$Unique_ID{BAS00032} $Title{Lives of the Players: H-I} $Author{} $Subject{Hack Hafey Haines Hamilton Hanlon Harder Hargrove Harridge Harris Hartnett Hecker Hegan Heilmann Henderson Henrich Herman Hernandez Herzog Hodges Hooper Hornsby Howard Hoyt Hubbard Hubbell Huggins Hulbert Hunter Irvin} $Log{ Stan Hack*0025801.scf Chick Hafey*0026001.scf Jesse Haines*0026101.scf Billy Hamilton*0026201.scf Will Harridge (left) and Kenesaw Mountain Landis*0026501.scf Gabby Hartnett*0026601.scf Jim Hegan*0026801.scf Harry Heilmann*0026901.scf Babe Herman*0027201.scf Billy Herman*0027301.scf Keith Hernandez*0027401.scf Whitey Herzog*0027701.scf Gil Hodges*0027801.scf Harry Hooper*0027901.scf Rogers Hornsby*0028101.scf Frank Howard*0028601.scf Waite Hoyt*0029001.scf Carl Hubbell*0029101.scf Catfish Hunter*0029301.scf} Total Baseball: The Players Lives of the Players: H-I Stan Hack Third Baseman, Chi (N) 1932-47. Manager, Chi (N) 1954-56, StL (N) 1958 "Smiling Stan" played on four Cubs pennant winners and hit .348 in the Series (.471 in 1938), though the Cubs lost all four. The Sporting News chose him as its all-star third baseman three years in a row, 1940-1942. A lifetime .301 hitter, he cracked out 2,193 hits in sixteen years. He also drew 1,092 walks and scored 1,239 runs. He seldom hit with much power, but he was consistent. Hack's most famous hit came in the sixth game of the 1935 Series against the Tigers. Down three games to two, and tied in this game 3-3, Stan led off the ninth inning and smote one of Tommy Bridges' curves over the Tiger center fielder's head for a triple. A sacrifice fly ball would give the Cubs the lead. But Billy Jurges struck out, Larry French bounced out, and when Augie Galan finally got the fly, it was too late. A half inning later the Tigers won the game and the Series. Charles "Chick" Hafey Outfielder, StL (N) 1924-31, Cin (N) 1932-35, 1937 Hafey had everything you could ask for in a ballplayer except good health. He hit for a good average with fair power. He was fast. He could field. And he had the best throwing arm of any NL outfielder during his time. The quiet, modest slugger was at the same time known for playing practical jokes on his teammates. He first became a regular with the Cardinals in 1926, as the team fought toward its first pennant. He was beaned several times during the season, affecting his sight. He was advised to wear glasses, a rarity among players of his day. His sight fluctuated so that he actually used three different pairs, depending on the state of his eyes. From 1927 through 1931 he hit above .300 each season for the Cards, who won pennants in 1928, 1930, and 1931. He drove in over 100 runs in three of those seasons, and had a career-high 29 home runs in 1929--this despite a chronic sinus infection that required several operations. In 1931 Hafey won the closest batting race in NL history, nosing out Bill Terry by .0003. Terry hit .3486 to Hafey's .3489. Chick had been a holdout several times before; when he asked for a raise to $17,000 after winning the batting championship, St. Louis traded him to Cincinnati. He had several good seasons with the Reds before retiring in 1935. A comeback attempt in 1937 was unsuccessful. Hafey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. Jesse "Pop" Haines Pitcher, Cin (N) 1918, StL (N) 1920-37 Haines was a temperamental workhorse who relied on a good fastball and tricky knuckleball to win 210 games, all with the St. Louis Cardinals. Until Bob Gibson surpassed his mark, he was the Cards' all-time winner. He didn't join the team until he was twenty-six years old but stayed until he was forty-five--hence his nickname "Pop." He won 20 or more three times and pitched a no-hitter in 1924. During his time with the Redbirds, they won five pennants and three world championships. Haines was 3-1 in World Series play. Haines was 13-4 in 1926, as the Cards won their first pennant. In the Series he shut out the Yanks, the last time that would happen for sixteen years. Oddly Haines was most famous for being relieved in a ball game. In the seventh game of the 1926 Series, he was leading 3-2 when he developed a blister from throwing the knuckler and loaded the bases in the seventh inning with two out and Tony Lazzeri up. Manager Rogers Hornsby waved in Grover Alexander from the bullpen. Alexander's strikeout of Lazzeri is one of the most famous events in baseball history. Haines