2010. It was the 13th year in a row that he had at least 30 homers and 100 RBIs, something no other player had ever accomplished. In postseason play, the Yankees defeated the Twins in the division championship before bowing in six games to the Rangers in the ALCS.

In 2011 the 35-year-old Rodríguez batted .276 with just 16 home runs and 62 RBIs, his lowest totals since 1995. He missed 38 consecutive games from July 8 through August 20 after arthroscopic surgery during which, per writer J.R. Moehringer, “the doctor sanded and shaved the ball joint of his left leg, to help it fit more smoothly into the hip socket.”43 Rodríguez played in only 99 games for the season, missing half his team’s games after his return. The Yankees returned to the postseason but fell to Detroit in the best-of-five ALDS, with Rodríguez managing only two singles in 18 at-bats.

Rodríguez, fully recovered from his surgery, played in 94 of his team’s first 97 games in 2012. For the first time in his career, he had significant time as a DH. In those first 94 appearances, 26 were as a DH and three were as a pinch-hitter. On July 24 at Seattle, he was hit on his left hand by a pitch thrown by Felix Hernandez of the Mariners. He suffered a nondisplaced fracture44 and missed 36 games, returning to action on September 3. But his production remained low. At the time of his injury, he was batting only .276 and had hit 15 homers in 352 at-bats (one per 23.47 at-bats), well off his career pace of one homer per 14.62 at-bats.

In 2012, for the second time since 1999, A-Rod failed to be named to the American League All-Star team. The then 36-year-old Rodríguez batted only .272 for the season with 18 homers and 57 RBIs. In the postseason, the Yankees defeated Baltimore in the ALDS before falling to Detroit in the ALCS. Rodríguez again had a bad postseason, batting only .120 (3-for-25) in the two series.

Rodríguez had further surgery on his left hip on January 16, 2013, to bring back flexibility in his body. Years of stress on his 6-foot-3-inch, 230-pound frame had resulted in a calcium buildup that could be remedied only by what was termed a “miracle surgery” by Dr. Bryan Kelly.45 After six months of rehabilitation, he prepared to return to the Yankees in July. Two days before he was scheduled to join the Yankees, he injured his quadriceps muscle. He finally rejoined the Yankees in August and was in their starting lineup on August 5.

During his recovery from the second surgery, newspaper accounts linked Rodríguez to Biogenesis, a Florida company that was being investigated for providing performance-enhancing substances to baseball players.46

On August 5, the day that Rodríguez returned to the Yankees lineup, MLB announced that 13 players, Rodríguez among them, had been suspended. He received the longest suspension, 211 days (each of the others received a 50-day suspension), and immediately announced that he was going to fight it.47

The 2013 season was Rodríguez’s least productive to date. While contesting his suspension, he played in 44 games, batted .244, and hit only seven home runs to go with 19 RBIs. The only meaningful highlight of that tumultuous season came when he hit his 24th grand slam on September 20 to break Lou Gehrig’s major-league record. He would end his career with 25 grand slams, still, as of 2021, the major-league record.

Early in 2014, Rodríguez confronted the reality of his situation and realized that pursuing the fight against his suspension was only hurting him. He accepted his fate.

Rodríguez’s suspension was upheld, and he missed the entire 2014 season. Late in 2014, newspaper stories detailed Rodríguez having, in testimony given early in the year, admitted to using PEDs starting in 2010.48 Rodríguez met with Commissioner Bud Selig in early 2015. Shortly thereafter, he released a letter to baseball fans saying:

“I take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season. … I accept the fact that many of you will not believe my apology or anything that I say at this point. I understand why and that’s on me. … I’m ready to put this chapter behind me and play some ball. This game has been my single biggest passion since I was a teenager. When I go to Spring Training, I will do everything I can to be the best player and teammate possible, earn a spot on the Yankees and help us win.”49

Rodríguez was in the Yankees’ lineup in 2015, but he was used primarily as a designated hitter. The time off had not slowed down his offense. Although Rodríguez struggled in the final two months of the season, he finished with a team-best 33 home runs. The Yankees lost to the Houston Astros in the wild-card game; Rodríguez did not get a hit in the game, his last postseason competition.

The highlight of his season came when he reached the 3,000-hit milestone on June 19 with a home run off Detroit’s Justin Verlander in a 7-2 Yankee win. “I’m grateful. I’m extremely appreciative to the Yankees for giving me an opportunity to put the uniform back on. There were days last year I never thought I would sometimes get that uniform back on, to be able to play in this stadium in front of these fans,” he said after the game. “Everything about this year has been a surprise. I’ve never enjoyed the game as much as I have this year.”50

Rodríguez struggled again in 2016. He spent most of May on the disabled list with a strained hamstring in his right leg, and when he returned, he never could find his stride at the plate. His final home run, the 696th of his career, came on July 18 against Kevin Gausman in a 2-1 win against the Orioles. It put him fourth on the all-time list for career homers and first among American League right-handed batters.

