Outfielder, Pittsburgh
Pirates
Age: 26
1st season
with Pirates
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 200
Prior to 1900:
Johannes Wagner
quickly picked up the nickname “Honus”, which was a diminutive of Johannes. He
is also shown as John Peter Wagner, the Americanized version of his German name
and was a native of a small town near Pittsburgh. Recommended by his elder
brother Albert (who would play one season of major league baseball in 1898), he
joined a team in Steubenville, Ohio in 1895. He ended up playing 80 games with
five teams in three leagues that first year, hit very well, and displayed
tremendous versatility. Moving on to Paterson of the Atlantic League in 1896,
he continued to appear at multiple positions and showed great speed while
batting .313 with power. Once again with Paterson in 1897, Wagner again hit
robustly and his contract was sold to the NL’s Louisville Colonels where he
played primarily in center field and batted .335 in 62 games with 18 doubles, 4
triples, 2 home runs, 39 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, a .376 on-base percentage, and
a .467 slugging percentage. Severely bowlegged, barrel-chested, and
heavy-looking, with long arms and legs, Wagner had deceptive speed and hit the
ball with authority with his split-handed grip. Playing at third, first, and
second base in 1898, he hit .299 with 29 doubles, 10 home runs, 105 RBIs, 27
steals, a .341 OBP, and a .410 slugging percentage. In 1899 Wagner appeared
most often at third base and right field and he batted .341 with 45 doubles, 13
triples, 7 home runs, 114 RBIs, 37 stolen bases, a .395 OBP, and a .501
slugging percentage. With the elimination of the Louisville franchise in 1900,
Wagner was obtained by the Pirates.
1900 Season Summary
Appeared in 135
games
RF – 118, 3B –
9, 2B – 7, 1B – 3, P – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 580 [17]
At Bats – 527 [15]
Runs – 107 [5]
Hits – 201 [3]
Doubles – 45 [1]
Triples – 22 [1]
Home Runs – 4
[20, tied with nine others]
RBI – 100 [3]
Bases on Balls
– 41
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 17
Stolen Bases – 38
[5, tied with Sam Mertes]
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .381
[1]
OBP - .434 [5]
Slugging Pct. -
.573 [1]
Total Bases – 302
[1]
GDP – N/A
Hit by Pitches
– 8 [15, tied with Kip Selbach, Nap Lajoie & Mike Grady
Sac Hits – 4
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading doubles
were +12 ahead of runner-up Nap Lajoie
League-leading
triples were +5 ahead of runners-up Joe Kelley & Charlie Hickman
League-leading batting
average was +.014 ahead of runner-up Elmer Flick
League-leading
slugging percentage was +.028 ahead of runner-up Elmer Flick
League-leading total bases were +5 ahead of runner-up Elmer Flick
---
Pitching:
G – 1 GS – 0,
CG – 0, Record – 0-0, PCT – .000, SV – 0, ShO – 0, IP – 3, H – 3, R – 3, ER –
0, HR – 0, BB – 4, SO – 1, ERA – 0.00, HB – 0, BLK – 0, WP – 0
Fielding (OF)
Chances – 199
Put Outs – 181
Assists – 11
Errors – 7
DP – 4
Pct. - .965
---
The Pirates went 79-60 to finish second in the NL, 4.5 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas while leading the league in triples (100), fewest stolen bases (174), and fewest walks drawn (327). With the addition of key players, including Wagner, from the defunct Louisville franchise, the Pirates started slowly in April but caught fire in May and entered June at 20-16, in second place. June was a rougher month, featuring a season-high 7-game losing streak. They bounced between second and third through July and August, settling into second place to stay on August 7.
