Highlighted Year: Bill Bradley, 1902

Third Baseman, Cleveland Blues

Age:  24

2^nd season with Blues

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 185 

Prior to 1902:

A Cleveland native, Bradley played pickup baseball in his youth. After his schooling, he worked for a stove company and played semipro ball on the side. In 1897 he went to Iowa and joined Burlington of the Western Association for 18 games in September. In 1898 he caught on with the Auburn Maroons of the New York State League where he played shortstop and first base. Shifting to third base in 1899, Bradley batted .312 with 25 stolen bases in 88 games. The team moved to Troy, New York at the end of July, and Bradley was sold to the Chicago Orphans (now Cubs) in August. Following an error-filled trial at shortstop with his new club, he was moved back to third base. He ended up hitting .310 in 35 games for the Orphans and, receiving a raise to $300 a month for 1900, he became the regular third baseman and batted .282 with 21 doubles, 8 triples, 5 home runs, 49 RBIs, a .330 on-base percentage, and a .399 slugging percentage. Jumping to the new American League with Cleveland in 1901 for $3500, he hit .293 with 28 doubles, 13 triples, a home run, 55 RBIs, 15 stolen bases, a .336 OBP, and a .403 slugging percentage. In the field, he topped AL third basemen with a .930 fielding percentage and 25 double plays while ranking third in put outs (192), which included a record seven in one game, and assists (298). A good hitter with some power and defensive skill, Bradley appeared to be very much a player on the rise.   

1902 Season Summary

Appeared in 137 games

3B – 137

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

 

Batting

Plate Appearances – 597 [10, tied with Lave Cross]

At Bats – 550 [6]

Runs – 104 [4]

Hits – 187 [3]

Doubles – 39 [3, tied with Lave Cross]

Triples – 12 [6, tied with Socks Seybold, Elmer Flick & Topsy Hartsel]

Home Runs – 11 [2, tied with Buck Freeman & Charlie Hickman]

RBI – 77 [12]

Bases on Balls – 27

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 23

Stolen Bases – 11

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .340 [6]

OBP - .375 [16, tied with Chick Stahl & Socks Seybold]

Slugging Pct. - .515 [4]

Total Bases – 283 [2, tied with Buck Freeman]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 4

Sac Hits – 16 [11, tied with Barry McCormick & Freddy Parent]

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 19, 3B – 3, HR - 8, RBI - 44, AVG - .335, OBP - .362, SLG – .511

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at St. Louis Browns 6/30, (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 7/12, (in 6 AB) vs. Baltimore 8/11, (in 5 AB) vs. Phila. A’s 9/5

Longest hitting streak – 29 games

Most HR, game – 1 on eleven occasions

HR at home – 3

HR on road – 8

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Phila. A’s 9/5

Pinch-hitting – No Appearances

Fielding

Chances – 555

Put Outs – 188

Assists – 324

Errors – 43

DP – 21

Pct. – .923

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The Blues went 69-67 to finish fifth in the AL, 14 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics, while leading the league in hits (1401), batting (.289), and total bases (1884). The Blues got off to a slow start and were in the AL cellar by the end of May at 11-23. The well-balanced club turned things around and went 58-44 the rest of the way to move up to fifth. Bradley contributed by homering in four consecutive games in May and achieving a career-high batting average to help boost Cleveland’s league-leading mark.

Aftermath of 1902:

The club, rechristened the Naps in honor of star second baseman Nap Lajoie, finished in third place in 1903 and Bradley, who rejected an offer from the New York Giants to return to the NL, was again a solid contributor. Among his 22 triples were three in one game against the St. Louis Browns. He also totaled 36 doubles, 6 home runs, 68 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases while batting .313 with a .348 on-base percentage and a .496 slugging percentage. Defensively he topped all AL third basemen in assists (299) as well as placing second in double plays (18) and fourth in fielding percentage (.924) despite his league-high 37 errors. The graceful Bradley was notably excellent at fielding bunts and had an outstanding throwing arm. An aggressive baserunner as well as an adept hitter and fielder, he had another fine season in 1904, batting .300 with 32 doubles, 8 triples, 6 home runs, and 83 RBIs, along with a .334 OBP and .409 slugging percentage. He led AL third basemen with a .955 fielding percentage and placed third in assists (308). A stomach ailment led to an off year in 1905 in which he hit .268 with 34 doubles and 6 triples, although no home runs and his RBI total dropped to 51 and his OBP to .321. He remained effective in the field, again topping AL third basemen in fielding percentage (.945) as well as put outs (190) and DPs (17). Bradley missed half of the 1906 season with a broken wrist and hit .275 in 82 games. Afflicted by a bout with typhoid fever in 1907, Bradley’s hitting dropped off to a .223 average and a .286 OBP but he set a league record with 46 sacrifice hits, which he eclipsed in 1908 when he accumulated 60. Despite his lessened batting production, he remained a capable fielder. His average fell to .186 in 1909 and .196 in 1910, at the point he was released in August. In 1911 he became player/manager with Toronto in the Eastern League and hit .294 with 13 triples and 8 home runs. With the team shifting to the International League in 1912, Bradley guided the club to a pennant while also batting .292 with 17 triples. Following one more season with Toronto, he next joined the Brooklyn Tip Tops of the upstart Federal League in 1914, acting as manager and making a handful of pinch-hitting appearances. Bradley stayed with the Federal League in 1915, playing for the Kansas City Packers. While still capable at third base, he hit only .187 in 66 games. He managed in 1916 with Erie of the Inter-State League, his playing days now over. For his major league career, Bradley batted .271 with 1471 hits that included 275 doubles, 84 triples, and 34 home runs. He scored 754 runs and compiled 552 RBIs, 181 stolen bases, a .317 OBP, and a .371 slugging percentage. With Cleveland he batted .272 with 1265 hits, 649 runs scored, 238 doubles, 74 triples, 27 home runs, 473 RBIs, 157 stolen bases, a .317 OBP, and a .373 slugging percentage. In 1928 he became a highly-regarded scout for Cleveland until his death in 1954 at age 76, three years before he was inducted into the Cleveland Indians (now Guardians) Hall of Fame.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.