Rodríguez had hit only nine home runs with 29 RBIs when he stated, on August 7, 2016, that his final game would be on August 12. The Yankees also announced that he would become a special adviser to the club. “This is a tough day,” Rodríguez said. “I love this game, and I love this team, and today I am saying goodbye to both. I do want to be remembered as someone who was madly in love with the game of baseball. I also will hopefully be remembered as someone who tripped and fell a lot but kept getting up.”51

Rodríguez’s ledger as a player was complete: a career batting average of .295 with 3,115 hits, 696 homers, 2,086 RBIs, 329 stolen bases, three MVP Awards, 14 All-Star Game appearances, 10 Silver Slugger Awards, two Golden Gloves, and one championship World Series ring.

His legacy as a man was far from complete.

After his playing days, Rodríguez involved himself in broadcasting. He joined Fox Sports as a baseball analyst in 2017 after two stints working the postseason for the network. The following year Rodríguez joined ESPN for its Sunday Night Baseball broadcasts, an assignment he still had as of 2021. His analyses during broadcasts reveal him to be a keen observer of the game.

Rodríguez, who had been romantically linked with performer Madonna at the time of his divorce in 2008, was often seen dating prominent and beautiful women including actresses Kate Hudson and Cameron Diaz. He began dating singer and actress Jennifer Lopez in February 2017. The couple announced their engagement on March 9, 2019, but on April 15, 2021, the relationship came to an end.52 As of 2021, the main ladies in A-Rod’s life were his daughters, Natasha, who was 16 in 2021, and Ella, 13.

During the time that he was engaged to Jennifer Lopez, the couple was involved in many business enterprises, among them being, in 2020, an attempt to buy the New York Mets. They eventually lost out in the bidding to billionaire Steve Cohen.53

On May 14, 2021, it was announced that Rodríguez and investment partner Marc Lore had purchased the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association and the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Final approval from the NBA Board of Governors was pending in 2021.54

His celebrity should not cause even the most casual observer to forget that over the course of a big-league career that began in 1994 and ended in 2016, Rodríguez was one of the most exciting players of his generation. But his image became tarnished and his legacy uncertain when his steroid use was publicized and subsequently acknowledged.

After the 2021 season Rodríguez’s name will appear on the Hall of Fame ballot for the first time. Others on the ballot include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Curt Schilling, and former MVP rival David Ortiz.

As noted by Andrew Simon of the MLB Network, “The 2022 voting cycle is likely to be just the beginning of a protracted conversation about Rodríguez’s candidacy and baseball legacy.”55 It is, in truth, a conversation that began with the “elephant” in the Texas Rangers’ clubhouse two decades earlier.

Regardless of the Hall of Fame balloting, A-Rod’s legacy, like that of Babe Ruth, will in large part be forged by his impact on youngsters. For many of them, his achievements as a player have been matched by his philanthropy. While in New York, he became involved with the United Youth Baseball League in the Bronx, where the kids looked up to him. He also involved himself in philanthropic pursuits in Miami.

In 2009, on the day after the Yankees had clinched the American League championship, Alex Rodríguez visited a parochial school in the Bronx serving at-risk kids. As told by Ray Negron, he traded high fives with the kids seated along the sides of the center aisle of the school’s auditorium as he walked to the stage. Any fatigue from the night before disappeared as he stood on the stage and spoke to the audience. He gave an impassioned speech about the importance of reading. As the kids cheered wildly, the observer could see that Alex understood the magnitude and importance of what he meant to them.56

That understanding, despite some well-documented ups and downs, has continued to grow.

Last revised: July 14, 2021

Acknowledgments

Preliminary research and identification of sources was done by Thomas J. Brown Jr. This biography was reviewed by Warren Corbett, fact-checked by Carl Riechers, and edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author used Baseball-Reference.com and the following:

Berman, Len. The 25 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time, (Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks, 2010), 120-125.

Elfrink, Tim, and Gus Garcia-Roberts. Blood Sport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis, and the Quest to End Baseball’s Steroid Era (New York: Dutton, 2014).

Posnanski, Joe. “The End of an Era,” Sports Illustrated, February 16, 2009. https://vault.si.com/vault/2009/02/16/the-end-of-an-era

Notes

1 J.R. Moehringer, “The Education of Alex Rodriguez: Six Months, Four Cities, Two Coasts and One Batman Suit – We Chronicle the Fallen Slugger’s Winding Road Back to Pinstripes,” ESPN, The Magazine, February 18, 2015. https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/12321274/alex-rodriguez-return-new-york-yankees.

