How about a little trivia as we move through the strange 2020 baseball season? It recently caught BBRT’s eye that the New York Giants are the only team to field an infield (1B-2B-3B-SS) made up totally of future Hall of Famers. Not only that, they did it in three consecutive seasons (1925-27). Now, that is unique in itself, but what really got my attention was that the Giants had a different primary second baseman in each of those seasons … and then a fourth second basemen (who did not make the HOF) in the 1928 campaign. So, here is your question.
In 1925, 1926 and 1927, the New York Giants infield (1B-2B-3B-SS) was made up entirely of future Hall of Famers. Notably, each of those squads had a different second baseman. Can you name the three future Hall of Famers who played the keystone sack on those teams? Hint: Hint: Read carefully one of the three was more highly acclaimed at a different position. The chart below may (or may not) help.
Now for the answer(s) …
1925 – George “High Pockets” Kelly (107 starts at 2B)
This is where that hint comes in. Future Hall of Famer 6’4” George “High Pockets” Kelly was more HIGH-ly known as a first baseman (in his 16 MLB seasons, he made 84.8 percent of his starts at first base). In 1925, the combination of an injury to another future Hall of Famer (2B Frankie Frisch) and the desire to get more lineup time for emerging talent (and another future Hall of Famer) Bill Terry resulted in Kelly moving over to second base, where he started 107 games. (Kelly never started more than 17 games at 2B in any other season of his career.)
For the season, Kelly’s tenth MLB campaign (sixth as a full-time player), he went .309-20-99, with 87 runs scored for the Giants. He finished second on the squad in RBI and home runs to LF Bob Meusel. Going into the 1925 season, Kelly had a .298-90-583 stat line and had hit .300 or better in each of the previous four campaigns. The following season (1926), Frisch returned to full-time second base duty and Kelly took back his first base job (starting 114 games there and another 17 at 2B), hitting .303-13-80. Terry served as a backup, appearing in 37 at 1B, 14 in the OF and 47 times as a pinch hitter. He hit .289-5-43 in 225 at bats.
Before the 1927 season, the Giants – looking for outfield help – decided to install Terry and first base and traded Kelly to the Reds for Of Edd Roush (who went on to play three seasons for the Giants, getting in 301 games and hitting .304). Kelly played five seasons after the trade – hitting .288-25-258 – but played in 100 or more games only twice in that time. He retired after 16 MLB seasons with a .297-148-1,020 stat line. He led his league in home runs once (hitting 20 or more three times) and RBI twice (topping 100 in five seasons). He was also one of the leading defensive first basemen of his time – leading NL first sackers in putouts three times, assists three times and double plays twice.
1926 – Frankie “The Fordham Flash” Frisch (126 starts at second base)
Frankie Frisch starred in baseball, football, basketball and track at Fordham University – hence “The Fordham Flash” nickname. In 1919, he left Fordham and signed with the Giants – going right to the major-league club. By 1921, at age 23, Frisch had established his “star quality.” That season, Frisch hit .341, with 211 hits (eight home runs), 121 runs scored, 100 RBI and league-leading 49 steals.
By 1926, the switch-hitting Frisch was looking back at five consecutive .300+ seasons. Injuries on the Giants’ squad in 1925 (including a hand injury to Frisch himself) had both limited his playing time (120 games compared to 145 the season before) and forced him to move about the infield. (In 1925, Frisch started 41 games at 2B, 43 at 3B and 36 at SS.) In 1926, he was back in his role as the Giants’ primary keystone sacker. That season, Frisch hit .314-5-44, with 75 runs scored and 23 steals. By this time, Frisch’s relationship with Giants’ manager John McGraw had – depending on your turn of phrase – either cooled considerable or really heated up. At any rate, it had become contentious enough that Frisch was traded to the Saint Louis Cardinals (along with pitcher Jimmy Ring) for another future Hall of Famer – Rogers Hornsby. In 1926, Hornsby had had hit .317-11-93 and managed the Cardinals to the National League pennant. (More on Hornsby coming up).
Frisch flourished with the Cardinals. In his first eight seasons with the Redbirds, he hit .300 or better seven times – and he managed the team from 1933-38 (as a player-manager until 1937) – leading Saint Louis to a World Series Championship in 1934. Frisch played a total of 19 MLB seasons, hitting .316 (2,880 hits), with 105 home runs, 1,244 RBI, 1,532 runs scored and 419 stolen bases. He led the NL in runs scored once (topping 100 runs tallied in seven seasons); hits once (getting 200+ safeties in three seasons); and stolen bases three times (a high of 49 in 1921). He managed in the major leagues in 16 seasons (Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs), totaling 1,138 wins and 1,078 losses.
