WHY I THINK PETE BROWNING SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK PETE BROWNING SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

Pete Browning is only now remembered as the first person to have his baseball bat custom made. He was the one who helped the Hillerich & Bradsby bat company to so much success, but Browning was also one of the finest hitters ever at the plate. He was the author of three batting titles, a .400 season and a lifetime .341 batting average. He also was one of the few to steal 100 bases (103) in a season, and was also one of the few to reach 100 RBI’s in a season on less than ten home runs, in 1887. He wasn’t a spectacular defender, but he did have a strong arm that few would run on, which was quite an advantage considering the era in which he played. Browning would often suffer injuries that caused him immense pain and headaches, and almost left him completely deaf, and he used alcohol to ease the pain. He was still the best player of his time despite his medical afflictions. Pete Browning started his career with the American Association Louisville Eclipse in 1882, batting .378 to capture his first batting title. He batted .338 and .336 in his next two seasons (and acquired his first custom bat)  before hitting .362 in 1885 to capture his second batting title. Browning batted .340 in 1886 and lost the batting title by one point to the great pitcher Guy Hecker, and batted .402 in 1887 while becoming the first man to collect 200 hits in a season (tied with 19th-century  greats Tip O’Neill, Sam Thompson and Denny Lyons). His batting averages fell all the way down to .313 in 1888 and .256 in 1889, which resulted in his trade to the Cleveland Infants of the one-year Players League. It proved to be a big mistake, as Browning led the PL with a .373 batting average and 40 doubles. Browning split his 1891 season between the Pirates and the Reds, batting a combined .317. He also split his 1892 season with the Reds and the Colonels, and he batted .292 between them that year. Browning batted .355 with the Louisville Colonels in 57 games in 1893 and .333 (3-for-9) in three games with the NL St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Grooms in 1894 before retiring, the pain being too much to bear at that point. Pete Browning was one of the best high average hitters in baseball history and a fine base stealer (even though he mostly refused to slide) whose play was certainly Hall of Fame worthy. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS

Games career: 1,183 season high: 134 in 1887 led AA: 112 in 1885

At Bats career: 4,820 season high: 547 in 1887

Hits career: 1,646 season high: 220 in 1887 led AA: 174 in 1885

Doubles career: 295 season high: 40 in 1890 led PL: 40 in 1890

Triples career: 85 season high: 16 in 1887

Home Runs career: 46 season high: 9 in 1885

Runs career: 954 season high: 137 in 1887

Runs Batted In career: 659 season high: 118 in 1887

Stolen Bases career: 258 season high: 103 in 1887 (Stolen Bases weren’t counted from 1882 through 1885) 

Walks career: 466 season high: 75 in 1890

Strikeouts career: 245 season high: 54 in 1891 (Strikeouts weren’t counted from 1882 through 1886)

Batting Average career: .341 season high: .402 in 1887 led AA: .378 in 1882, .362 in 1885, .373 in 1890

On Base Percentage career: .403 season high: .464 in 1887 led AA: .430 in 1882, .393 in 1885

Slugging Percentage career: .467 season high: .547 in 1887 led AA: .510 in 1882

Total Bases career: 2,249 season high: 299 in 1887 led AA: 255 in 1885

Sacrifice Hits career: 0 (Sacrifice Hits weren’t counted from 1882 through 1893)

Fielding Percentage career: .880 season high: .916 in 1892 (the league fielding percentage was .892)

Double Plays career: 96 season high: 31 in 1882

Putouts career: 2,490 season high: 281 in 1887

Assists career: 535 season high: 94 in 1883

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “Gladiator” and the original “Louisville Slugger” 

-hit for the cycle twice in his career (once in 1886 and once in 1889) 

-got three hits in the first game in which he used a custom bat 

-pitched ⅓ of an inning in 1884 and also played 75 games at third base, 49 at second base, 44 at shortstop and 26 at first base

-led the American Association in OPS twice and times on base three times

-his .341 career batting average ranks as the 13th best of all time

-averaged 225 hits, 40 doubles and 131 runs scored per 162 games throughout his career 

-holds the highest career batting average in the American Association (.345), two points better than the second place batter, Tip O’Neill himself