was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1970. Billy Hamilton Outfielder, KC (AA) 1888-89, Phi (N) 1890-95, Bos (N) 1896-1901 "Sliding Billy" epitomized the jackrabbit era of the 1890s. Only five-six, he stole 912 bases--111 in 1889, 102 in 1890, and 111 in 1891--and led his league in steals in seven of his fourteen seasons. The 111 steals was a record until Lou Brock broke it eighty-five years later. Of course they were not all what we call stolen bases today. Going from first to third on a single was counted as a "steal." Hamilton was the most efficient leadoff man ever. He had more runs scored than games played--a record--1,690 runs in 1,591 games. He also holds the all-time record for runs scored in a single season with 192 in 1894. He led the league four times. He was able to accomplish these things for several reasons in addition to his undeniable speed. In the first place, he was an exceptional hitter, leading the NL twice--.340 in 1891 and .380 in 1893. His career average was .344, eighth best of all time. Second, he walked a lot. He topped the NL in bases on balls five times. Third, he was followed in the batting order through most of his career by other outstanding hitters. In 1894, his record year for scoring runs, he played center field for the Phillies and hit .404. Left fielder Ed Delahanty hit .407, and right fielder Sam Thompson hit .407. And substitute outfielder Tuck Turner hit .416 in 80 games! Even so, the Phillies finished fourth. In 1896 the Phillies traded him to Boston for veteran third baseman Billy Nash. He joined Hall of Famer Hugh Duffy in the Beaneaters' outfield and helped his new team win pennants in 1897-1898. Hamilton was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1961. Ned Hanlon Outfielder, Cle (N) 1880, Det (N) 1881-1888, Pit (N) 1889, 1891, Pit (P) 1890, Bal (N) 1892. Manager, Pit (N) 1889, 1891, Pit (P) 1890, Bal (N) 1892-98, Bkn (N) 1899-1905, Cin (N) 1906-07 Ned Hanlon was the original dirty tricks manager with the old Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas of the Gay Nineties. With Willie Keeler, John McGraw, Joe Kelley, Hughie Jennings, and the rest, Hanlon's teams bunted and hit-and-ran their way to five flags. They also reportedly: raised the foul lines so bunts would stay fair grabbed runners' belts as they rounded third base hid extra balls in the outfield grass to throw in on long hits flashed mirrors in the faces of the other teams' batters and fielders rolled on the ground and pinched their arms to fake being hit by pitches buried cement in front of home plate, then beat balls down on it so they'd bounce high enough to beat out--the famous "Baltimore Chop." After a dozen years as a good field/no hit outfielder, Hanlon took over the Orioles in 1892, when they finished twelfth. He picked on young McGraw mercilessly until John offered to "punch his big head"--exactly the reaction Ned wanted. The next year he had the O's up to eighth, and by 1894 to first. They won three straight flags, then finished second twice. Moving to Brooklyn, he won flags his first two years, 1899-1900, then began a descent to last. But Ned still ended with a .530 winning percentage. After baseball he went into real estate and made a fortune. Mel Harder Pitcher, Cle (A) 1928-47 Harder won over 223 games in twenty years of pitching for Cleveland, including 20-win seasons in 1934-1935. Only Bob Feller won more for the Tribe. He had the honor of pitching the opening game in Municipal Stadium against Lefty Grove before 82,000 fans. He lost 1-0. In the 1934 All-Star Game, he hurled five scoreless innings. After retiring from the mound, Mel coached the Indian pitchers in 1949 through 1963, the glory years of their magnificent pitching staffs. He was credited with helping Feller, Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Mike Garcia, Herb Score, and others. It was said that "he had a camera in his head" because of his uncanny ability to spot pitching flaws. Mike Hargrove First Baseman, Tex (A) 1974-78, SD (N) 1979, Cle (A) 1979-85 Hargrove was called "the Human Rain Delay" because of his long, involved ritual before taking his stance in the batter's box. He'd walk up near the plate and take exactly three deliberate practice swings. Then he would step into the box and meticulously dig in his left foot. Next he'd adjust his helmet. Arrange his uniform. Tug his belt. At last, he was ready. But after the