100 years!

[Buzzaldrin]

Been meaning to post something like this for a while, but kept getting sidetracked-

-anyhow, 100 years (and now two months) ago Bob Caruthers died. Some of you know that he's not only my favorite 19th c. player, but also the player of all players who I feel is perhaps most unfairly excluded from the Hall. Whether or not you agree is irrelevant to this thread though, this is just to bring up his name on the belated centennial of his death.

It's pretty nerdy, but I have a framed lithograph of him next to the bed and I've tried- without a great deal of success- to explain to my Swedish girlfriend why Parisian Bob is as important to me as either my or her family members. Not that she wants me to remove him- she understands that for some- to her- unfathomable reason some ancient athlete is as important as my grandparents, so he gets to stay. She's a real catch.

He died August 5, 1911.

Well, that's it... just a shout out to my man. Happy 100 years of after-life Bobby! Say hi to Scissors for me!

Buzz

[Matthew C.]

. Some of you know that he's not only my favorite 19th c. player, but also the player of all players who I feel is perhaps most unfairly excluded from the Hall.

It may be irrelevant to the thread, but I do agree with you. At least in the top-5.

[Beady]

I admire your spirit, but I've got to say I kind of understand your girl friend's outlook.

[Buzzaldrin]

Have you met our families?



(That was a joke. Perhaps my language was a bit strong in my earlier post. My grandparents/family/her family are obviously more important- without many of them, after all, I wouldn't be here. Anecdote- My grandfather was actually quite big in the tennis world for a few decades and was also an excellent cricket player. When I was a kid and he would visit us in Texas from England, I'd make him play ball with me, and he wouldn't pitch- he would bowl with a locked arm and wrist right over the top. He was impossible to hit! And he was in his 60s then!)

[ribant]

It may be irrelevant to the thread, but I do agree with you. At least in the top-5.

Even more irrelevant to the thread. He is hitting .380 for my Sim team. Good enough for third place on the leader board

[Second Base Coach]

Been meaning to post something like this for a while, but kept getting sidetracked-

-anyhow, 100 years (and now two months) ago Bob Caruthers died. Some of you know that he's not only my favorite 19th c. player, but also the player of all players who I feel is perhaps most unfairly excluded from the Hall. Whether or not you agree is irrelevant to this thread though, this is just to bring up his name on the belated centennial of his death.

It's pretty nerdy, but I have a framed lithograph of him next to the bed and I've tried- without a great deal of success- to explain to my Swedish girlfriend why Parisian Bob is as important to me as either my or her family members. Not that she wants me to remove him- she understands that for some- to her- unfathomable reason some ancient athlete is as important as my grandparents, so he gets to stay. She's a real catch.

He died August 5, 1911.

Well, that's it... just a shout out to my man. Happy 100 years of after-life Bobby! Say hi to Scissors for me!

Buzz

Posts like these are why I have the Fever.

[ziggy29]

anyhow, 100 years (and now two months) ago Bob Caruthers died. Some of you know that he's not only my favorite 19th c. player, but also the player of all players who I feel is perhaps most unfairly excluded from the Hall. Whether or not you agree is irrelevant to this thread though, this is just to bring up his name on the belated centennial of his death.

Yeah, the funny thing is that he technically did play 10 years though most people see only nine when they look at his pitching record. (He played a few games in 1893, his 10th season, but none as a pitcher. His fielding in the OF was atrocious, which might be why he didn't stick since he was still hitting well in '93 -- but he was an above average fielder as a pitcher.) The guy was ridiculously dominant in his prime and when healthy, but Cooperstown has always had a bias against the AA (IMO). If Harry Stovey put up even close to the numbers in the NL as he did in the AA, I think he'd be in the Hall too. Plus Caruthers was one of the best hitting pitchers in the history of the game.

Anyone know the story of his sudden pitching flameout in 1892? Did his pitching career end because of an injury in an era before Tommy John surgery? He was a regular starter in the OF and 1B in 1892. They still wanted his bat in the lineup even when his arm lost it and he had an OPS+ of 120 in over 600 plate appearances in 1892. Flaming out in 1893 would make more sense since that's when the pitching distance was moved back, but 1892, a pitching-dominated year? Hmm.

In a real sense, I think his ability to play most games at OF/1B even when he wasn't pitching is worthy of some consideration. Some of his combined pitching and hitting stats border on the ridiculous. Going 29-9 as a pitcher in 1887 with a 1.010 OPS playing outfield MORE than pitcher? And an OPS+ of 134 in his career with a 218-99 record on the hill? Wow.

[ziggy29]

duplicate, nothing to see here, sorry

[TonyK]

Why don't you research his entire life and write a biography about him? You never know what you may find.

I wonder if a short biography has been written about him by a SABR member?

[Calif_Eagle]

Why don't you research his entire life and write a biography about him? You never know what you may find.

I wonder if a short biography has been written about him by a SABR member?

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/92fe6805