MVP Profile: Tris Speaker, 1912

 Outfielder, Boston Red Sox

Age:  24 (April 4)

5^th season with Red Sox

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’11” Weight: 193

 

Prior to 1912:

A native of Hubbard, Texas, Speaker taught himself to throw and bat lefthanded in his youth following twice breaking his right arm in ranching injuries. He played football as well as baseball in high school. He pitched, and also was captain, on the baseball team, and in 1905 moved on to the Fort Worth Polytechnic Institute (now Texas Wesleyan University), where he continued to pitch on the baseball team while playing semipro ball on the side in addition to being a telegraph lineman and cowpuncher. Signed by Cleburne of the Texas League in 1906 at $65 per month, Speaker failed as a pitcher, but hit well as an outfielder. Still in the Texas League with Houston in 1907, he batted a league-leading .314 while stealing 36 bases. The Red Sox purchased his contract but he hit only .158 in a seven-game trial and was not offered a contract for 1908. Rebuffed by several other major league teams, Speaker paid his way to Little Rock, where the Red Sox were in spring training. The Red Sox sold his contract to the Little Rock Travelers of the Southern Association at the conclusion of spring training, and he led the league by batting .350 and drew favorable attention for his play in the outfield. Several clubs showed interest in Speaker after his fine showing in 1908 but Little Rock sold him back to the Red Sox where he still didn’t hit consistently but performed impressively in the field. Installed in center field in 1909 he hit .309 with 26 doubles, 13 triples, 7 home runs, and 77 RBIs. He benefited from the assistance of star pitcher Cy Young, who spent hours hitting fungoes to him to help hone his technique in the outfield. Playing a shallow center field, he proved adept at chasing down balls hit over his head thanks to his great speed, leading AL center fielders with 319 put outs and 35 assists in ’09. His batting average rose to .340 in 1910 with a .404 on-base percentage while he again topped league center fielders in put outs (337). By this point he was part of an excellent defensive outfield that also consisted of left fielder Duffy Lewis and right fielder Harry Hooper. His performance remained strong in 1911 as he hit .334 with 34 doubles, 13 triples, 8 home runs, and 70 RBIs while stealing 25 bases and continuing to be a top performer in the outfield.

 

1912 Season Summary

Appeared in 153 games

CF – 153

 

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 675 [6]

At Bats – 580 [7, tied with Burt Shotton]

Runs – 136 [2]

Hits – 222 [3]

Doubles – 53 [1]

Triples – 12 [9, tied with Harry Hooper, Harry Lord & Amos Strunk]

Home Runs – 10 [1, tied with Frank Baker]

RBI – 90 [5, tied with Joe Jackson & Nap Lajoie]

Bases on Balls – 82 [5]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 36

Stolen Bases – 52 [4]

Caught Stealing – 28 [5, tied with Rollie Zeider]

Average - .383 [3]

OBP - .464 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .567 [3]

Total Bases – 329 [2]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 6 [13, tied with five others]

Sac Hits – 7

Sac Flies – N/A

 

League-leading doubles were +9 ahead of runner-up Joe Jackson

League-leading OBP was +.006 ahead of runner-up Joe Jackson

 

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 31, HR –5, RBI – 54, SB – 25, AVG - .399, SLG – .583

 

Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) at Washington 5/4, (in 5 AB) at St. L. Browns 6/9, (in 5 AB) at Chi. WS 6/17, (in 4 AB) vs. Detroit 8/19

Longest hitting streak – 30 games

HR at home – 4

HR on road – 6

Most home runs, game – 1 on ten occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. St. Louis Browns 5/13, vs. Chi. White Sox 8/27 – 12 innings

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

 

Fielding

Chances – 425

Put Outs – 372

Assists – 35

Errors – 18

DP – 9

Pct. - .958

 

Postseason Batting: 8 G (World Series vs. NY Giants)

PA – 34, AB – 30, R – 4, H – 9, 2B – 1, 3B – 2, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 4, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS – N/A, AVG - .300, OBP - .382, SLG - .467, TB – 14, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A

 

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: Chalmers Award

 

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Tris Speaker, BosRS.: 59 pts. - 92% share