2 Jack Curry, “Matching Pinstripes with Camouflage, Alex Rodriguez and Half-Brother Are Years and Worlds Apart,” New York Times, September 4, 2007: D1, D5; Arnie Starks, “Alex Rodriguez Thinks His Half Brother Victor’s Career Is ‘Far More Impressive’ Than His Own,” Sportscasting.com, June 12, 2020. https://www.sportscasting.com/alex-rodriguez-thinks-his-half-brother-victors-career-is-far-more-impressive-than-his-own/.

3 Bob Finnigan, “Missing Dad – In the 13 Years Since His Father Left, Alex Rodriguez Has Found Fortune and Fame in Seattle, but Has Been Unable to Reconcile with the Man Who Vanished,” Seattle Times, March 22, 1998. D-1.

4 Finnigan.

5 Ian O’Connor, The Captain, The Journey of Derek Jeter (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2011), 129.

6 Quotation from Julie K. Brown, “Before He Was A-Rod,” Miami Herald website, August 3, 2013. Retrieved from “A Look Back at A-Rod’s Ties to Miami,” Miami Herald website, August 7, 2016. https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/article94243292.html.

7 “#TBT to When Alex Rodriguez Was ALL-USA Player of the Year in High School,” USA Today.com, August 11, 2016. https://usatodayhss.com/2016/tbt-to-when-alex-rodriguez-was-all-usa-player-of-the-year-in-high-school.

8 Associated Press, “M’s Rodriguez Glad That Long Contract Hassle Is Over,” Longview (Washington) Daily News, August 31, 1993: D1; Mike Phillips, “Rodriguez Gets ‘Record’ Deal,” Miami Herald, August 31, 1993: D1, D5.

9 Corey Brock, “Rodriguez Has No Doubt He Should Stay in Seattle,” Tacoma News Tribune, reprinted in Spokane Spokesman Review, June 15, 1995: C4.

10 Selena Roberts, A-ROD: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez (New York: Harper-Collins, 2009), 91.

11 Associated Press, “M’s Give Shortstop Job to Alex Rodriguez,” Longview Daily News, February 24, 1996: B3.

12 Laura Vecsey, “Junior, Not Gonzalez, Beats Out Rodriguez,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reprinted in Spokane Spokesman Review, November 17, 1996: C10.

13 Associated Press, “M’s A-Rod Won’t Be Traded This Season,” Longview Daily News, March 9, 2000: B3.

14 Murray Chass, “Rodriguez Strikes It Rich in Texas,” New York Times, December 12, 2000: D1.

15 Ken Davidoff and Jon Heyman, “Trade Interrupted: Union Rejects Rodriguez Ramirez Deal,” Newsday, December 18, 2003: A84.

16 Ken Davidoff and Jon Heyman, “A Wild Pitch to A-Rod,” Newsday, February 16, 2004: A2, A3.

17 Ian O’Connor, The Captain, The Journey of Derek Jeter, 246.

18 Bill Madden and Anthony McCarron, “World A-Waits,” New York Daily News, February 16, 2004: 53.

19 Alfred Santasiere III, “Yankees Magazine: Crossing Routes: Alex Rodriguez and Dan Marino – Legends of Baseball and Football – Caught up with Each Other in Miami,” MLB.com, March 28, 2016. https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-a-rod-nfl-s-marino-legends-in-miami-c169449928.

20 Joh Delcos, “Deal Is Done – Questions Just Starting,” White Plains (New York) Journal News, February 17, 2004: C1.

21 Ian O’Connor, The Captain, The Journey of Derek Jeter, 123-126, 129.

22 Scott Raab, “Jackpot,” Esquire, April 1, 2001. https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a1578/alex-rodriguez-esquire-2001/.

23 “Around the American League: At 29, A-Rod Youngest to Reach 400 Home Runs,” Chicago Tribune, June 9, 2005: Section 4, 4.

24 Jack Curry, “Rodriguez Is the Complete M.V.P.,” New York Times, November 15, 2005: D1, D6.

25 Bob Baum, “Star-Studded U.S. Team Begins Practice,” Reno Gazette Journal, March 4, 2006: B3.

26 Sam Borden, “A-Rod’s Blast-A,” New York Daily News, July 22, 2006: 52.

27 Ken Davidoff, “Time for A-Rod to Go,” Newsday, October 8, 2006: B8.

28 Tyler Kepner, “Rodriguez Says He’s Committed to Yankees,” New York Times, November 16, 2006: D2.

29 Tom Verducci, “A-Rod Agonistes,” Sports Illustrated, September 25, 2006. https://vault.si.com/vault/2006/09/25/arod-agonistes.

