Outfielder, Cincinnati
Reds
Age: 21 (April 18)
3rd season
with Reds
Bats – Left,
Throws – Left
Height: 6’0” Weight: 190
Prior to 1901:
A native of
Wahoo, Nebraska (hence his nickname “Wahoo Sam”), Crawford ended his formal
schooling in fifth grade to apprentice as a barber. He also demonstrated
baseball skill early on playing sandlot ball. After joining a touring team he
played for the local Killian Brothers club. In 1898 he played semipro ball
while barbering in two small towns in Nebraska. Recommended to the Canadian
League team in Chatham, Ontario in 1899, Crawford batted .370 in 43 games
before moving on to Columbus and Grand Rapids in the Western League and hit
.328 with 13 triples and 5 home runs in 60 games. The Reds purchased his
contract and the 19-year-old outfielder appeared in 31 games and batted .307
with 11 extra-base hits, 20 RBIs, a .318 on-base percentage, and a .465
slugging percentage. In his first full major league season in 1900 he hit .260
with 15 doubles, 15 triples, 7 home runs, 59 RBIs, 14 stolen bases, a .314 OBP,
and a .429 slugging percentage. Solidly built and strong, he quickly developed
into a highly regarded power hitter within the context of the times.
1901 Season Summary
Appeared in 131
games
RF – 126, PH –
5, LF – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 559
At Bats – 515
Runs – 91 [15]
Hits – 170 [14,
tied with Emmet Heidrick]
Doubles – 20 [19,
tied with Jesse Burkett, Claude Ritchey & Charlie Hickman]
Triples – 16 [3,
tied with Ed Delahanty, Kitty Bransfield & Topsy Hartsel]
Home Runs – 16
[1]
RBI – 104 [3,
tied with Jimmy Sheckard]
Bases on Balls
– 37
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 45
Stolen Bases – 13
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .330
[11]
OBP - .378 [13]
Slugging Pct. -
.524 [3]
Total Bases – 270
[5, tied with Elmer Flick]
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 4
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading home
runs were +5 ahead of runner-up Jimmy Sheckard
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 10, 3B – 14, HR – 6, RBI – 59, AVG - .324, SLG - .512, OBP –
.369
---
Most hits, game
– 5 (in 5 AB) at NY Giants 6/27
Longest hitting
streak – 15 games
HR at home – 8
HR on road – 8
Most home runs,
game – 1 on sixteen occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 6 at Chi. Cubs 4/27
Pinch-hitting –
N/A
Fielding
Chances – 248
Put Outs – 209
Assists – 20
Errors – 19
DP – 6
Pct. - .923
---
The Reds went 52-87
to finish eighth in the NL, 38 games behind the pennant-winning Pittsburgh
Pirates while leading the league in batting strikeouts (587). The rebuilding Reds
started well and ended May in second place at 16-12. A poor June performance
that included a 10-game losing streak dropped them to seventh where they languished
for most of the rest of the summer. A 9-27 finish put them in the NL cellar for
the first time in club history. Crawford and LHP Noodles Hahn were the club’s
stalwarts.
