Highlighted Year: Herman Long, 1900

Shortstop, Boston Beaneaters

Age:  34 (April 13)

11^th season with Beaneaters

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’8”    Weight: 160 

Prior to 1900:

A Chicago native, Long was the son of German immigrants and began playing semipro baseball in the 1880s. In 1887 he joined Arkansas City of the Kansas State League and pitched and played shortstop. In August he was sold to Emporia of the Western League where he batted .256 in 19 games. Long started the 1888 Western League season with the Chicago Maroons where he burnished his reputation as a rising star shortstop and outfielder. In July he was traded to the Kansas City Blues where he spent the remainder of the season. Long joined the Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association, which was a major league at the time, in 1889. He batted .275 with 32 doubles, 6 triples, 3 home runs, 60 RBIs, 89 stolen bases, and a .358 on-base percentage. At shortstop, he led the league in putouts (335) and errors (117). He demonstrated great running speed and range, but with the rudimentary gloves that were worn at the time and the poor condition of the fields, being able to get to a hard-hit ball didn’t mean he could cleanly field it. But when he did field the ball, he often made spectacular plays. As one newspaper account stated, “even Long’s two errors were brilliant”. In 1890 he joined the Boston Beaneaters of the National League. In his first game with the Beaneaters, he hit two home runs and made seven assists at shortstop. Hindered by a back injury later in the season, he ended up hitting .251 with 15 doubles, 8 home runs, 52 RBIs, 49 stolen bases, and a .320 OBP. Healthy in 1891, he missed only one game with the pennant winning club and batted .282 with 21 doubles, 12 triples, 9 home runs, 75 RBIs, 60 stolen bases, a .377 OBP, and a .407 slugging percentage. Defensively he led all NL shortstops in putouts (345) and double plays (60). 1892 was another pennant-winning season for Boston and Long batted .280 with 33 doubles, 6 triples, 6 home runs, 78 RBIs, 115 runs scored, 57 stolen bases, a .334 OBP, and a .378 slugging percentage. He was again among the league leaders at shortstop in putouts (297), assists (497), and double plays (65), while leading in errors (99). The Beaneaters made it three straight NL pennants in 1893 and Long, who had been in a salary dispute with the club in the spring, led the circuit with 149 runs scored while hitting .288 with 22 doubles, 6 triples, 6 home runs, 58 RBIs, 38 stolen bases, a .376 OBP, and a .382 slugging percentage. Defensively he led NL shortstops with 67 double plays. The club dropped in the standings in 1894 but Long remained a consistent performer, scoring 136 runs and batting .324 with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 12 home runs, 79 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, a .375 OBP, and a .505 slugging percentage. During the 1895 season the newly married Long came under public criticism from manager Frank Selee for deficiencies as a team player. His production remained strong and he was still among the top shortstops defensively. He was also adept at executing the hit-and-run. Nicknamed “the Flying Dutchman”, following another strong offensive performance in 1897 in which he batted .322 with 32 doubles, 7 triples, 3 home runs, 69 RBIs, a .358 OBP, and a .444 slugging percentage, his average dropped off to .265 in both 1898 and ’99 while his OBPs were .311 and .321 respectively. Defensively, he topped NL shortstops with 68 DPs in 1898 and placed second with 351 putouts in 1899. The Beaneaters were a pennant-winning club in 1898 and finished second in 1899.  

1900 Season Summary

Appeared in 125 games

SS – 125

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 550

At Bats – 486

Runs – 80

Hits – 127

Doubles – 19

Triples – 4

Home Runs – 12 [1]

RBI – 66

Bases on Balls – 44 [17]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 23

Stolen Bases – 26

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .261

OBP - .325

Slugging Pct. - .391

Total Bases – 190

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 2

Sac Hits – 18 [8, tied with Claude Ritchey & Barry McCormick]

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading home runs were +1 ahead of runner-up Elmer Flick

Fielding

Chances – 759

Put Outs – 257

Assists – 454

Errors – 48

DP – 34

Pct. - .937

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The Beaneaters went 66-72 to finish fourth in the NL, 17 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas while leading the league in home runs (48). The Beaneaters were off to a terrible 5-17 start through May 22 before going on a 16-3 run that pulled them into third place. Continuing to be streaky, an 8-game losing streak from June 29 to July 6 had them in sixth place and well behind the contenders. They played .500 ball during the season’s second half to salvage a fourth-place finish. 

Aftermath of 1900:

Long played two more seasons with Boston, with his performance diminishing, although as his range decreased his fielding percentage improved (he led NL shortstops in that category in both 1901 and ’02). He jumped to the New York Highlanders (now Yankees) in 1903 and only lasted with the club until June due to poor performance at the plate and in the field, where his arm had lost its strength. Picked up by the Detroit Tigers he was shifted to second base where his defense was still substandard, and he only batted .222 in 69 games. Hired as player/manager by the Toledo Mud Hens of the Class A American Association in 1904, he resigned in June and appeared in one game for the Philadelphia Phillies, in which he had one hit in his final major league appearance. For his major league career, Long batted .277 with 2129 hits that included 342 doubles, 97 triples, and 91 home runs. He scored 1456 runs and compiled 1055 RBIs, 537 stolen bases, a .335 OBP, and a .383 slugging percentage. With the Beaneaters he batted .280 with 1292 runs scored, 1902 hits, 295 doubles, 91 triples, 88 home runs, 964 RBIs, 434 stolen bases, a .337 OBP, and a .390 slugging percentage. Following his long major league career, Long played and managed with Des Moines of the Western League and batted .307 for the league champions. After playing for two minor league teams in 1906, his career as a player came to an end. His health deteriorated thereafter and he died of tuberculosis at age 43 in 1909. Appreciated at the time for his all-around outstanding play at shortstop, he was eventually inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame and there is currently a plaque in his honor on display at Atlanta’s Truist Park (the franchise’s present-day home). Despite finishing in the top 12 in the Baseball Hall of Fame’s first Old Timer’s poll in 1936, he has still not been enshrined to date.  

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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.