Willie Keeler
| Willie Keeler | |
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| Outfielder | |
| Born: March 3, 1872 Brooklyn , United States 
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| Died on: January 1, 1923 Brooklyn , United States
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| Suggested: Left | Threw: Left |
| Debut in Major League Baseball | |
| September 30, 1892 with the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB assignment | |
| September 5, 1910 with the New York Giants | |
| MLB statistics (until end of career) |
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| Batting average | , 341 |
| Hits | 2,932 |
| RBI | 810 |
| Teams | |
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| Awards | |
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2 × best batsman in the NL (1897, 1898) |
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| member of | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Recorded | 1939 |
| Quota | 75.5% |
William Henry "Willie" Keeler (born March 3, 1872 in Brooklyn , New York City , † January 1, 1923 ibid) was an American baseball player in Major League Baseball . His nickname was Wee Willie .
biography
Keeler began his career in 1892 in the National League with the New York Giants as an outfielder . In 1893 he moved to Brooklyn to the Groomers , to the then Baltimore Orioles in the National League and back to Brooklyn. In 1903 he moved to the New York Highlanders before ending his career with the Giants in 1910. Thus, Keeler is one of the few who played with all three possible New York MLB teams of his time.
Outfielder Keeler showed exceptional skills, especially as a batsman. In 16 of his 19 seasons he had a batting average of over 30%, in 1897 he even reached 42.4%. His career average is 34.1%, which puts him in 14th place in the MLB statistics. He led his league twice on average, once in the hits. In the 1898 season he achieved 206 singles. With Baltimore and Brooklyn he won five championships and three second places. At the end of his career, he finished second behind Cap Anson in the number of base hits with 2982.
Keeler was one of the smallest and lightest players of his time (his sizes vary between 1.62 m and 1.67 m with a weight of 64 kg). His greatest special hit was the Bunt , which he knew how to execute perfectly. Due to his perfection, the rule change came about that a foul colorful leads to a strikeout on the third strike .
In 1897 he set a record of 44 games in a row with a base hit and improved Bill Dahlen's record with 42 games. Only Joe DiMaggio should break with his series of 56 games in 1941 the record. Only Pete Rose managed to end the 44 game series in 1978. To this day, Keeler is the only player who has achieved more than 200 basehits in eight consecutive seasons.
In 1939 he was appointed to the Baseball Hall of Fame as the smallest player to date .
His stations as a player
- 1892-1893 New York Giants
- 1893 Brooklyn Groomers
- 1894–1898 Baltimore Orioles (National League)
- 1899-1902 Brooklyn Superbas
- 1903-1909 New York Highlanders
- 1910 New York Giants
Web links
- Player information and statistics from Baseball Reference or Baseball Reference (Minor League) (English)
- Biography of Willie Keeler (English)
- Willie Keeler in the Hall of Fame (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Keeler, Willie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Keeler, William Henry; Willie, Wee (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American baseball player in Major League Baseball |
| DATE OF BIRTH | March 3, 1872 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Brooklyn , New York City |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 1, 1923 |
| Place of death | Brooklyn , New York City |