Highlighted Year: Al “Kip” Selbach, 1900

Outfielder, New York Giants

Age:  28

1^st season with Giants

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’7”    Weight: 190 

Prior to 1900:

The son of German immigrants, Albert Karl Selbach was a native of Columbus, Ohio. After first playing baseball in the Columbus League, he entered organized baseball with the Chattanooga Warriors of the Southern Association in 1893. He appeared at several different positions over 77 games, mostly in the outfield and at catcher, and batted .244. Moving on to the Washington Senators of the National League in 1894, the 22-year-old played in the outfield and shortstop and hit .306 with 21 doubles, 17 triples, 7 home runs, and 71 RBIs, along with 21 stolen bases, a .390 on-base percentage, and a .511 slugging percentage. Selbach followed up with another strong season in 1895, batting .324 and leading the NL with 22 triples. A fine defensive outfielder who was often lauded for his spectacular catches, he continued to be an excellent player on a losing team in 1896, hitting .304 with 17 doubles, 13 triples, 5 home runs, 100 RBIs, 49 stolen bases, and a .405 OBP. He was especially appreciated for his speed, especially when running to first, and his defensive skill, which was often noted in the press. Known as Al or “Kip”, he was also nicknamed “the German Ambassador” and was a fan favorite in Washington. In January of 1897 he suffered burns as the result of a fire in his home, leading to questions as to whether he would be able to play that season. He recovered enough to play in 1897 but was bothered by nagging injuries. Selbach still batted .313 with 25 doubles, 16 triples, 5 home runs, 59 RBIs, 46 stolen bases, and a .414 OBP due to drawing 80 walks. A lesser performance in 1898 resulted in his hitting .303 with a .383 OBP and he was sold to the Cincinnati Reds for $5000, a significant amount for the time. Unhappy with Cincinnati, where he was criticized for his time-consuming batting ritual, he batted .297 in 1899 with a .386 OBP and 38 stolen bases. The Giants purchased his contract in 1900.

1900 Season Summary

Appeared in 141 games

LF – 141

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 611 [14]

At Bats – 523 [16, tied with Tommy Corcoran]

Runs – 98 [12, tied with Jake Beckley]

Hits – 176 [8]

Doubles – 29 [6, tied with Harry Steinfeldt]

Triples – 12 [9, tied with Nap Lajoie, Fred Clarke & Willie Keeler]

Home Runs – 4 [20, tied with nine others]

RBI – 68 [16, tied with Jesse Burkett, Jimmy Williams & Willie Keeler]

Bases on Balls – 72 [5, tied with Jimmy Barrett]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 25

Stolen Bases – 36 [8]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .337 [7, tied with Nap Lajoie]

OBP - .425 [7]

Slugging Pct. - .461 [7]

Total Bases – 241 [6]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 8 [15, tied with Honus Wagner, Nap Lajoie & Mike Grady]

Sac Hits – 8

Sac Flies – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 370

Put Outs – 327

Assists – 25

Errors – 18

DP – 8

Pct. – .951

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The Giants went 60-78 to finish eighth in the NL, 23 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas while leading the league in fewest home runs (23). The slow-starting Giants only got worse in May and June, after which they were firmly ensconced in the NL cellar, from which they never emerged the rest of the way.

Aftermath of 1900:

Selbach had a decent but lesser season for the Giants in 1901, batting .289 with a .350 OBP and team-leading 89 runs scored. He jumped to the Baltimore Orioles of the American League in 1902 when offered $3200 and hit .320 with 27 doubles, 9 triples, 60 RBIs, and a .393 OBP. On a down note, he committed five errors in an August game, which was an AL record for outfielders until 2012. With the Orioles being replaced by the New York Highlanders (now Yankees) in 1903, Selbach signed a two-year contract with the Washington Senators, taking advantage of his popularity in Washington from his NL years. In the offseason prior to 1903, Selbach, who was an excellent bowler, was part of a two-man team that won the All-American Bowling tournament in Indianapolis. He ended up having an off year with the ’03 Senators, hitting .251 with a .305 OBP. Back with the Senators in 1904, he was batting .275 with a .361 OBP when he was dealt to the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) at the end of June, at a point that the Senators had suspended him for indifferent play. Having regularly played for poor teams thus far during his career, he found himself involved in a pennant race with Boston, which the Americans won (although they didn’t have the opportunity to achieve further success in the postseason due to the refusal of the owner of the NL champion New York Giants to face the AL champs in the World Series). Selbach contributed a .258 average and .347 OBP in 98 games with Boston along with 19 doubles and 8 triples. He also made a key defensive play in the pennant-deciding game against the New York Highlanders (now Yankees). Boston dropped in the standings in 1905 and Selbach hit .246 with a .355 OBP. The team was even worse in 1906 and Selbach was released at the end of June, thus concluding his major league career, although he played and managed in the minor leagues until 1912. For his major league career, he batted .293 with 1807 hits that included 301 doubles, 149 triples, and 44 home runs. He scored 1066 runs and compiled 779 RBIs, 334 stolen bases, and drew 785 walks, which boosted him to a .377 OBP. With the Giants he batted .313 with 321 hits, 187 runs scored, 58 doubles, 18 triples, 5 home runs, 124 RBIs, 44 stolen bases, 117 walks drawn, and a .389 OBP. Following his baseball career, he managed a bowling alley and was a stenographer in a law office. He died in 1956 at age 83. 

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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.