first pitch, he'd go through it all again. He drove pitchers crazy. But it worked. He hit .290 for his twelve seasons, led his league in walks twice, and had four seasons of over 100 walks. His lifetime OBP of .401, when normalized to the league average and adjusted for home park, is among the top twenty of this century. Will Harridge American League President, 1931-59 Harridge worked for the Wabash Railroad handling travel arrangements for AL teams and umpires. He had never seen a major league game until he became private secretary to AL President Ban Johnson in 1911. Twenty years later the efficient but colorless, conservative Harridge was promoted to chief and served twenty-eight years, 1931-1959. He preferred to stay in the background, but he never hesitated to enforce league rules and decorum. In 1931, shortly after taking office and in the middle of a heated pennant race, he suspended Yankee catcher Bill Dickey for a month for slugging another player. Harridge was a strong advocate of the All-Star Game. He opposed night baseball until he saw that such games made baseball more available to families. He hated gimmicks and showboating, and was not amused when Bill Veeck used a midget as a pinch hitter. He fined Boston's Ted Williams for spitting at fans. But when Ted won the 1941 All-Star Game with a ninth-inning homer, Harridge lost his reserve. He almost kissed Ted, he said, and would have "if there weren't so many people around." Harridge was named to the Hall of Fame in 1972. Stanley "Bucky" Harris Second Baseman, Was (A) 1919-28, Det (A) 1929, 1931. Manager, Was (A) 1924-28, Det (A) 1929-33, Bos (A) 1934, Was (A) 1935-42, Phi (N) 1943, NY (A) 1947-48, Was (A) 1950-54, Det (A) 1955-56 Harris broke in as a regular second baseman with the Senators in 1920, hitting .300 for the only time in his career. In 1924 "the Boy Manager" became the Senators' skipper at age twenty-seven. He took the team to its first pennant and a World Series victory over the Giants. With Washington down three games to two, Harris knocked in both runs to win Game Six 2-1 and tie the Series. The next day Bucky drove in three runs to pull his team to a 3-3 tie after nine innings. They won in the twelfth on the famous hit that bounced over third baseman Fred Lindstrom's head. Harris hit .333 for the Series, with seven RBIs, and two homers--he hit only nine other home runs in his career. Though the Senators repeated as pennant winners in 1925, they lost the Series to the Pirates. In 1929 Harris moved to Detroit as player-manager and began a career as the "Available Man." All told, he managed for twenty-nine years. He had two more sessions in Washington (1935-1942 and 1950-1954), two in Detroit (1929-1933 and 1955-1956), one year in Boston (1934), two-thirds of a season with the Phillies (1943), and two years with the Yankees (1947-1948). Most of the time he was saddled with teams that had little chance to win; twenty of them finished in the second division. But Harris was respected as a manager who got the most out of his limited material. He won his last pennant and world championship with the Yankees in 1947 but lost a three-way race to Boston and Cleveland in 1948. The Yanks promptly fired Harris and hired Casey Stengel. Bucky ranks third all-time in managerial wins with 2,159 and second in losses with 2,219. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975. Charles "Gabby" Hartnett Catcher, Chi (N) 1922-40, NY (N) 1941. Manager, Chi (N) 1938-40 While AL fans argued the merits of Cochrane and Dickey, NL fans had no problem identifying their circuit's best catcher. Hartnett was the cream of the NL, and to some the best of all. Although he was often described as a "beefy man with a tomato face who talked a lot," his nickname was actually hung on him ironically when as a Cubs rookie in 1922 he said virtually nothing. He developed his communication skills, of course, but for twenty seasons his batting and catching skills spoke louder. An excellent defensive catcher with a powerful arm and a take-charge handler of pitchers, he caught 1,790 games. In twelve seasons, he played in over 100 games. He led National League catchers in fielding six times. His lifetime batting average was .297, and at one time he held the record for home runs by a catcher, with 236. He drove in 1,179 runs, with a personal high of 122 in 1930. While he was with them, the Cubs won four pennants. He