Highlighted Year: Miller Huggins, 1911

Second Baseman, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  33

2^nd season with Cardinals

Bats – Both, Throws – Right

Height: 5’6”    Weight: 140 

Prior to 1911:

A Cincinnati native, Huggins played semipro baseball at a young age and joined Mansfield of the Interstate League in 1899 under an assumed name due to his father’s disapproval. Small, but tough, athletic, and intelligent, he began switch-hitting but was never an impressive batter from either side. After playing for a sandlot team in upstate New York in 1900, Huggins moved on to the St. Paul Saints of the Western League and American Association from 1901 to 1903. He hit over .300 in the latter two seasons and earned a law degree at the University of Cincinnati. Hindered in drawing major league attention by his diminutive size, he succeeded thanks to his determination and intelligence. Catching on with the Cincinnati Reds in 1904, he utilized a crouched stance and careful batting eye to start at second base and hit .263 with 12 doubles, 7 triples, 2 home runs, 30 RBIs, 96 runs scored, and a .377 on-base percentage while drawing 88 walks. Teased by teammates for his size, crooked smile, and odd stance at the plate, he proved to be a capable second baseman and received nicknames such as “Mighty Mite” and “Rabbit”. In 1905 he led the NL in walks drawn (103) while batting .273 with a .392 OBP. He also stole 27 bases. Lacking batting power, all of his career home runs were of the inside-the-park variety. In 1906 he hit .292 with a .376 OBP, 41 stolen bases, and led all NL second basemen in assists for the second straight year with 458. Capable of being devious, he was adept at pulling the “hidden ball” trick to deceive opposing baserunners. Quiet, lacking flamboyance, and not prone to socializing off the field, Huggins enjoyed reading, playing billiards, card playing, and fishing. In 1907 he again led the league in walks drawn (83) while batting .248 with 17 extra-base hits, 31 RBIs, 28 stolen bases, and a .346 OBP. Huggins lasted two more seasons with the Reds, and after displaying a fair degree of endurance thus far in his major league career despite dealing with a variety of maladies, Huggins was limited to 57 games due to a sore arm in 1909. In the offseason he was traded to the Cardinals as part of a five-player deal. The trade was highly unpopular with Cincinnati fans but served to spur Huggins’ career to some of his best seasons and set the stage for his later managerial career. In 1910 he appeared in 151 games and topped the NL in walks drawn (116) and plate appearances (688) while batting .265 with a .399 OBP. In one game against the Boston Doves (later Braves), he set a record of six plate appearances without registering a single at bat thanks to two sacrifices and drawing four walks, although he did score a run. His defense remained outstanding.  

1911 Season Summary

Appeared in 138 games

2B – 136, PR – 2, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 626 [18]

At Bats – 509

Runs – 106 [2, tied with Bob Bescher]

Hits – 133

Doubles – 19

Triples – 2

Home Runs – 1

RBI – 24

Bases on Balls – 96 [4]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 52

Stolen Bases – 37 [9, tied with Dick Egan]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .261

OBP - .385 [11, tied with Bob Bescher]

Slugging Pct. - .312

Total Bases – 159

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 6 [15, tied with six others]

Sac Hits – 15

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: R – 54, 2B – 9, HR – 1, RBI – 10, SB – 17, AVG – .249, OBP - .370

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Most hits, game – 3 on eight occasions

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 5 AB) at Cincinnati 6/23

HR at home – 0

HR on road – 1

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 2 vs. Cincinnati 5/31, vs. Phila. Phillies 6/12  

Pinch-hitting – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 749

Put Outs – 281

Assists – 439

Errors – 29

DP – 62

Pct. - .961

Awards & Honors:

6^th in NL MVP voting (21 points – 33% share)

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The Cardinals went 75-74 to finish fifth in the NL, 22 games behind the pennant-winning New York Giants. The Cardinals were in contention following strong May and June records but a July train accident that resulted in no serious injuries to team members marked a derailment in the club’s fortunes and they ended the season with 7 losses in their last 9 games (excluding a tie) which still resulted in their first winning season since 1901.

Aftermath of 1911:

The Cardinals suffered a 90-loss season in 1912 but Huggins again received MVP votes as he batted .304 with 82 runs scored, 35 stolen bases, and a .422 OBP with the help of 87 walks drawn. Named player/manager of the Cardinals in 1913 he guided a clique-riven team to a 51-99 record during a stressful year. As a player he led the NL in OBP (.432) while hitting .285 and drawing 92 walks. The club finished a surprising third in 1914 and Huggins contributed a league-leading 105 walks while hitting .263 with a .396 OBP. Limiting himself to 107 games as a player in 1915, the 37-year-old manager batted .241 with a .377 OBP. The financially strapped Cardinals dropped to sixth, having lost several players to the outlaw Federal League. His playing appearances dropped to 18 in 1916 and marked the end of his playing career. For his playing career, Huggins batted .265 with 1474 hits that included 146 doubles, 50 triples, and 9 inside-the-park home runs. He scored 948 runs and compiled 318 RBIs, 324 stolen bases, and a .382 OBP while he drew 1003 walks. With the Cardinals he batted .270 with 740 hits, 507 runs scored, 83 doubles, 18 triples, 5 home runs, 164 RBIs, a .402 OBP, and he drew 572 walks. The end of his playing career did not mark the end of Huggins’ major league baseball activity. He managed the Cardinals, who were now under new ownership, for one more season in 1917, achieving a winning record and third-place finish. Let go by the Cardinals, he was hired by the New York Yankees in 1918. Respected for his baseball knowledge, he was still a controversial choice to take over the rising American League team that was acquiring veteran players who were often unappreciative of managerial direction and given to off-field carousing. After a rocky start Huggins guided the Yankees to six pennants and three World Series titles. A shrewd judge of talent backed by ownership with the ability and willingness to spend heavily, Huggins turned the Yankees into a winning club, although he often feuded with his greatest player, slugging right fielder Babe Ruth, among others. His overall managerial record was 1413-1134, which broke down to 346-415 with the Cardinals and 1067-719 with the Yankees. The stress of managing significantly damaged his health. Late in the 1929 season, Huggins was hospitalized due to a skin infection on his cheek. The infection spread through his body and he died on September 25 at age 51. Huggins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964. Trained as a lawyer, Huggins never practiced law and spent his adult life working in baseball, as a player and manager.   

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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.