Highlighted Year: Jesse Burkett, 1901

Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  32

3^rd season with Cardinals

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’8”    Weight: 155 

Prior to 1901:

A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Burkett first excelled as a pitcher with local town teams. Signed by Scranton of the Central League for $85 per month in 1888, the young southpaw moved on to Worcester of the Atlantic Association in 1889, where he won 30 games and recorded 240 strikeouts while also hitting .267. Acquired by the National League’s Indianapolis Hoosiers, the franchise folded prior to the 1890 season and he joined the New York Giants. Burkett pitched poorly in 1890, compiling a 3-10 record with a 5.57 ERA. He hit well enough to start in right field, batting .309 with 23 doubles, 13 triples, 4 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a .366 on-base percentage. A poor fielder who was unable to stick with the Giants in 1891, Burkett joined the Cleveland Spiders in 1891 where he got off to a slow start and was assigned to the Lincoln Rustlers of the Western Association in order to improve his fielding. After batting .316 in 93 games, he returned to Cleveland as a part-time outfielder and hit .269 with a .358 OBP while appearing in 40 games. Never a good defensive outfielder due to limited range and a weak arm, Burkett was shifted to left field in 1892. His batting improved to .275 with 15 doubles, 14 triples, 6 home runs, and 66 RBIs along with 36 stolen bases and a .348 OBP. His hitting, which made up for his defensive lapses, continued to improve in 1893 to .348 with 25 doubles, 15 triples, 6 home runs, and 82 RBIs along with 39 stolen bases and a .459 OBP. In 1894 he batted .358 with 27 doubles, 14 triples, 8 home runs, and 94 RBIs along with 28 stolen bases, 84 walks drawn, a .447 OBP, and a .509 slugging percentage. An excellent bunter who was adept at fouling off pitches to extend at bats during a period when foul balls didn’t count as strikes, he regularly ranked high in walks drawn. Burkett was also hot-tempered and had a sharp tongue, which made him highly unpopular with opposing players and fans and gained him a reputation for being mean. The Spiders had a reputation for rowdy behavior, but Burkett’s behavior stood out and caused him to be nicknamed “The Crab”. In 1895 Burkett led the NL in hits (225) and batting (.405) while also producing a .482 OBP. In 1896 he led the league in hits (240), runs scored (160), batting (.410), and total bases (317). In the first game of a double-header in 1897, “The Crab” refused to leave the field after being ejected, causing the Spiders to forfeit. Ejected again in the second game, the umpire had two policemen forcibly remove Burkett from the field. He continued to be a top hitter in his last two years with Cleveland before the team was expelled from the contracting NL. Assigned to the Cardinals in 1899 he batted .396 with a .463 OBP and .500 slugging percentage. He hit .363 with a .429 OBP in 1900, still wielding one of the most potent bats in the National League.

1901 Season Summary

Appeared in 142 games

LF – 142

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 676 [1]

At Bats – 601 [1]

Runs – 142 [1]

Hits – 226 [1]

Doubles – 20 [19, tied with Sam Crawford, Claude Ritchey & Charlie Hickman]

Triples – 15 [7, tied with Bobby Wallace & Fred Clarke]

Home Runs – 10 [3]

RBI – 75 [12]

Bases on Balls – 59 [6, tied with Sammy Strang]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 70 [3]

Stolen Bases – 27 [13, tied with Roy Thomas, George Davis & Frank Chance]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .376 [1]

OBP - .440 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .509 [4]

Total Bases – 306 [1]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 10 [5, tied with Fred Clarke, Art Nichols & Fred Crolius]

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading plate appearances were +31 ahead of runner-up Willie Keeler

League-leading at bats were +6 ahead of runner-up Willie Keeler

League-leading runs scored were +19 ahead of runner-up Willie Keeler

League-leading hits were +24 ahead of runner-up Willie Keeler

League-leading batting average was +.022 ahead of runners-up Jimmy Sheckard & Ed Delahanty

League-leading OBP was +.003 ahead of runner-up Roy Thomas

League-leading total bases were +10 ahead of runner-up Jimmy Sheckard

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 11, 3B – 10, HR - 3, RBI - 36, SB – 15, AVG. - .379, SLG - .505

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Cincinnati 7/21

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 23

HR on road – 17

Most home runs, game – 1 on ten occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Cincinnati 10/6

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 351

Put Outs – 307

Assists – 17

Errors – 27

DP – 4

Pct. - .923 

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The Cardinals went 76-64 to finish fourth in the NL, 14.5 games behind the pennant-winning Pittsburgh Pirates while leading the league in runs scored (792), hits (1430), triples (94), home runs (39), RBIs (657), and total bases (1922). The Cardinals finished April in first place at 5-3 but quickly dropped in the standings during an 8-14 May that included a six-game losing streak. During a 35-20 June and July run, the club moved back into contention but faded in August and was too far back to make headway during a 9-2 September run that included a six-game winning streak.

Aftermath of 1901:

Burkett jumped to the American League’s St. Louis Browns in 1902. His average dropped to .306 while he compiled 29 doubles, 9 triples, 5 home runs, and 52 RBIs, along with a .390 OBP, boosted by his 71 walks. In 1903 he hit .293 with 30 extra-base hits and a .361 OBP. His average dropped further in 1904 to .271, although his OBP was .363 thanks to 78 walks. In the offseason the 36-year old Burkett was traded to the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) for outfielder George Stone, who would prove to be a productive hitter for the Browns. “The Crab” batted a disappointing .257 in 1905 with 29 extra-base hits, 47 RBIs, and a .339 OBP. It marked the end of his major league career. He managed his money well and bought a franchise in the New England League which he moved to Worcester and acted as player/manager. His .344 average in 1906 led the league and Worcester won the first of four consecutive pennants. He operated the Worcester club until selling and becoming head coach at Holy Cross in 1917. Returning to the NL and the New York Giants as a coach in 1920, he alienated players on the team until leaving after the 1922 season. He returned to minor league managing thereafter. For his major league career Burkett batted .338 with 2850 hits that included 320 doubles, 182 triples, and 75 home runs. He scored 1720 runs (leading the NL twice), and compiled 952 RBIs, 389 stolen bases, 1029 walks drawn, a .415 OBP, and a .446 slugging percentage. With the Cardinals he batted .378 with 650 hits, 346 runs scored, 52 doubles, 38 triples, 24 home runs, 214 RBIs, 84 stolen bases, 188 walks drawn, a .444 OBP, and a .495 slugging percentage. A three-time batting champion, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. Following his minor league managerial career, he became a scout and instructor during spring training. “The Crab” died in 1953 at age 84.  

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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.