WHY I THINK JACK CLEMENTS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK JACK CLEMENTS SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Jack Clements was the greatest left-handed catcher in the history of baseball. Take it from me, a former catcher of a few seasons - catching is a wearisome and mentally challenging job for a righthander. But for a lefty, having to learn all of the difficult changes in basic mechanics? Get out of town! Jack Clements could not only throw and field exceptionally well for any catcher, but he could also hit with the best of them. For example, despite playing in an era when many catchers hit below the .200 mark, he had a career batting average of .287. Jack Clements started his career with the Philadelphia Keystones for 41 games in 1884, and finished the season with nine games for the Philadelphia Quakers, batting a combined .275 at the age of 19. He stayed with Philadelphia for the next thirteen seasons, batting over .300 five times. He hit 17 home runs in one season and 13 in another, drove in 74 or more runs five times in a six year period, and hit a combined .374 from 1894 through 1896. After the 1897 season, Clements was traded away to the St. Louis Browns and batted .257. He played four games with the Cleveland Spiders in 1899 and 16 with the Boston Beaneaters in 1900, batting .310 in his last MLB stint. Jack Clements was one of the greatest catchers of the 19th century, but he made history as the only lefthanded catcher to have much of a career. That is definitely important to history, and considering how much he hit, it’s safe to say that Jack Clements should be in Cooperstown. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,160 season high: 109 in 1892 

At Bats career: 4,295 season high: 423 in 1891 

Hits career: 1,231 season high: 131 in 1891 

Doubles career: 226 season high: 29 in 1891 

Triples career: 60 season high: 8 in 1890 

Home Runs career: 77 season high: 17 in 1889 

Runs career: 619 season high: 64 in 1890, 1893 and 1895 

Runs Batted In  career: 687 season high: 80 in 1893 

Stolen Bases career: 55 season high: 10 in 1890 (stolen bases weren’t counted in 1884 or 1885) 

Walks career: 341 season high: 45 in 1890 

Strikeouts career: 348 season high: 40 in 1892 (strikeouts weren’t counted in the Union Association in 1884) 

Batting Average career: .287 season high: .394 in 1895 

On Base Percentage career: .348 season high: .459 in 1894 

Slugging Percentage career: .421 season high: .612 in 1895 

Total Bases career: 1,808 season high: 197 in 1895 

Sacrifice Hits career: 24 season high: 8 in 1894 and 1895 (sacrifice hits weren’t counted until 1893) 

Fielding Percentage career: .936 season high: .979 in 1890 led NL C: .971 in 1898 (the league fielding percentage was .924) 

Double Plays career: 102 season high: 14 in 1890 led NL C: 10 in 1891 

Putouts career: 4,905 season high: 557 in 1892 led NL C: 494 in 1888, 503 in 1890, 557 in 1892 

Assists career: 1,116 season high: 108 in 1891 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-went 13-6 as a manager in 1890 

-threw out 611 would-be base stealers (the 44th most of all time) and had a .333 career caught stealing percentage 

-led the NL in home run percentage in 1893 and 1895 

-hit two home runs each off of Hall of Famers Kid Nichols, Cy Young, John Clarkson, Amos Rusie, and Pud Galvin and one each off of Hank O’Day, Hoss Radbourn, Matt Kilroy, Clark Griffith, Bob Caruthers, Silver King, Dave Foutz, and Tony Mullane 

-led the NL in games caught in 1888 (85) 

-retired as the all time leader in home runs by a catcher both in a season and in a career 

-was the first catcher ever to wear a chest protector 

-was the first player ever to catch 1,000 MLB games 

-had a career fielding percentage a dozen points above the league average 

-ranks 34th in career assists by a catcher 

-also played eight games at first base, four at third base, four at shortstop, eight in leftfield, seven in centerfield, and 26 in rightfield