MVP Profile: Johnny Evers, 1914

Second Baseman, Boston Braves

Age:  33 (July 21)

1^st season with Braves

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’9”    Weight: 125

Prior to 1914:

A native of Troy, New York, Evers (which was pronounced Eevers) originally played sandlot baseball and became shortstop for his home-town team in the New York State League where he exhibited good range while being error-prone. He was hitting .285 with 10 home runs when he drew the interest of the Chicago Cubs during the 1902 season. Evers was a throw-in as part of a $1500 deal to purchase one of his teammates, a pitching prospect. Debuting with the Cubs in September, he was initially tried at shortstop before moving to second base. He fielded well in his 26-game trial at second but hit only .222. Regular second baseman Bobby Lowe suffered a major knee injury that lingered into the spring of 1903 and provided Evers with the opportunity to start regularly. The slightly built rookie (he weighed just 105 pounds when he first joined the Cubs) batted .293 with 27 doubles, 7 triples, 25 stolen bases, and 52 RBIs. A scrappy and argumentative player who focused his ire on opponents and umpires, hence drawing many ejections and suspensions, he was nicknamed “the Crab” due to both his disposition and the way he covered his ground at the keystone. Possessing speed, if not batting power (he didn’t hit his first major league home run until 1905), and intelligence, he became adept at the inside aspects of the game. The Cubs won three consecutive pennants from 1906 to ’08 and Evers was part of a legendary double play combination along with shortstop Joe Tinker and first baseman Frank Chance. He and Tinker shared an intense mutual dislike but performed well together. Better in the field and on the base paths rather than as a hitter, Evers became adept at drawing walks and stealing bases. He stole a career-high 49 bases in 1906 and followed up with 46 in 1907 and 36 in 1908. His batting averages during the same three seasons were .255, .250, and .300. His gamesmanship and knowledge of the rules played a crucial role in the tight 1908 pennant race with the Giants when he called for the ball and tagged second following an apparent game-winning single by the Giants when New York’s rookie first baseman Fred Merkle, who was the baserunner on first, failed to touch second and ran directly to the Polo Grounds clubhouse. In what entered baseball lore as “Merkle’s Boner”, Merkle was ruled out and the game declared a tie. Replayed later, the Cubs won both the game and the NL pennant. Evers hit .263 in both 1909 and 1910, another pennant-winning year for the Cubs. The high-strung Evers suffered a nervous breakdown that limited him to 46 games in 1911 and followed a disastrous financial loss off the field. He recovered in 1912 to hit .341 with 23 doubles, 11 triples, and a home run while knocking in 61 RBIs. In 1913 he was named player/manager and hit .285 while the Cubs finished in third place with an 88-65 record. Fired as manager after the season, the Cubs attempted to trade him and the NL owners gave him his release and he sold his contract to the Braves, where manager George Stallings appointed him team captain.  

1914 Season Summary

Appeared in 139 games

2B – 139

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 612 [18]

At Bats – 491

Runs – 81 [9]

Hits – 137

Doubles – 20

Triples – 3

Home Runs – 1

RBI – 40

Bases on Balls – 87 [4]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 26

Stolen Bases – 12

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .279 [16]

OBP - .390 [7]

Slugging Pct. - .338

Total Bases – 166

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 31 [3]

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: HR – 0, RBI – 20, AVG. - .303, OBP – .402

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Most hits, game – 3 on eight occasions

Longest hitting streak – 8 games

HR at home – 0

HR on road – 1

Most home runs, game – 1 (in 1 AB) at Brooklyn 10/6

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 2 vs. NY Giants 6/27, vs, NY Giants 9/7

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 715

Put Outs – 301

Assists – 397

Errors – 17

DP – 73

Pct. - .976

Postseason Batting: 4 G (World Series vs. Phila. A’s)

PA – 18, AB – 16, R – 2, H – 7, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 2, IBB – N/A, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS – N/A, AVG - .438, OBP - .500, SLG - .438, TB – 7, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: Chalmers Award

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Johnny Evers, BosB.: 50 pts. - 78% share

Rabbit Maranville, BosB.: 44 pts. – 69% share

Bill James, BosB.: 33 pts. – 52% share

George Burns, NYG: 31 pts. – 48% share

Dots Miller, StLC.: 18 pts. – 28% share

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Braves went 94-59 to win the NL pennant by 10.5 games over the New York Giants. The team led the league in walks drawn (502). “The Miracle Braves” were in last place on July 4 before taking off on a 43-13 stretch that put them in first on Sept. 8. Won World Series over the Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 0.

Aftermath of ‘14:

Evers appeared in only 83 games in 1915 due to injuries and suspensions, and he hit .263 with six extra-base hits. Following a mediocre 1916 season and poor first half in 1917, he was waived by the Braves and finished the year with the Philadelphia Phillies. Overall for the season Evers batted just .214. Signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1918, he was released without seeing any action. Evers served as a coach with the New York Giants in 1920 and managed the Cubs for 96 games in 1921 and appeared in one game for the White Sox in 1922, another team that he later managed with unimpressive results. He eventually returned to the Braves as a coach and scout. Overall for his major league playing career Evers hit .270 with 1659 hits that included 216 doubles, 70 triples, and 12 home runs. He also accumulated 536 RBIs and 324 stolen bases. With the Braves he batted .254 with 278 hits that included 28 doubles, 5 triples, and 2 home runs while also accumulating 77 RBIs and 25 stolen bases. In 20 postseason games, he hit .316. Evers ran a sporting goods store after his retirement from baseball. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946, a year before his death at age 65. His younger brother Joe appeared in one game with the Giants in 1913.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.