A lot you out there know how Babe Ruth switched from pitching to the outfield, or from great pitcher to positioned player.
And sometimes, Ruth is thought to be the fist to do that.
Actually, he is not.
Kid Gleason, a pitcher in the late 1880s and early 1890s did the switch from the mound to second sacker in 1895. The good old Philadelphia Philles could only imagine his hidden talent!
Gleason is probably most remembered for being the managed of the ill-fated 1919 Chicago Black Sox. Incidenlty, that season also marked Babe Ruth's first real permanent shift towards the outfield from the mound. It had been teased the previous season when, in just 95 games played, but of those only 20 on the mound. Ruth would lead the league in homeruns that year with 11. In 1919, Ruth played 130 games, but just 17 of them were on the mound. For the second straight season, The Bambino lead the league in 4 baggers with 29. Ruth would pitch just 5 more games in the next 16 seasons.
Although he stay on the mound was not that long, Gleason racked up 138 wins (Ruth won 94) before the switch. And unlike Ruth, he never returned to the mound.
In 1890, his 38 wins was second in the National LEague. And he did lead the league in saves that year, albeit with only 2.
At the time of his switch, Kid Gleason was just a .240 hitter, which is a lot worse than it looks. Remember, it was the dead ball era where everyone swung for singles.
After the switch, his batting went up a little, .265 the rest of his career.
But his fielding got better as his career went on.
He led the American League in errors in 1901, as he made 64 as a member of the Tigers. He would finish in the top ten in errors ten times and lead the league 4 times. And it was twice leading the AL and twice leading the NL.
But Kid also was among the leaders in putouts as a second basemen. Nine times he was in the top 10 in putouts as a second basemen, and three times the outright leader. Amazingly, in 1892, Kid Gleason was the National League leader in putouts among pitchers
Ten times Gleason was among the leader in assists as well. And again, he lead the league three times. He was also the 4th in the NL in assists as a pitcher in 1890.
Was Kid a bad fielder as a pitcher? Well, he was 4th in the National League in errors in 1893.
But 8 straight years from 1898 to 1905, he was among the league leader in range factor per game as a second basemen, and even lead the league in 1899.
As a pitcher, Gleason was 5th in range factor per nine innings in 1892. He was second in range factor per game that year.
References
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
And sometimes, Ruth is thought to be the fist to do that.
Actually, he is not.
Kid Gleason, a pitcher in the late 1880s and early 1890s did the switch from the mound to second sacker in 1895. The good old Philadelphia Philles could only imagine his hidden talent!
Gleason is probably most remembered for being the managed of the ill-fated 1919 Chicago Black Sox. Incidenlty, that season also marked Babe Ruth's first real permanent shift towards the outfield from the mound. It had been teased the previous season when, in just 95 games played, but of those only 20 on the mound. Ruth would lead the league in homeruns that year with 11. In 1919, Ruth played 130 games, but just 17 of them were on the mound. For the second straight season, The Bambino lead the league in 4 baggers with 29. Ruth would pitch just 5 more games in the next 16 seasons.
Although he stay on the mound was not that long, Gleason racked up 138 wins (Ruth won 94) before the switch. And unlike Ruth, he never returned to the mound.
In 1890, his 38 wins was second in the National LEague. And he did lead the league in saves that year, albeit with only 2.
At the time of his switch, Kid Gleason was just a .240 hitter, which is a lot worse than it looks. Remember, it was the dead ball era where everyone swung for singles.
After the switch, his batting went up a little, .265 the rest of his career.
But his fielding got better as his career went on.
He led the American League in errors in 1901, as he made 64 as a member of the Tigers. He would finish in the top ten in errors ten times and lead the league 4 times. And it was twice leading the AL and twice leading the NL.
But Kid also was among the leaders in putouts as a second basemen. Nine times he was in the top 10 in putouts as a second basemen, and three times the outright leader. Amazingly, in 1892, Kid Gleason was the National League leader in putouts among pitchers
Ten times Gleason was among the leader in assists as well. And again, he lead the league three times. He was also the 4th in the NL in assists as a pitcher in 1890.
Was Kid a bad fielder as a pitcher? Well, he was 4th in the National League in errors in 1893.
But 8 straight years from 1898 to 1905, he was among the league leader in range factor per game as a second basemen, and even lead the league in 1899.
As a pitcher, Gleason was 5th in range factor per nine innings in 1892. He was second in range factor per game that year.
References
Nemec, David et all. 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 31 Oct. 2012.
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