1927 – Rogers “The Rajah” Hornsby (155 starts at 2B)
Rogers Hornsby may have been the greatest right-handed hitter of all time. He was, however, not always the easiest person to deal with (understatement there). By December 1926, when he was traded to the Giants’ for 2B Frankie Frisch and pitcher Jimmy Ring (11-10, 4.57 in the 1926 season), Hornsby had six batting titles and two home runs crowns on his MLB resume. He had also led the National League in runs scored three times, hits four times, doubles four times, triples once, and RBI four times. He was also known for a notable ego and angry disputes with ownership and management. Things came to a head after Hornsby, as a player-manager, led the 1926 Cardinals to a World Series Championship. He asked for a three-year, $150,000 per year contract (he had signed a three-year/$100,000 deal after the 1924 season). Cardinals’ owner Sam Breadon countered with one year at $50,000. Hornsby declined and Breadon traded Hornsby to the Giants (as noted in the Frisch paragraphs) for Frankie Frisch and Jimmy Ring.
Hornsby apparently brought his ego and attitude with him to New York. He was in the Big Apple for just one season (.361-26-125 in 1927) before being traded to the Boston Braves for catcher Shanty Hogan and Outfielder Jimmy Welch – a pair of solid players, but not the return you might have expected for Hornsby. Hornsby’s departure ended the Giants’ string of “All Future Hall of Famer” infields. Hornsby also spent just one season in Boston (winning the batting title at .387, with 21 home run and 94 RBI) before being traded to the Cubs for five players and $200,000.
Hornsby played 23 MLB seasons, hitting .358 (2,930 hits), with 301 home runs, 1,584 RBI and 1,579 runs scored. He was a seven-time batting champion (and hit .400+ in three seasons), a two-time league home run leader, a-four time RBI leader (topping 100 RBI in five seasons, led the NL in runs scored four times (with 100+ runs in six seasons), four times led the league in base hits (topping 200 in seven campaigns) and led the league in total bases seven times.
Andy Cohen
The Giants’ string of seasons with four future Hall of Famers in the infield was broken in 1928, when rookie Andy Cohen (who came into the season with 35 MLB at bats) took over at second base. Future Hall of Famers Bill Terry, Freddie Lindstrom and Travis Jackson were still at 1B, 3B and SS, respectively. At the time, Cohen looked like he had the potential to extend the streak. Cohen, just 22-years-old, hit .353 for the Buffalo Bison of the International League (Double A) in 1927. Then he hit .274-9-59 in 129 games for the Giants in 1928 and .294 for New York in 101 games in 1929. He had, however, tailed off a bit in the second half and started the 1930 season with the International League Newark Bears – where it was reported that he suffered (depending on sources) either an shoulder or leg injury. He never made it back to the major leagues, but played in the minors through 1942 (when he was inducted into the Army) – including (for Minnesota readers) eight seasons with the Minneapolis Millers (American Association – Double A).
Cohen retired as a player with a .281-14-114 line in three MLB seasons and a .288 average with 78 home runs in 16 minor-league campaigns. After military service, he served a number of years as a minor league manager and major league coach.
Cohen also had a 1.000 winning percentage as an MLB manager. In 1960, Cohen was a coach on the Phillies when manager Eddie Sawyer resigned after the first game of the season. Gene Mauch was hired as a replacement, but Cohen filled in for one game until Mauch could join the team. In that contest, the Phillies won 5-4 over the Braves in ten innings. After leaving professional ball, Cohen coached the University of El Paso baseball team for 17 years.
More #WhyIHateTheDH
Baseball Roundtable recently published a post on solid-hitting pitchers (click here for that post). I thought I’d add another story to the BBRT #WhyIHateTheDH saga.
On August 5, 2001, Livan Hernandez started on the mound for the Giants (versus the Phillies). He got the win with 6 2/3 innings of four-run ball (eighth hits, three walks, three strikeouts), but he was even better at the plate – a three-for-three day, with a double in the third inning, a single n the fourth and a single in the sixth. His next start came on August 11 against the Cubs. Another win for Hernandez and another perfect day at the plate: run-scoring single in the second, two-run home run in the third, single in the sixth and single in the eighth. Add to that a single in Hernandez’ final at bat in his in his July 31 start against the Cubs and Hernandez hit safety in eight straight plate appearances (not bad for a pitcher). That season, Hernandez hit .296 (24-for-82) with one home run and eight RBI. Further, in four starts, between July 26 and August 11, he went 12 for 13 (.923). In those four starts, he went 3-0, 4.39 on the mound. Hernandez was a career .221 hitter (215-for-973). with ten homers and 85 RBI. On the bump, he went 178-11, 4.44.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; “Frankie Frisch” bio, by Fred Stein, Society for American Baseball Research; “Rogers Hornsby” bio, Society for American Baseball Research, by C. Paul Rogers III; “Baseball Maniac’s Almanac, Fifth Edition, ” edited by Bert Randolph Sugar (2019).
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