Highlighted Year: Russ Ford, 1911

Pitcher, New York Highlanders

Age:  28 (April 25)

2^nd season with Highlanders

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175 

Prior to 1911:

A native of the Canadian province of Manitoba, Ford moved with his family to Minnesota. After high school he played for several minor league teams. Following a season in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League in which he was with Springfield and Cedar Rapids, he broke out with an outstanding season for Cedar Rapids in 1906 in which he produced a 22-9 record. Moving on to the Atlanta Crackers of the Class A Southern Association in 1907 he compiled a 15-10 tally. Reliant on his spitball (a legal pitch at the time), in 1908 he began experimenting with a scuff ball, roughening the ball’s surface to cause it to dip oddly. Still with Atlanta he went 16-14 and was drafted by the Highlanders in 1909. Ford appeared in one game with New York in 1909 and pitched poorly, causing him to be sent to the Jersey City Skeeters of the Eastern League where he worked on his scuff pitch, concealing an emery board in his glove. His record for Jersey City was 13-13 with a 2.41 ERA and 189 strikeouts over 276 innings. He returned to the Highlanders in 1910 with far better results, posting a 26-6 tally with a 1.65 ERA, 29 complete games, 8 shutouts, and 209 strikeouts over 299.2 innings. In addition to his spitter and scuff ball, Ford threw a fastball and knuckleball.

1911 Season Summary

Appeared in 37 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 37 [11, tied with Bob Groom]

Games Started – 33 [4, tied with Joe Wood]

Complete Games – 26 [3, tied with Jack Coombs]

Wins – 22 [7]

Losses – 11 [20, tied with four others]

PCT - .667 [7]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 1 [19, tied with twenty others]

Innings Pitched – 281.1 [4]

Hits – 251 [6, tied with Tom Hughes]

Runs – 119 [8, tied with Walter Johnson]

Earned Runs – 71 [20, tied with Hippo Vaughn & Doc White]

Home Runs – 3 [19, tied with nine others]

Bases on Balls – 76 [11, tied with Joe Wood]

Strikeouts – 158 [5]

ERA – 2.27 [7]

Hit Batters – 4

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 5 [19, tied with eight others]

Midseason Snapshot: 11-5, ERA – 2.30, SO - 69 in 133 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 9 (in 9 IP) at Cleveland 5/15, (in 9 IP) vs. St. Louis Browns 9/30

10+ strikeout games – 0

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 2 (in 9 IP) at Detroit 5/11

Batting

PA – 112, AB – 102, R – 10, H – 20, 2B – 2, 3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 8, BB – 3, SO – 31, SB – 2, CS – N/A, AVG - .196, GDP – N/A, HBP – 0, SH – 4, SF – N/A

Fielding

Chances – 91

Put Outs – 16

Assists – 70

Errors – 5

DP – 0

Pct. - .945

Awards & Honors:

18^th in AL MVP voting, tied with Jack Barry, PhilA (3 points – 5% share)

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The Highlanders went 76-76 to finish sixth in the AL, 44 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics. The pitching staff led the league in fewest shutouts (5). The Highlanders entered June at 18-21, having lost four straight games to the Athletics and Washington. A seven-game June winning streak (including one by Ford) pulled them up to third place, where they remained until July 8. The streaky club languished in fourth and stayed around .500 until they closed out the season with five straight losses.

Aftermath of 1911:

Ford slumped in 1912 and went 13-21 with a 3.55 ERA, 30 complete games, and 112 strikeouts over 291.2 innings. He topped the American League in the negative categories of earned runs surrendered (115) and home runs surrendered (11). His ERA dropped to 2.66 in 1913 but his won-lost record was a mediocre 13-18 as he dealt with a sore arm. Jumping to the Federal League in 1914, Ford produced a 21-6 tally and 1.82 ERA for Buffalo. With the emery pitch banned by the Federal League in 1915, his record dropped to 5-9 and a 4.52 ERA prior to being released in late August. He pitched for two more years in the minors before his playing career came to an end. For his major league career, Ford produced a 100-71 record with a 2.59 ERA, 126 complete games, 15 shutouts, 8 saves, and 710 strikeouts over 1487.1 innings. With the Highlanders/Yankees his totals were 74-56 with a 2.54 ERA, 100 complete games, 10 shutouts, 2 saves, and 553 strikeouts over 1112.2 innings. He died in 1960 at age 76. Ford was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987. His brother Gene briefly pitched for the Detroit Tigers in 1905. Thanks to his mastery of the scuff ball, Ford was an outstanding pitcher with the Highlanders for a short time.

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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. 

