Highlighted Year: George Stone, 1905

Outfielder, St. Louis Browns

Age:  29 (Sept. 3)

1^st season with Browns

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 5’9”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1905:

An Iowa native, Stone played amateur baseball locally until appearing with two teams in the Western League in 1902. He led the league with 198 hits and joined the American League’s Boston Americans in 1903. After striking out in his first two plate appearances he was farmed out to Milwaukee of the Western League and batted .298 with 15 doubles, 4 triples, and 4 home runs. Returning to Milwaukee, which was now a member of the American Association in 1904, Stone had an outstanding season, hitting .406 with 254 hits that included 36 doubles, 19 triples, and 7 home runs. Dealt to the Washington Senators in August in a transaction that fell through, he continued with Milwaukee but was reacquired by Boston. Refusing to report to the Americans, in the offseason he was dealt to the Browns for veteran outfielder Jesse Burkett and cash. He quickly received favorable comments in the press for his bunting ability and speed, that allowed him to be a capable outfielder as well as baserunner.   

1905 Season Summary

Appeared in 155 games

LF – 155

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 696 [1]

At Bats – 632 [1]

Runs – 76 [7]

Hits – 187 [1]

Doubles – 25 [13, tied with Bobby Wallace]

Triples – 13 [4, tied with Jesse Burkett]

Home Runs – 7 [2]

RBI – 52 [19, tied with John Anderson]

Bases on Balls – 44 [19, tied with Jiggs Donahue]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 69 [8, tied with Elmer Flick & Hobe Ferris]

Stolen Bases – 26 [11, tied with Jimmy Callahan]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .296 [5, tied with Frank Isbell]

OBP - .347 [8]

Slugging Pct. - .410 [5]

Total Bases – 259 [1]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 5 [20, tied with ten others]

Sac Hits – 10

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading runs plate appearances were +6 ahead of runner-up Freddy Parent

League-leading at bats were +25 ahead of runner-up Harry Davis

League-leading hits were +14 ahead of runner-up Harry Davis

League-leading total bases were +3 ahead of runner-up Harry Davis

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 8, 3B – 8, HR - 3, RBI - 17, SB – 13, AVG - .288, OBP - .343, SLG – .397

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 6 AB) at NY Highlanders 8/3 – 11 innings

Longest hitting streak – 13 games

Most HR, game – 1 on seven occasions

HR at home – 1

HR on road – 6

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. NY Highlanders 5/17

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 307

Put Outs – 278

Assists – 15

Errors – 14

DP – 5

Pct. - .954 

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The Browns went 54-99 to finish eighth (last) in the AL, 40.5 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics while leading the league in fewest runs scored (509), fewest doubles (153), fewest triples (49), lowest slugging percentage (.289), and fewest total bases (1504). Despite Stone’s hitting, the Browns were offensively lacking in a mediocre year overall for AL batters. They were ensconced in seventh place by early May and never again rose higher than fifth the rest of the way, going 13-25 after September 1 to seal their last place fate.

Aftermath of 1905:

Utilizing an odd crouching stance, Stone won the AL batting championship in 1906, hitting .358 and leading the league in on-base percentage (.417), slugging percentage (.501), and total bases (291). He also accumulated 25 doubles, 20 triples, 6 home runs, 71 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases. He held out for $5000 in 1907, which cost him spring training. He went on to hit .320 with 13 doubles, 11 triples, 4 home runs, 59 RBIs, 23 stolen bases, and a .387 OBP. The soft-spoken Stone, who was nicknamed “Silent George” reportedly came down with malaria in 1908 and still went on to a respectable season, batting .281 with 21 doubles, 8 triples, 5 home runs, 31 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and a .345 OBP. Limited to 83 games by an ankle injury in 1909, Stone hit .287 with 10 extra-base hits, only 8 stolen bases, and a .340 OBP. Now lacking speed and with arm trouble diminishing his throwing ability, he had a mediocre season in 1910, batting .256 with 17 doubles, 12 triples, and no home runs. He drove in 40 runs and had a .315 OBP in what proved to be his last major league season. Stone returned to Milwaukee of the American Association in 1911 and hit .282, but nagging injuries led to his retirement in 1912. For his major league career, spent almost entirely with the Browns, he batted .301 with 984 hits that included 106 doubles, 68 triples, and 23 home runs. He scored 426 runs and compiled 268 RBIs, 132 stolen bases, a .360 OBP, and a .396 slugging percentage. Following his playing career he became a banker in Nebraska and continued to pursue his hobbies of playing the violin and reading. Stone died in 1945 at the age of 68. 

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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.