Aftermath of 1901:
Crawford followed up on his outstanding performance with another strong season in 1902 in which he batted .333 with 18 doubles, a co-league leading 22 triples, 3 home runs, 78 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, a .386 OBP, and a .461 slugging percentage. In 1903 he jumped to the Detroit Tigers of the American League and led the AL with 25 triples to go along with 23 doubles, 4 home runs, 89 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, a .335 average, a .366 OBP, and a .489 slugging percentage. He performed well defensively as he split his time between right and left field, although his lack of speed hindered his ability to cover much ground. His production dropped in 1904 but he regained his consistency in making contact in 1905 as he hit .297 with 6 home runs, 75 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, a .357 OBP, and a .430 slugging percentage. The arrival of Ty Cobb in 1906 brought a player who would take over in center field and overshadow right fielder Crawford over the next decade. In contrast to Cobb’s brashness and aggressiveness, “Wahoo Sam” was highly respected for his integrity and gentlemanly disposition. Despite his lack of formal education, he came also to be known as well-read and articulate. And he remained an outstanding hitter, in 1906 batting .295 with 25 doubles, 16 triples, 2 home runs, 66 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, and a .341 OBP. The Tigers won the AL pennant in 1907 and Crawford contributed by leading the league with 102 runs scored while hitting .323 with 34 doubles, 17 triples, 4 home runs, 81 RBIs, a .366 OBP, and a .460 slugging percentage. In the World Series loss to the Chicago Cubs he hit .238. The Tigers repeated as AL champs in 1908 and Crawford again scored 102 runs while batting .311 with 33 doubles, 16 triples, a league-leading 7 home runs, a .355 OBP, and a .457 slugging percentage. Detroit again lost to the Cubs in the World Series, and again Crawford hit .238. The Tigers topped the AL again in 1909 and Crawford led the circuit with 35 doubles while batting .314 with 14 triples, 6 home runs, 97 RBIs, 30 stolen bases, a .366 OBP, and a .452 slugging percentage. The club fell to Pittsburgh in the World Series although Crawford contributed a home run and 4 RBIs. The Tigers dropped to third in 1910 although “Wahoo Sam” led the league in triples (19) and RBIs (120) while hitting .289 with 26 doubles, 5 home runs, a .332 OBP, and a .423 slugging percentage. His production remained solid in 1911 as he batted .378 with 36 doubles, 14 triples, 7 home runs, 115 RBIs, 37 stolen bases, a .438 OBP, and a .526 slugging percentage. He tied for fourteenth in AL Chalmers Award voting for league MVP, well behind his teammate, Cobb, who won the award. In 1912 the durable and consistent Crawford hit .325 with 30 doubles, 21 triples, 4 home runs, 109 RBIs, 42 stolen bases, a .373 OBP, and a .470 slugging percentage for the sixth-place Tigers. He again tied for fourteenth in AL MVP balloting. “Wahoo Sam” topped the AL in triples (23) and total bases (298) in 1913 while batting .317 with 32 doubles, 9 home runs, 83 RBIs, a .371 OBP, and a .489 slugging percentage. Detroit again finished in sixth and for the third straight year, Crawford tied for fourteenth in league Chalmers Award balloting. He rose to second in 1914 after topping the AL in triples (26) and RBIs (104) while hitting .314 with 22 doubles, 8 home runs, a .388 OBP, and a .483 slugging percentage. After a decent 1916 season, Crawford’s performance dropped off drastically at age 37 in 1917, after which he was released by the Tigers, which ended his major league career. He went on to play four seasons with the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League, topping that circuit with 239 hits in 1919 and 21 triples in 1920. For his major league career he batted .309 with 2961 hits that included 458 doubles, 309 triples, and 97 home runs. Crawford scored 1391 runs and compiled 1523 RBIs, 367 stolen bases, a .362 OBP, and a .452 slugging percentage. With the Reds he batted .312 with 276 runs scored, 495 hits, 56 doubles, 60 triples, 27 home runs, 261 RBIs, 49 stolen bases, a .361 OBP, and a .474 slugging percentage. His overall career total of 309 triples remains the NL/AL record. He led either the NL or AL in triples six times, and the AL in RBIs on three occasions. Appearing in 17 World Series games, he hit .243 with 5 doubles, one home run, and 8 RBIs. While Crawford and Cobb had an uneasy relationship, Cobb speculated that his long-time teammate would have had 40-home run seasons during the era of the livelier ball. Following his playing career Crawford was a successful head baseball coach at USC and also worked as a Pacific Coast League umpire. Quiet and reclusive in retirement, he explained in his laconic way to an interviewer why he didn’t have a phone by saying “I never was for telephones. Just don’t like them, that’s all. Anybody wants to talk to you, they can come to see you. I do have a television…but I never turn it on. I’d rather read a book.” Crawford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1957, 11 years before his death in 1968 at age 88.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10),
runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20), pitching wins,
strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10), or have been
participants in the annual All-Star Games between the National and American
Leagues since 1933. This category will also include Misc. players who received
award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had
notable seasons in non-award years.
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