Highlighted Year: Birdie Cree, 1911

Outfielder, New York Highlanders

Age: 28

3^rd season with Highlanders

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’6”    Weight: 150 

Prior to 1911:

A Pennsylvania native from a small town some 50 miles south of Pittsburgh, William F. Cree played football and baseball while pursuing a teaching degree at Southwestern State Normal School (now part of Pennsylvania Western University) in California, Pennsylvania. Graduating in 1903 he became a teacher prior to receiving a scholarship to Penn State in 1904. While playing baseball for a team in Washington, Pennsylvania during the summer prior to entering Penn State, Cree suffered an injury to his collarbone which was aggravated when he started football practice in the fall, which sidelined him for the season. Playing baseball for Penn State in 1905, he earned the nickname "Birdie”, likely due to his small size. Cree played semipro ball in the summer, using the name “Burde” as an alias. Continuing to earn money on the side during summers, he played for Burlington in the Northern independent League in 1906 and the Williamsport Millionaires of the Tri-State League in 1907 where he batted .297 with 35 stolen bases. Purchased by the Philadelphia Athletics following the season, he stayed with Williamsport in 1908, this time hitting .332 with 23 doubles, 14 triples, 3 home runs, and 26 stolen bases. Due to the club having an overabundance of shortstops, which had always been Cree’s position, he was shifted to the outfield. During the season he was sold by the Athletics to the Detroit Tigers, who traded him to the Highlanders. He appeared in 21 games with New York in 1908 and batted .269 with 2 triples, 4 RBIs, and a .345 on-base percentage. Appearing at all three outfield positions in 1909, Cree hit .262 with 11 extra-base hits, 27 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, and a .338 OBP. In 1910 his production improved to .287 with 19 doubles, 16 triples, 4 home runs, 73 RBIs, 28 stolen bases, a .353 OBP, and a .422 slugging percentage. Along the way, he was beaned and knocked out by a fastball from Washington’s star RHP Walter Johnson but returned to the lineup the following day with no lingering effects.

1911 Season Summary

Appeared in 137 games

LF – 121, CF – 8, RF – 4, SS – 4, 2B – 2, PH – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 589

At Bats – 520 [20]

Runs – 90 [13]

Hits – 181 [8]

Doubles – 30 [10, tied with Jim Delahanty]

Triples – 22 [2]

Home Runs – 4 [8, tied with six others]

RBI – 88 [7]

Bases on Balls – 56 [16, tied with Jim Delahanty & Joe Jackson]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 61 [13]

Stolen Bases – 48 [3]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .348 [5]

OBP - .415 [6]

Slugging Pct. - .513 [4]

Total Bases – 267 [5]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 3

Sac Hits – 9

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 15, 3B – 14, HR – 2, RBI – 45, SB – 26, AVG - .339, OBP - .403, SLG – .503

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) at Phila. A’s 5/27

Longest hitting streak – 16 games

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 2

Most home runs, game – 1 on four occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Washington 6/24

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 1 (1.000) with 1 2B & 2 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 274

Put Outs – 245

Assists – 19

Errors – 10

DP – 2

Pct. - .964

Awards & Honors:

6^th in AL MVP voting, tied with Tris Speaker, BosRS (16 points – 25% share)

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The Highlanders went 76-76 to finish sixth in the AL, 44 games behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics while leading the league in triples (96, tied with Detroit). The Highlanders entered June at 18-21, having lost four straight games to the Athletics and Washington. A seven-game June winning streak pulled them up to third place, where they remained until July 8. The streaky club languished in fourth and stayed around .500 until they closed out the season with five straight losses. Cree was tried again at shortstop, with disappointing results, before settling into left field.

Aftermath of 1911:

Battling a bad cold that caused him to briefly be hospitalized at the start of the 1912 season, Cree performed well once he returned to action until a broken wrist finished him for the year. Limited to 50 games, he batted .332 with 11 doubles, 6 triples, 22 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, a .409 OBP, and a .453 slugging percentage. The Highlanders were rechristened the Yankees in 1913 and Cree, still affected by wrist soreness, hit .272 with 25 doubles, 6 triples, one home run (which was a grand slam), 63 RBIs, 22 stolen bases, and a .338 OBP. He had an exceptional year defensively and led all AL outfielders with a .988 fielding percentage. In 1914 he reported to spring training overweight and out of shape and the Yankees, unable to work out a trade, released him to the Baltimore Orioles of the International League. An offer of a three-year contract by Pittsburgh of the Federal League fell through but Cree batted .356 with a .406 OBP in 72 games for Baltimore although he was sold back to the Yankees in July. For the year with the Yankees he hit .309 in 77 games with 18 doubles,5 triples, 40 RBIs, and a .389 OBP. In 1915, he suffered a broken nose when hit by a ball during warmups and went on to a disappointing season in which he was limited to 74 games and batted .214 with 10 extra-base hits and a .353 OBP. Still overweight and with his performance deteriorating, Cree was released in 1916, thus ending his playing career. For his major league career, played entirely with the Highlanders/Yankees, Cree batted .292 with 761 hits that included 117 doubles, 62 triples, and 11 home runs. He scored 345 runs and compiled 332 RBIs, 132 stolen bases, and a .368 OBP. His performance in 1911 remained his best single season. Cree worked for a bank in Sunbury, Pennsylvania following his playing career and remained physically active while playing tennis and golf. He was also a fine billiards player and died in 1942 at age 60.

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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.