Aftermath of 1900:
Wagner primarily played at shortstop for the first time in 1901, although he saw significant action in the outfield and third base as well. He led the NL in RBIs (126) and stolen bases (49) while batting .353 with 37 doubles, 11 triples, 6 home runs, a .417 OBP, and .494 slugging percentage. In addition, the Pirates won the pennant. Continuing to split his time between multiple positions in 1902, his bat and speed on the basepaths remained outstanding and he topped the league in runs scored (105), doubles (30), RBIs (91), stolen bases (42), and slugging (.463) while batting .330 with a .394 OBP. Friendly, honest, humble, and appreciated for his sportsmanship, Wagner became popular with fans and other players alike. In 1903 he settled in as Pittsburgh’s starting shortstop. Despite his stocky and ungainly appearance, he had excellent coordination and was at his best in the field at shortstop, where, with his large hands and strong arm, he would scoop up balls and dirt and gravel would go flying along with his throws. Also in 1903, the Pirates won a third consecutive NL pennant and Wagner topped the circuit in batting (.355) and triples (19) while also compiling 30 doubles, 5 home runs, 101 RBIs, 46 stolen bases, a .414 OBP, and a .518 slugging percentage. The Pirates lost the first modern World Series to the Boston Americans (now Red Sox) in a best of nine-game format. Wagner had a disappointing performance, hitting only .222 with a double and 3 RBIs. Known as “the Flying Dutchman” despite his German heritage, or “Hans”, a more common nickname for Johannes, Wagner and his brothers barnstormed playing basketball in the offseason, somewhat to the consternation of the Pittburgh management. He remained highly productive in 1904 as he led the NL in doubles (44), batting (.349), OBP (.423), slugging (.520), total bases (255), and stolen bases (53) while also accounting for 14 triples, 4 home runs, and 75 RBIs. In 1905 he hit .363 with 32 doubles, 14 triples, 6 home runs, 101 RBIs, 57 stolen bases, a .427 OBP, and a .505 slugging percentage. In the field he ranked third among NL shortstops with 517 assists and 64 double plays turned, categories where he was regularly among the league leaders. Wagner regained the NL batting title in 1906 (.339) while also leading the league in runs scored (103), doubles (38), and total bases (237). With the second-place Pirates in 1907, “the Flying Dutchman” again led the NL in batting (.350) and in OBP (.408), slugging (.513), doubles (38), stolen bases (61), total bases (264) while also producing 14 triples, 6 home runs, and 82 RBIs. The Pirates closely contended for the pennant in 1908 and Wagner led in hits (201), doubles (39), triples (19), RBIs (109), stolen bases (53), batting (.354), OBP (.415), slugging (.542), and total bases (308). Pittsburgh returned to the top of the National League in 1909 and Wagner contributed by leading the circuit in doubles (39), RBIs (100), batting (.339), OBP (.420), slugging (.489), and total bases (242) while also performing with his usual adroitness in the field. This time the Pirates won the World Series in seven games against the Detroit Tigers and Wagner hit .333 with 6 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. Three of his hits came in an 8-6 Game 3 win. In the vaunted matchup against Detroit’s star hitter Ty Cobb, Cobb only hit .231 with 6 hits and 5 RBIs. In 1910 Wagner topped the NL in hits (178) while batting .320 with 34 doubles, 8 triples, 4 home runs, 81 RBIs, 24 stolen bases, a .390 OBP, and a .432 slugging percentage. He led the league’s shortstops with 337 putouts and placed third in assists with 413. Any speculation that Wagner was slowing down at age 36 was put to rest in 1911 when “the Flying Dutchman” won his eighth (and final) NL batting title (.334) while producing 23 doubles, 16 triples, 9 home runs, 89 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, a .423 OBP, and a .507 slugging percentage, although he missed 25 games due to an August ankle injury which caused the Pirates to fall out of contention. He tied for third in league MVP voting. In 1912 he hit .324 with 35 doubles, 20 triples, 7 home runs, 101 RBIs, 26 stolen bases, a .395 OBP, and a .496 slugging percentage. This time he placed second in league MVP balloting. In 1913 the 39-year-old Wagner played in 114 games and batted .300 with a .349 OBP and finished eighth in NL MVP voting. With his career winding down he became the second player to reach 3000 hits in 1914, a year in which his batting average dropped to a mere .252. He played until 1917 and occasionally displayed aspects of his once formidable hitting skills in his last few seasons. In 1915 at age 41 he became the oldest player in NL/AL history to hit a grand slam, a record which lasted for 70 years, and in 1916, at 42 he became the oldest to hit an inside-the-park home run. In 1917 he briefly retired and returned to the Pirates in June. Spiked in July, he appeared only occasionally for the rest of his last season and even served briefly as Pittsburgh’s interim player/manager, a role which he chose not to continue with. For his major league career, Wagner batted .328 with 3420 hits that included 643 doubles, 252 triples, and 101 home runs. He scored 1739 runs and produced 1732 RBIs, 723 stolen bases, a .391 OBP, and a .467 slugging percentage. With the Pirates he batted .328 with 1521 runs scored, 2967 hits, 551 doubles, 232 triples, 82 home runs, 1374 RBIs, 639 stolen bases, a .394 OBP, and a .468 slugging percentage. He retired as the National League’s all-time leader in hits, a total which was first eclipsed by Stan Musial of the Cardinals. Wagner appeared in 15 World Series games and hit .275 with 9 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. A hero of the “Dead Ball” era, he was also one of the highest paid players, receiving a raise from $5000 to $10,000 in 1908 after threatening retirement, an amount which he received annually until 1916. Following his major league career, Wagner managed and played for a semipro team. He returned to the Pirates as a coach until 1951 where he was a respected batting instructor as well as revered story-telling presence. The Pirates retired the #33 that he wore as a coach (since he played before players wore numbers) and he was one of the first players voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936. Wagner died in 1955 at age 81. In addition to retiring his number the Pirates erected a statue of Wagner that has moved from Forbes Field to Three Rivers Stadium, and currently PNC Park.
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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 will also include
Misc. players who don’t otherwise qualify but received MVP votes or were contributors
to teams that reached the postseason.
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