WHY I THINK JACK GLASSCOCK SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK JACK GLASSCOCK SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Jack Glasscock was one of the top shortstops in MLB history and one of the best overall players of the 19th century. A lifetime .290 hitter with over 2,000 career hits, Glasscock also had a career fielding percentage an incredible 27 points above the league average and won six fielding titles. Jack Glasscock started his career with the Cleveland Blues in 1879, but batted only .209 in 80 games. However, Glasscock matured quickly and improved greatly in each of the next five seasons, eventually establishing himself as one of the best hitting shortstops of the era. He batted .313 in 1884 and .325 in 1886. He had his best season in 1889, batting .352 with 57 stolen bases and 205 hits, the most in the Majors. He followed up with a Batting Title in 1890, again leading the NL in hits. After a disappointing 1891 season (.241 in 97 games; resulting from a hand injury) and a decent 1892, Glasscock’s best years seemed to be behind him. Instead, he had one of his best seasons in 1893 with a .320 mark and 100 RBI’s. He hit .281 with 65 RBI’s in 87 games in 1894, and last played in 1895, when he batted .276 in 43 games for two teams. Three times had he been the hardest batter in the NL to strike out, and he led NL shortstops in assists six times. Jack Glasscock was a fine hitter, a top notch base thief, and the Ozzie Smith of his generation. For all of his skills and especially considering how dominant he was in the field without a glove, Jack Glasscock would get my vote for the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,737 season high: 139 in 1892 led NL: 85 in 1881 

At Bats career: 7,033 season high: 566 in 1892 

Hits career: 2,041 season high: 205 in 1889 led NL: 205 in 1889, 172 in 1890 

Doubles career: 313 season high: 40 in 1889 

Triples career: 98 season high: 12 in 1893 

Home Runs career: 27 season high: 7 in 1889 

Runs career: 1,164 season high: 128 in 1889 

Runs Batted In career: 827 season high: 100 in 1893 (Glasscock’s RBI information from his time in the Union Association in 1884 is unavailable) 

Stolen Bases career: 372 season high: 62 in 1887 (Glasscock’s stolen base information from before 1886 is unavailable) 

Walks career: 440 season high: 44 in 1892 

Strikeouts career: 212 season high: 24 in 1879 (Glasscock’s strikeout information from his time in the Union Association in 1884 is unavailable) 

Batting Average career: .290 season high: .352 in 1889 led NL: .336 in 1890 

On Base Percentage career: .337 season high: .395 in 1890 

Slugging Percentage career: .374 season high: .467 in 1889 

Total Bases career: 2,631 season high: 272 in 1889 

Sacrifice Hits career: 17 season high: 13 in 1894 (Glasscock’s sacrifice hit information from before 1894 is unavailable) 

Fielding Percentage career .911 season high: .923 in 1893 led NL SS: .911 in 1881, .922 in 1883, .917 in 1885, .906 in 1886, .901 in 1888, .915 in 1889 

Double Plays career: 656 season high: 61 in 1889 led NL SS: 40 in 1882, 43 in 1886, 58 in 1887, 60 in 1889 

Putouts career: 3,165 season high: 280 in 1892 led NL SS: 105 in 1881, 246 in 1889 

Assists career: 5,951 season high: 493 in 1887 led NL SS: 274 in 1881, 311 in 1882, 397 in 1885, 392 in 1886, 493 in 1887, 478 in 1889 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed “Pebbly Jack” for his habit of removing pebbles on the infield dirt to limit the number of bad hops on the left side of the infield 

-was the scout who discovered and signed Hall of Fame pitcher Amos Rusie 

-was the team captain of the St. Louis Maroons 

-had a career managerial record of 35-35-1 in parts of two seasons 

-hit for the cycle on August 8, 1889 

-went 6-for-6 on September 27, 1890 

-was second in the NL in batting average in 1889, behind Hall of Famer Dan Brouthers 

-pitched in five games in four different seasons, striking out three in seven career innings 

-led the NL in singles once and in assists at any position four times 

-led NL shortstops in games twice 

-hit two home runs each off of Hall of Famers Mickey Welch and John Clarkson and one each off of Cy Young, Kid Nichols, Jim McCormick, Tim Keefe, Charlie Buffinton, and Tommy McCarthy 

-his six times leading NL shortstops in assists was the league record until the 1980’s, when none other than the Wizard of Oz himself surpassed it 

-his 40 double plays at shortstop in 1882 tied Sadie Houck’s MLB record 

-ranks 16th in career at bats per strikeout and 46th in assists 

-among MLB shortstops, ranks 47th in career games and 35th in assists 

-also played five games at first base, 86 at second base, 15 at third base, and one in rightfield