WHY I THINK TOMMY LEACH SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK TOMMY LEACH SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Tommy Leach was a power hitter, a base thief, and a stellar bunter all rolled into one, elite baseball player. He led the NL in home runs in 1902 and stole over 360 career bases. Leach’s prowess at the bat and on the basepaths led to a lot of runs for the early Pittsburg Pirates (the “h” at the end wasn’t added until July 9, 1911), but he was just as skilled in the field. He played exactly 1,000 games in centerfield and 957 at third base, providing above average leather at two key defensive positions. Tommy Leach started his career with the Louisville Colonels in 1898, but for only three games. He batted .288 with them in 1899 and was traded to the Pirates in the worst trade of all time, one that was essentially Leach, Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke, Rube Waddell, Claude Ritchey, Deacon Phillippe, and Chief Zimmer for Hall of Famer Jack Chesbro and $25,000. It took him a couple of years to gain regular status on the Pirates, but was an expected starter by 1902, when he batted .278 and led the league in both home runs and triples. Leach followed up that marvelous season with a .298 batting mark in 1903. Leach didn’t reach those heights offensively until 1907, when he batted .303 and scored 102 runs, but proved to still be a consistently excellent player for the rest of his career, helping the Pirates to a pennant in 1903 and the World Series Title in 1909. He led the NL in runs scored twice and had a career year in 1913, when he hit .287 with a career best .391 on base percentage for the Chicago Cubs. Leach didn’t age very well, as he batted a disappointing .224 in 107 games in 1915, at the age of 37, and was out of baseball after 1918, when he fell below the .200 mark in 30 games at 40. Tommy Leach was a great hitter, a legendary baserunner, and a fine fielder. He had it all, and should be rewarded accordingly with a spot in the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 2,156 season high: 153 in 1914 

At Bats career: 7,959 season high: 587 in 1909 

Hits career: 2,143 season high: 166 in 1907 

Doubles career: 266 season high: 29 in 1909 

Triples career: 172 season high: 22 in 1902 led NL: 22 in 1902 

Home Runs career: 63 season high: 7 in 1903 and 1914 led NL: 6 in 1902 

Runs career: 1,355 season high: 126 in 1909 led NL: 126 in 1909, 99 in 1913 

Runs Batted In career: 812 season high: 87 in 1903 

Stolen Bases career: 361 season high: 43 in 1907 

Walks career: 820 season high: 79 in 1914 

Strikeouts career: 666 season high: 62 in 1910 

Batting Average career: .269 season high: .303 in 1907 

On Base Percentage career: .340 season high: .391 in 1913 

Slugging Percentage career: .370 season high: .438 in 1903 

Total Bases career: 2,942 season high: 222 in 1903 and 1908 

Sacrifice Hits career: 240 season high: 29 in 1907 

Fielding Percentage career: .934 season high: .980 in 1913 led NL CF: .980 in 1907, .969 in 1909, .990 in 1913*, .968 in 1914 (the league fielding percentage was .931) 

Double Plays career: 168 season high: 18 in 1904 led NL CF: 4 in 1909, 7 in 1912 and 1914 

Putouts career: 4,008 season high: 352 in 1910 led NL 3B: 212 in 1904 led NL CF: 331 in 1909, 352 in 1910, 320 in 1914 

Assists career: 2,460 season high: 371 in 1904 led NL 3B: 316 in 1902, 371 in 1904 

*Leach fielded .727 across two games at third base in 1913, lowering his overall fielding percentage to .980 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Wee Tommy” because he stood only 5’6” and weighed 150 pounds during his playing days 

-led the NL with 676 plate appearances in 1914 and with a 1.2 home run percentage in 1902 

-was the hardest batter in the NL to strike out in 1906 

-hit more triples than doubles in 1902 (22 and 14), 1903 (17 and 16) and 1905 (14 and 10) 

-led NL third basemen in games in 1904 (146) and NL centerfielders in games in 1910 (131) 

-holds the National League record for inside the park home runs with 49, which are also the third most of all time (behind Hall of Famers Jesse Burkett and Sam Crawford)
-set the world record for the fastest time to run the bases in 1907 (14 ⅕ seconds) 

-had a .310 career batting average in World Series play and hit a record four triples with seven RBI’s in the 1903 Series 

-collected the first ever hit, triple, and run scored in modern World Series history, all coming off of Hall of Famer Cy Young 

-hit nine career home runs off of Hall of Fame pitchers and four more off of Hall of Fame snubs 

-was interviewed by Lawrence Ritter for his book The Glory of Their Times, one of the most famous sports books ever written and a fascinating read 

-also played 14 games at second base, 65 at shortstop, 71 in leftfield, 15 in rightfield, 47 as a pinch hitter and seven as a pinch runner 

-ranks 23rd in career triples and 46th in sacrifice hits 

-ranks 10th in career games and 22nd in assists among MLB centerfielders 

-his 371 assists at third base in 1904 are the 40th most of all time