WHY I THINK HERMAN LONG SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK HERMAN LONG SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

If Herman Long’s name sounds familiar, I bet I know where you have heard it before. He made more errors than any other player in MLB history. A shortstop who played in the Majors from 1889 through 1904, Long committed 1,096 career errors, but if you remember the best gloves they had then were four-fingered mitts with a slight bit of padding. Gloves were still designed by then to let the fielder’s hand catch the ball, not the glove itself, unlike modern gloves that surround baseballs from all angles. Long was actually a very good fielder in his day who won two fielding titles and was adept at getting to balls that other infielders could only stare at. He was also a great hitter and one of the best baserunners that baseball has ever seen. Herman Long started his career with the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association in 1889 in spectacular fashion, with a .275 batting average, 89 stolen bases, and 137 runs scored in 136 games. The NL Boston Beaneaters purchased his contract before the start of the 1890 season and Long performed very well in 101 games, if not as amazingly as he did the year before. He batted over .280 in each of his next three seasons before he hit his peak. After five seasons in the Majors, Long had 293 stolen bases, four 100-run scored seasons, and a World Series ring. He batted .324 in 1894 and no lower than .315 until 1898, when he sagged to a .265 mark but had 99 RBI's Long drove in 100 runs for the second time in 1899 and led the Major Leagues in home runs in 1900. He lost his batting eye in 1901, finishing at a mere .216, and lost his big RBI skills by 1903. Although his fielding skills improved very drastically (as the gloves improved), he was growing older and losing appeal with MLB teams. Long played in one last game in 1904 for the Phillies, grabbing his last hit in the Big Leagues, and retired after the season at the age of 38. Herman Long was a fantastic hitter, a spectacular run producer, an amazing baserunner, and a fine fielder. He was a five tool player in every sense of the word, and his batting statistics alone are Hall of Fame worthy for any middle infielder who ever played the game. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,875 season high: 151 in 1892 

At Bats career: 7,678 season high: 646 in 1892 

Hits career: 2,129 season high: 181 in 1892 

Doubles career: 342 season high: 33 in 1892 

Triples career: 97 season high: 12 in 1891 

Home Runs career: 91 season high: 12 in 1894 and 1900 led NL: 12 in 1900 

Runs career: 1,456 season high: 149 in 1893 led NL: 149 in 1893 

Runs Batted In career: 1,055 season high: 101 in 1896 

Stolen Bases career: 537 season high: 89 in 1889 

Walks career: 612 season high: 80 in 1891 

Strikeouts career: 462 season high: 63 in 1889 

Batting Average career: .277 season high: .345 in 1896 

On Base Percentage career: .335 season high: .383 in 1896 

Slugging Percentage career: .383 season high: .505 in 1894 

Total Bases career: 2,938 season high: 244 in 1892 

Sacrifice Hits career: 158 season high: 25 in 1899 (sacrifice hits weren’t counted until 1894) 

Fielding Percentage career: .908 season high: .946 in 1901 and 1902 led NL SS: .946 in 1901 and 1902 

Double Plays career: 785 season high: 69 in 1899 led NL SS: 60 in 1891, 67 in 1893, 68 in 1899 

Putouts career: 4,450 season high: 371 in 1899 led AA SS: 335 in 1889 led NL SS: 345 in 1891 

Assists career: 6,335 season high: 506 in 1889 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “The Flying Dutchman” and “Germany” (he spoke fluent German) 

-batted lefthanded and threw righthanded 

-retired as the all time home run leader among shortstops

-set the MLB record with 335 assists in 1889

-led the NL in home run percentage in 1900 (2.47) 

-hit for the cycle on May 9, 1896 

-stole two bases in the 1892 World Series 

-hit four home runs off of Hall of Famer Cy Young, three each off of Clark Griffith and Silver King, and one each off of Amos Rusie, John Clarkson, Tony Mullane, Deacon Phillippe, Bob Caruthers, and Mike Smith

-ranks 30th in career stolen bases and 33rd in assists 

-among MLB shortstops, ranks 36th in career games, ninth in putouts, and 21st in assists 

-also played 65 games at second base, 19 in the outfield, two at first base, and one at third base