WHY I THINK STEVE O’NEILL SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK STEVE O’NEILL SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

By- Damien 

The reason that I believe Steve O’Neill should be in the Hall of Fame is because he was one of the greats as both a manager and as a player. He played as a catcher and was one of the best of his time, and as a manager he went 1,040-821-18 lifetime and had a winning record in every single season in which he managed, including the 1945 World Series Champion Detroit Tigers. As a player, O’Neill started his career for nine games in 1911 and batted only .228 in 69 games in 1912. He bettered that mark to .295 (80 games) and .253 (87 games) in his next two seasons. O’Neill slowed offensively in his next four seasons but batted .289 in 1919 and .321 for the 1920 World Series Champion Indians. He batted .333 with four walks and three doubles in the World Series. He hit .322 and .311 in the two following seasons, but slipped to marks under .250 in the next two seasons. He hit well in a short stint in 1925 but took the 1926 season off. He played roughly half a season in 1927, showing signs of age and injury bringing him down, and finished out his playing career by batting .292 in only ten games in 1928, having injured himself in a car accident. O’Neill was a pretty calm manager (only eight career ejections in 1,879 games) and that certainly contributed to his success. He was also a very smart manager, taking his great knowledge of the battery from his playing days to his managing days. When O’Neill managed the Tigers to the top in 1945, that made him one of the handful to win a World Series both as a player and as a manager without being a player-manager. Steve O’Neill was one of the game’s best catchers and also one of the best-ever managers. A man with such skill to play seventeen years as the man in the iron mask and successfully manage for fourteen seasons certainly deserves a spot in Cooperstown. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,590 season high: 149 in 1920 

At Bats career: 5,566 season high: 489 in 1920 

Hits career: 1,239 season high: 157 in 1920 

Doubles career: 248 season high: 39 in 1920 

Triples career: 34 season high: 7 in 1918 and 1919 

Home Runs career: 13 season high: 3 in 1920 

Runs career: 448 season high: 63 in 1920 

Runs Batted In career: 534 season high: 65 in 1922  

Stolen Bases career: 30 season high: 5 in 1913 

Walks career: 592 season high: 73 in 1922 

Strikeouts career: 414 season high: 55 in 1917 

Batting Average career: .263 season high: .322 in 1921 

On Base Percentage career: .349 season high: .424 in 1921 

Slugging Percentage career: .337 season high: .440 in 1920 

Total Bases career: 1,614 season high: 215 in 1920 

Sacrifice Hits career: 130 season high: 15 in 1920 

Fielding Percentage career: .972 season high: .983 in 1918 and 1927 led AL C: .983 in 1918 

Double Plays career: 199 season high: 36 in 1916 led AL C: 22 in 1914, 36 in 1916, 19 in 1917, 16 in 1919, 20 in 1920 

Putouts career: 5,968 season high: 576 in 1920  

Assists career: 1,698 season high: 175 in 1915 led AL C: 175 in 1915, 154 in 1918 

Games Managed career: 1,879 season high: 158 in 1947 

Wins career: 1,040 season high: 92 in 1946 

Losses career: 821 season high: 76 in 1943 and 1946 

Ties career: 18 season high: season high: 4 in 1947 

Winning Percentage career: .559 season high: .597 in 1946 

Ejections career: 8 season high: 2 in 1947 and 1953 

Pennants 1945 AL 

World Series 1945 

DID YOU KNOW?

-brother of Jack, Jim, and Mike O’Neill

-went 1-for-4 with a stolen base on his MLB debut 

-hit 35 doubles in 1919 and had five seasons with over 20 

-finished sixth in the AL MVP Award voting in 1922 and 24th in 1913 

-owns a .469 career caught stealing percentage 

-hit home runs off of Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson, and another one off of Carl Mays 

-led the AL in games caught in 1916 (128) and 1918 (113) 

-owns five of the top 50 seasons in double plays at catcher, including the all time record of 36 in 1916

-threw out the most runners attempting to steal in the AL in 1915 (99), 1916 (86), and 1918 (80) 

-played a game at first base in 1914 and 65 others as a pinch hitter 

-among MLB catchers, ranks 32nd in games caught, second in double plays (behind Hall of Famer Ray Schalk), third in assists (behind Deacon McGuire and Schalk), and 13th in runners thrown out stealing 

-was inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame in 1951