WHY I THINK GINGER BEAUMONT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK GINGER BEAUMONT SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Ginger Beaumont was always unappreciated. Who thinks that keeping a 1902 NL batting title winner, a four time league leader in hits, a seven time .300 hitter out of the Hall of Fame is a good idea? Clearly, there is a problem there. It is true that he played a lot with Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke, plus the great Tommy Leach, so he was rarely the best player on his team, and that was certainly one of the reasons why he never got in. Ginger Beaumont was as good a leadoff hitter as anyone who ever set foot on a baseball field. He was also an excellent defensive centerfielder with a lot of speed to spare. Ginger Beaumont started his career with the Pirates in 1899 and showed that he was a dangerous hitter as there was in baseball, as he batted a robust .352 as a rookie. He slowed to .279 in 1900 but had another great year in 1901 when he recorded a .332 batting mark. An instant hit with the fans, he captured his only batting championship in 1902. Beaumont continued to shine in 1903 when he batted .341 and helped the Pirates to the World Series. One of the biggest reasons for their defeat was that the Boston pitchers limited him to a .265 batting average during the Series. Beaumont had two more .300 seasons before he hit a dead end in 1906. Limited to only 80 games during the season, Pittsburg (the “h” wasn’t added until 1911) assumed that he was washed up and traded him to the Boston Braves. Beaumont surprised everybody in 1907 when he hit .322 but didn’t top the .270 mark again for the rest of his career. He retired after batting .267 in 76 games in 1910. Ginger Beaumont was one of the finest leadoff batters in the history of baseball, a fine centerfielder and a gifted baserunner. He certainly had the skills to be a Hall of Famer. If only he were ever appreciated. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,463 season high: 153 in 1904 led NL: 141 in 1903 

At Bats career: 5,660 season high: 615 in 1904 led NL: 613 in 1903, 615 in 1904 

Hits career: 1,759 season high: 209 in 1903 led NL: 193 in 1902, 209 in 1903, 185 in 1904, 187 in 1907 

Doubles career: 182 season high: 30 in 1903 

Triples career: 82 season high: 14 in 1907 

Home Runs career: 39 season high: 8 in 1901 

Runs career: 955 season high: 137 in 1903 led NL: 137 in 1903 

Runs Batted In career: 617 season high: 72 in 1901 

Stolen Bases career: 254 season high: 36 in 1901 

Walks career: 425 season high: 44 in 1901 and 1903 

Strikeouts career: 314 season high: 40 in 1902 

Batting Average career: .311 season high: .357 in 1902 led NL: .357 in 1902 

On Base Percentage career: .362 season high: .404 in 1902 

Slugging Percentage career: .393 season high: .444 in 1903 

Total Bases career: 2,222 season high: 272 in 1903 led NL: 272 in 1903 

Sacrifice Hits career: 166 season high: 23 in 1904 

Fielding Percentage career: .956 season high: .969 in 1909 

Double Plays career: 53 season high: 12 in 1907 led NL CF: 12 in 1907 

Putouts career: 2,860 season high: 296 in 1907 

Assists career: 168 season high: 30 in 1907 led NL CF: 30 in 1907 

DID YOU KNOW?

-batted lefthanded and threw righthanded 

-stole 30 or more bases in a season three times 

-scored 100 or more runs in a season in four years in a row from 1900 through 1903 

-led the NL in singles in 1902, 1903, 1904, and 1907 

-led NL centerfielders in games in 1904 and 1907 

-was the first player ever to bat in a modern World Series game 

-collected six hits in one game on July 22, 1899, and scored six runs in the same game 

-went 1-for-3 in his final MLB game 

-his 12 double plays from centerfied in 1902 are the second most of all time

-ranks 15th all time with 27 career inside the park home runs

-also played 18 games in leftfield, five in rightfield, two at first base, 46 as a pinch hitter and two as a pinch runner