Highlighted Year: Elmer Flick, 1901

Outfielder, Philadelphia Phillies

Age:  25

4^th season with Phillies

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’9”    Weight: 168 

Prior to 1901:

A native of Bedford, Ohio, Flick was the son of a skilled mechanic and Civil War veteran. A fine natural athlete, he played several sports but preferred baseball and was a star hard-hitting catcher on the Bedford High School team. He joined the town team at age 15 and moved on to the Youngstown Puddlers of the Inter-State League in 1896. Shifted to the outfield, he made his own baseball bat which he used to good effect by batting .438. His play in the outfield was far less impressive. In 1897 he switched to the Dayton Old Soldiers, also of the Inter-State League. He performed better in left field and hit .386 while leading the league with 20 triples among his 183 hits that included 42 doubles and 10 home runs. He further scored 135 runs in 126 games and stole 25 bases. Signed by the Phillies in 1898, he started the season as an outfield reserve and then moved into the lineup due to an injury to right fielder Sam Thompson. Combining power with speed, the small and solidly built Flick batted .302 as a rookie with 16 doubles, 13 triples, 8 home runs, 81 RBIs, 23 stolen bases, and a .430 on-base percentage, which was helped by drawing 86 walks. In 1899 he hit .342 with 98 runs scored, 22 doubles, 11 triples, 2 home runs, 98 RBIs, 31 stolen bases, and a .407 OBP. Flick topped the NL with 110 RBIs in 1900 while batting .367 with 32 doubles, 16 triples, 11 home runs, a .441 OBP, and a .545 slugging percentage.

1901 Season Summary

Appeared in 138 games

RF – 138

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 616 [9]

At Bats – 540 [13, tied with Claude Ritchey]

Runs – 112 [6]

Hits – 180 [9]

Doubles – 32 [6]

Triples – 17 [2]

Home Runs – 8 [4, tied with Ed Delahanty & Ginger Beaumont]

RBI – 88 [8]

Bases on Balls – 52 [9, tied with George Magoon & Monte Cross]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 56 [9, tied with Roy Thomas, Barry McCormick & Herman Long]

Stolen Bases – 30 [10]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .333 [9]

OBP - .399 [8]

Slugging Pct. - .500 [5]

Total Bases – 270 [5, tied with Sam Crawford]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 7 [15, tied with seven others]

Sac Hits – 13 [13, tied with five others]

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 15, 3B – 11, HR - 6, RBI – 52, SB – 13, AVG - .324, OBP – .393, SLG – .526

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. Orphans 6/27, (in 5 AB) at St. Louis Cards 7/6, (in 5 AB) vs. Brooklyn 7/27

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 1 on eight occasions

HR at home – 3

HR on road – 5

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Pittsburgh 5/16, vs. Cincinnati 6/24

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 313

Put Outs – 278

Assists – 23

Errors – 12

DP – 7

Pct. - .962 

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The Phillies went 83-57 to finish second in the NL, 7.5 games behind the pennant-winning Pittsburgh Pirates while leading the league in bases on balls drawn (430). Despite key player defections to the American League, the Phillies remained competitive through a 38-31 first half. Despite a 16-win September, they could gain no ground on the surging Pirates, who accounted for five of their 9 September losses. Having become adept at playing a shallow right field in the Baker Bowl, with its short dimensions, he also co-led NL outfielders with 23 assists.

Aftermath of 1901:

Making the jump to the AL in 1902, Flick signed with the Philadelphia Athletics but spent only 11 games with them before being sold to Cleveland, seeking to avoid the legal problems of others who jumped from the Phillies to the A’s. Playing in 110 games with Cleveland, he hit .297 with 19 doubles, 11 triples (including a record three in one game), 2 home runs, 61 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and a .371 OBP. The production was strong again in 1903 as Flick batted .296 with 23 doubles, 16 triples, 2 home runs, 51 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, and a .368 OBP. In 1904 he led the AL with 38 stolen bases while hitting .306 with 31 doubles, 17 triples, 6 home runs, 56 RBIs, and a .371 OBP. Flick won the AL batting title in 1905 with a .308 average that remained the lowest for an AL/NL batting champion until 1968. He also led the league in triples (18), slugging (.462), and was second in OBP (.383). In 1906 he led in plate appearances (707), at bats (624), runs scored (98), triples (22), and stolen bases (39). Modest and a team player, he was liked by teammates and opponents alike, and was a fan favorite. At some point around 1907, the Tigers offered to trade outfielder Ty Cobb to the Naps (as the Cleveland team was called at the time) even-up for Flick, which the Naps turned down. Flick was beginning to develop health problems by this point that would soon shorten his career. 1907 proved to be his last outstanding season as he batted .302 with a league-high 18 triples, and a .386 OBP. A gastrointestinal illness sidelined him for all but nine games in 1908. Having lost weight, his batting power and speed were diminished. He hit .255 in 66 games in 1909 and .265 in 24 appearances in 1910 before being released in July, which ended his playing career. For his major league career, Flick batted .313 with 1752 hits that included 268 doubles, 164 triples, and 48 home runs. He scored 950 runs and compiled 756 RBIs, 330 stolen bases, a .389 OBP, and a .445 slugging percentage. With the Phillies he batted .338 with 683 hits, 400 runs scored, 102 doubles, 57 triples, 29 home runs, 377 RBIs, 119 stolen bases, a .419 OBP, and a .487 slugging percentage. Flick was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963. and died at the age of 94 in 1971. He was also inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame. A statue was erected in his honor in the town square of Bedford, Ohio.

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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.