Ed Walsh, ChiWS.: 30 pts. – 47% share

Walter Johnson, Wash.: 28 pts. – 44% share

Clyde Milan, Wash.: 23 pts. – 36% share

Joe Wood, BosRS.: 22 pts. – 34% share

 

---

 

Red Sox went 105-47 to win the AL pennant by 14 games over the Washington Senators while leading the league in runs scored (799), doubles (269), home runs (29), RBIs (654), bases on balls drawn (565), OBP (.355), and slugging (.380). With an outstanding lineup and pitching staff led by “Smoky Joe” Wood, the Red Sox dominated the AL. Won World Series over the New York Giants, 4 games to 3 with 1 tie. A dropped fly ball by New York CF Fred Snodgrass in the deciding game allowed the Red Sox to win 3-2.

 

Aftermath of 1912:

The Red Sox dropped to fourth in 1913 but Speaker batted .363 with 35 doubles, 22 triples, three home runs, and 71 RBIs while also stealing 46 bases and putting up impressive defensive numbers as well. In 1914 he led the AL in hits (193), doubles (46), and total bases (287) while also hitting .338 with 90 RBIs. Boston won the 1915 pennant (and subsequent World Series) and “Spoke”(a play on his last name) hit .322 and led all AL outfielders with 378 put outs and eight double plays. All had not been well in the Boston clubhouse despite the winning, and Speaker got caught up in the cliquishness. Being paid about $18,000 per year since 1914 to keep him from jumping to the rival Federal League, Boston’s owner sought to cut his salary for 1916 which led to a prolonged holdout and his being dealt to the Cleveland Indians for two players and $55,000. With his new team he led the league in hits (211), doubles (41), batting (.386), OBP (.470), and slugging (.502). “The Gray Eagle’s” performance remained strong in 1917 and ’18, a season in which he twice during April pulled off unassisted double plays at second base after catching low line drives in shallow center field while running at full speed and beating the baserunner on second back to the bag. For the year he hit .318 with a league-leading 33 doubles. In 1919 Speaker became player/manager of the Indians and his average dropped to .296, but still he accounted for 38 doubles and 12 triples. In 1920 he rallied the Indians to the AL pennant in a close three-team race. He contributed a league-leading 50 doubles while batting .388 with 107 RBIs. At one point he set a record with 11 consecutive hits. Cleveland defeated Brooklyn in the World Series and Speaker hit .320. “The Gray Eagle” remained highly effective in 1921, again pacing the league in doubles with 52 while batting .362. He led the AL in doubles (48) and OBP (.474) in 1922 and doubles (59) and RBIs (130) in 1923. While the livelier ball forced him to play deeper in center field, Speaker still remained among the leaders in outfield assists, and was first with 28 in ’23. He hit .344 in 1924 and a career-high .389 in 1925 when he also led the AL with a .479 on-base percentage. Following the 1926 season, Speaker and his long-time batting rival Ty Cobb of Detroit, were accused of having fixed a game in 1919. While cleared by Commissioner Landis, AL President Ban Johnson forced them both to resign as player/managers. Signed as a player by the Washington Senators in 1927, Speaker hit a solid .327. He finished his career in 1928 as a teammate of Cobb with the Philadelphia Athletics, hitting .267 in 64 games at age 40. For his major league career Speaker batted .345 with 3514 hits that included a record 792 doubles, 222 triples, and 117 home runs. He scored 1882 runs and compiled 1531 RBIs and 436 stolen bases while producing a .428 OBP and .500 slugging percentage. On his way to the career leadership in doubles, he led the AL eight times. In testament to his outstanding defensive play in center field, Speaker ranks first all-time with 449 assists and 143 double plays. With the Red Sox he batted .337 with 1327 hits, 241 doubles, 106 triples, 39 home runs, 542 RBIs, 267 stolen bases, a .337 average, and .414 OBP. Appearing in 20 World Series games with Boston and Cleveland, he hit .306. Following his major league career, Speaker played and managed in the minor leagues. He went into broadcasting for a time and was a special coach for the Indians in 1947, helping to convert former Negro League second baseman Larry Doby into a center fielder. A frequent speaker on the banquet circuit, he also continued to help young Cleveland players during spring training. In 1937 Speaker was one of the first eight inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He died in 1958 at age 70.

 

--

 

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.