30 Filip Bondy, “E-Rod’s Night a Mess: Field of Screams Ends After Three Hours, Bad Toe,” New York Daily News, July 18, 2006: 62-63.

31 Associated Press, “A-Rod’s Amazing April,” Poughkeepsie (New York) Journal, April 23, 2007: 5C.

32 “A-Rod’s Amazing April.”

33 Barbara Barker, “How Bizarre! Hot Streak Turning A-Rod from Reviled Superstar into Fan Favorite,” Newsday, April 20, 2007: 84-85.

34 Mark Vancil and Alfred Santasiere III, Yankee Stadium: The Official Retrospective (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2008), 173.

35 Associated Press, “Rodriguez Becomes Youngest in Baseball History to Hit 500 Home Runs,” ESPN.com, August 4, 2007. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story?id=2961185&src=desktop.

36 Ronald Blum (Associated Press), “A-Rod Wins Third MVP,” Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin, November 20, 2007: 1C.

37 “Yankees Bid Farewell to A-Rod After Likely MVP Opts Out,” ESPN.com, October 29, 2007. https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3085166.

38 Selena Roberts and David Epstein, “Sources Tell SI Alex Rodriguez Tested Positive for Steroids in 2003,” SI.com, February 7, 2009. https://www.si.com/mlb/2009/02/07/alex-rodriguez-steroids

39 “Eye to Eye: A-Rod Speaks Out,” 60 Minutes, December 17, 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVcqLt9sJLs.

40 “A-Rod Admits, Regrets Use of PEDs,” ESPN.com, February 9, 2009. https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=3894847; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8zy1mW1QHI.

41 Mark Feinsand and Corky Siesmaszko, “He Should Be Okay-Rod: ‘No Surprises’ as Yankee Slugger Gets Hip Fix in Colo.,” New York Daily News, March 10, 2009: 5.

42 Associated Press, “Rodriguez Chokes up During Speech,” ESPN.com, January 24, 2010. https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4853444.

43 J.R. Moehringer, “The Education of Alex Rodriguez.”

44 Tim Booth (Associated Press), “With Rodriguez on Shelf, Chavez Gets Opportunity,” Franklin (Indiana) Daily Journal. July 26, 2012: B2.

45 Cork Gaines, “Alex Rodriguez is on Fire at Age 39, and a ‘Miracle Surgery’ He Had in 2013 Is a Huge Reason Why,” Business Insider, August 20, 2015. https://www.businessinsider.com/alex-rodriguez-arod-surgery-mlb-yankees-2015-4.

46 Jane Woodridge, “A Year of Transformation for Miami’s Alex Rodriguez,” Miami Herald, October 31, 2015. https://www.miamiherald.com/article42080511.html.

47 Andrew Seligman, “Yankees’ Rodriguez Digs in for His Appeal,” Rochester (New York) Democrat and Chronicle, August 6, 2013: 3D.

48 Jim Weaver, “A-Rod’s Confession,” Miami Herald, November 6, 2014: 1A, 2A.

49 Russell Berman, “A-Rod’s Desperate Search for Authenticity,” The Atlantic, February 18, 2015. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/02/arods-apology-handwritten-letter-fans-authenticity/385591/.

50 Tyler Kepner, “Alex Rodriguez at No. 3,000, with Bullet and Asterisk,” New York Times, June 20, 2015: D1.

51 David Waldstein, “Alex Rodriguez to Retire and Join Yankees as an Adviser,” New York Times, August 8, 2016: D1.

52 Frank Lovece, “J-Rod: We Are Better as Friends,” Newsday, August 16, 2021: A18; Madeleine Marr, “It’s Official: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez Have Split: For Real, This Time,” Miami Herald, April 18, 2021: 4D.

53 Dennis Young, “Thanks a Billion: Cohen Reaches Agreement to Buy Mets at Last,” New York Daily News, September 15, 2020: 32.

54 Marc Stein, “Alex Rodriguez and Partner Reach Deal on Timberwolves and Lynx,” New York Times, May 14, 2021. https://www.proquest.com/usmajordailies/docview/2526924755/fulltext/C68A4A4DB3EF48AFPQ/1?accountid=46995.

55 Andrew Simon, “Storylines to Watch on ’22 Hall of Fame Ballot,” MLB.com, January 26, 2021. https://www.mlb.com/news/hall-of-fame-ballot-2022-storylines#:~:text=While%20the%202022%20ballot%20won,Jonathan%20Papelbon%20and%20Ryan%20Howard.

56 Ray Negron and Sally Cook, Yankee Miracles: Life with the Boss and the Bronx Bombers (New York: Liveright Publishing, 2012), 202.