Highlighted Year: Frank Isbell, 1901

First Baseman, Chicago White Sox

Age:  26 (Aug. 21)

1^st season with White Sox

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 190

Prior to 1901:

A native of Delevan, New York, Isbell first surfaced in baseball in Minneapolis, where he was a semi-professional pitcher and outfielder around 1895. He also pitched briefly for Macalester College, where teammates referred to him as “The Tall Pine”. In 1896 he joined St. Paul of the Western League where he made more of an impression with his .365 batting average than his pitching. Utilized as a pitcher and utility player, he joined the NL’s Chicago Orphans (now Cubs) in 1898 where off the field, he heroically rescued a baby from a burning house in St. Louis. On the field he produced a 4-7 pitching record with a 3.56 ERA and batted .233 before he was sent back to St. Paul. Isbell resurfaced with the White Sox of the new American League in 1901, where he became the starting first baseman.   

1901 Season Summary

Appeared in 137 games

1B – 137, 2B – 2, 3B – 1, SS – 1, P – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 612 [11, tied with Dave Fultz]

At Bats – 556 [7]

Runs – 93 [17]

Hits – 143

Doubles – 15

Triples – 8

Home Runs – 3

RBI – 70 [19]

Bases on Balls – 36

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 37 [14, tied with Billy Maloney]

Stolen Bases – 52 [1]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .257

OBP - .311

Slugging Pct. - .329

Total Bases – 183

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 7 [16, tied with four others]

Sac Hits – 13 [15, tied with Wid Conroy, Billy Sullivan & Bill Friel]

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading stolen bases were +6 ahead of runner-up Sam Mertes

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 9, 3B – 3, HR – 3, RBI - 45, SB – 30, AVG - .282, SLG – .362, OBP – .331

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Most hits, game – 3 on ten occasions

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 4 AB) vs. Milwaukee 5/18, (in 4 AB) vs. Baltimore 5/28, (in 3 AB) at Bos. Americans 6/17

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 1

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Milwaukee 5/17, vs. Milwaukee 5/18

Pinch-hitting – N/A

Pitching

G – 1, GS – 0, CG – 0, Record – 0-0, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 1, H – 2, R – 1, ER – 1, HR – 0, BB – 0, SO – 0, ERA – 9.00, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0 

Fielding

Chances – 1519

Put Outs – 1387

Assists – 101

Errors – 31

DP – 79

Pct. – .980

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The White Sox went 83-53 to win the first AL pennant by 4 games over the Boston Americans, while leading the league in runs scored (819), stolen bases (280), and walks drawn (475). The well-balanced White Sox were 24-9 by the end of May and, despite a brief dip in July and a 13-13 August, led the league the rest of the way. Isbell paced the club’s league-leading stolen base total.

Aftermath of 1901:

Isbell continued to be a valuable member of the White Sox due to his versatility (he appeared at all nine positions during his time with the team), although his batting average dipped to .252 with a .276 OBP in 1902 and .242 with a .266 OBP in 1903. His lack of power caused him to lose his first base job to Jiggs Donahue in 1904 and he spent most of his time at second base. Prematurely balding and nicknamed “Bald Eagle” to his dismay, he hit a dismal .210 in ’04, but jumped to .296 in 1905 with 21 doubles and 11 triples while seeing action primarily at second base and right field. The low-hitting 1906 White Sox, known as “the Hitless Wonders” won the AL pennant in 1906 and Isbell contributed by hitting .279 with 18 doubles, 11 triples, and a .324 OBP. In his only taste of World Series action, he fared poorly at the plate until the last two games of the Series against the crosstown rival Cubs, won by the White Sox in six games while Isbell contributed four doubles and 2 RBIs in Game 5 and three singles and an RBI in the decisive Game 6. His overall batting statistics in the Series were .308 with 4 runs, 8 hits, and 4 RBIs. Hitting poorly in 1907 he requested his release so he could manage Wichita in the Western Association. Returning to the White Sox in 1908, Isbell missed the first two months of the season due to a salary holdout.  He reclaimed his first base job and batted .247 with a .297 OBP in 84 games while the White Sox contended for another pennant. He played one more season for the White Sox in 1909, hit poorly, and was released afterward. For his major league career, spent almost entirely with the White Sox, Isbell batted .250 with 1056 hits that included 158 doubles, 62 triples, and 13 home runs. He scored 501 runs and compiled 455 RBIs, 253 stolen bases, a .289 OBP, and a .326 slugging percentage. Following his playing career, Isbell managed and was a team president with minor league clubs. He later worked for the Wichita recreation department, operated a gas station, and served as a Sedgewick County Commissioner. Isbell died in 1941 at age 65.

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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.