Outfielder, St.
Louis Cardinals
1st season
with Cardinals
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 5’11” Weight: 175
Prior to 1900:
A native of
Ireland, Patrick “Patsy” Donovan immigrated to Lawrence, Massachusetts with his
family at a young age. He completed elementary school and went to work in a
cotton mill. A fine athlete, Donovan began playing baseball professionally with
Lawrence’s team in the New England League in 1886. Moving along, the young
outfielder played for Salem in 1887 where he batted .409 with 119 runs scored.
A singles hitter with speed, Donovan played next in Canada with the London
Tecumsehs of the International Association where his .359 batting average led
the league. Following another, lesser season with London in 1889, he reached
the National League with the Boston Beaneaters in 1890. Released in June he
caught on with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and finished the season with a combined
.241 average and .290 on-base percentage in 60 games. Donovan spent 1891 in the
rival American Association with Louisville and Washington, batting a combined
.305 with a .358 OBP and 28 stolen bases. He started 1892 back in the NL with
the Washington Senators but was dealt to Pittsburgh at midseason and finished
at .278 with a .322 OBP, 26 extra-base hits, and 56 stolen bases. Appreciated
for his quiet and dignified manner as well as his speed, hitting, and good work
ethic, Donovan became a fixture in the Pittsburgh outfield. In 1893 he hit .317
with a .373 OBP and 46 stolen bases. Regularly a .300 hitter who was among the
stolen base leaders, he was also a capable fielder. He hit for his best average
with the Pirates in 1897 with a .322 mark, and his OBP was .360, ten points
behind his 1896 mark and seventeen points behind his 1895 OBP. As usual the
vast majority of his hits were singles with 25 extra-base hits in 1895, 28 in
1896, and 23 in 1897. His stolen base totals were 36, 48, and 34 respectively. He
also became player/manager in 1897, with disappointing results. His production
was similar in 1898 but following an 1899 season in which he was reinstated as
manager during the season, he batted .291 with a .319 OBP, 19 extra-base hits,
and 26 stolen bases and was sold to the Cardinals in the offseason by new
manager Fred Clarke.
1900 Season Summary
Appeared in 126
games
RF – 124, Other
– 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 550
At Bats – 503
Runs – 78
Hits – 159 [16]
Doubles – 11
Triples – 1
Home Runs – 0
RBI – 61
Bases on Balls
– 38
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 15
Stolen Bases – 45
[1, tied with George Van Haltren]
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .316
[13, tied with Jimmy Barrett & Roy Thomas]
OBP - .368 [17,
tied with Fred Clarke]
Slugging Pct. -
.342
Total Bases – 172
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 6
Sac Flies – N/A
Fielding
Chances – 203
Put Outs – 180
Assists – 13
Errors – 10
DP – 4
Pct. - .951
The Cardinals
went 65-75 to finish tied for fifth with the Chicago Orphans in the NL, 19
games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas. The Cardinals were 42-50 in
August when manager Patsy Tebeau was replaced by Louie Heilbroner, the club’s
business manager, who finished out the lackluster season.
Aftermath of 1900:
Donovan was named player/manager of the Cardinals in 1901 and the club’s fortunes improved in achieving a fourth-place finish. He contributed by batting .303 with a .344 OBP as well as 28 stolen bases. In the field, he led all NL outfielders with 8 double plays in addition to his 19 assists. In the offseason, the Cardinals suffered major player losses to the American League, especially the new intracity rivals, the St. Louis Browns. This translated into a drop in the standings to sixth place although Donovan hit .315 with a .363 OBP and 34 stolen bases. As the Cardinals dropped further in 1903, player/manager Donovan, who was the club’s highest-paid player at $8800, continued to be a solid performer. In 1904 he was let go by the Cardinals and joined the Washington Senators in the AL. The Senators got off to a dreadful start and Donovan took over as manager. He played in 129 games and batted .229 in his last full season as a player. Taking a year off in 1905, Donovan returned to the NL as manager of the Brooklyn Superbas (later Dodgers) in 1906. He saw limited action as a player for the lowly club that year and batted once in 1907, which was his final major league appearance (although he managed the Superbas for one more year in 1908). For his major league career Donovan batted .301 with 2256 hits that included 208 doubles, 75 triples, and 16 home runs. He scored 1321 runs and compiled 738 RBIs, 518 stolen bases, and a .348 OBP. With the Cardinals he batted .314 with 612 hits, 61 doubles, 13 triples, 1 home run, 303 runs scored, 208 RBIs, 132 stolen bases, and a .360 OBP. Following his major league playing career, Donovan managed the Boston Red Sox after his firing by Brooklyn and posted winning records with an up-and-coming club. His record as a manager was 684-879, typically leading teams with limited resources and talent. He became a scout for the Red Sox following his replacement as manager and most famously recommended that the club purchase slugging minor league pitcher Babe Ruth’s contract “at any price”. He became a minor league manager and school coach for several years and scouted for the New York Yankees until retiring in 1950, three years before his death on Christmas Day of 1953 at age 88. With a reputation as an astute and principled person who aided the careers of many young players, he later earned a letter of praise from President George H.W. Bush, who he coached at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.
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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.
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