appeared in five All-Star Games and was NL MVP in 1935. He was behind the plate in the 1932 World Series when Babe Ruth hit his "called shot" off Charley Root. Gabby always insisted the Babe didn't point. In 1934 he caught Carl Hubbell's great All-Star Game feat of striking out Ruth, Gehrig, Foxx, Simmons, and Cronin. "Just throw them what you throw me," he told Hub, "I can't hit it, and neither will they." But Hartnett's greatest moment--perhaps the greatest in Chicago baseball history--was his "homer in the gloaming" against Pittsburgh as darkness fell on Wrigley Field, September 28, 1938. Gabby had become Cubs manager in midseason and led the club from 6 1/2 games behind to 1 1/2 behind the Pirates. The teams met in Chicago for a series that would decide the pennant. In the leadoff game, the score was tied after eight innings, and the umps warned that the ninth would be the last. There were two out in the bottom of the ninth, 34,465 crazed fans in the stands, and Mace Brown had an 0-2 count against Gabby. Hartnett hit the next ball into the bleachers and the Cubs went on to the flag. Gabby was named to the Hall of Fame in 1955. Guy Hecker Pitcher/First Baseman/Manager, Lou (AA) 1882-89, Pit (N) 1890. Manager, Pit (N) 1890 In 1884 Hecker led the old American Association with a 52-20 mark and 1.80 ERA. Two years later he led the league in batting with .342. Guy was surely the best hitting pitcher until Ferrell. He averaged .283 for his career and even stole 48 bases in 1887. On August 15, 1886, he allowed Baltimore four hits in a complete-game victory while registering six hits himself, including three homers and two doubles. He also scored a record of seven runs. Hecker's pitching was his forte, however. In four years 1883-1886, he averaged 34-22 for a team that finished third, fourth, fifth, and fifth. In his big year, 1884, he also led in complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts. Jim Hegan Catcher, Cle (A) 1941-42, 1946-57, Det (A) 1958, Phi (N) 1958-59, SF (N) 1959, Chi (N) 1960 The top defensive catcher in the AL in the post-World War Two period, Hegan holds a record that may never be broken--he handled eighteen 20-game winners with the Indians, 1946-1957. The glory years of Cleveland pitching coincided with the tenure of Jim (and pitching coach Mel Harder). Three of Hegan's stars--Bob Feller, Bob Lemon, and Early Wynn--are in the Hall of Fame. Two of them--Feller and Wynn--call him the best receiver ever. In 1946, in his first season as a regular, Hegan handled Feller's 348-strikeout season. That year the Indians were 45-43 with him, 21-43 without. In 1954 his pitchers won 111 games, the most ever in the AL. In between he caught three no-hitters, by Feller, Lemon, and Don Black. A poor hitter with a career .228 batting average, Hegan had his best offensive season in the Indians' world championship season of 1948. He batted .248, hit 14 homers, and drove in 61 runs. Harry "Slug" Heilmann Outfielder, Det (A) 1914, 1916-29, Cin (N) 1930, 1932 Heilmann was a good hitter who became a great hitter when the lively ball was introduced in 1920. Line drives that fielders had previously reached began whizzing by their gloves before they could react. Harry was a line drive machine. His homer totals were only average; his biggest year was 21 in 1923. But he hit plenty of gappers for doubles and triples. For much of his career he batted behind Ty Cobb, helping him to his all-time record in runs scored. Harry had 1,538 RBIs and topped 100 in eight seasons. "Slug" didn't help his team in the outfield. He was slow and awkward. For two years the Tigers tried to put him at first base. He led AL first basemen in errors both years, so they sent him back to the outfield, where he had fewer opportunities to be slow and awkward. But with a bat in his hand, Heilmann rivaled the NL's Rogers Hornsby as the greatest righthanded hitter of the time. He led the AL in hitting four times, oddly--in alternating odd years. In 1921, he led with .394; in 1923 it was .403; in 1925, .393; and in 1927, .398. In his "off-years" between titles, he bided his time with .356, .346, and .367. His career average was .342. Heilmann was a low-key, articulate man, who told droll stories of his playing days. After retiring, he put those talents to work as a popular play-by-play radio broadcaster for the Tigers. He was named to the Hall of Fame in 1952. Rickey Henderson Outfielder, Oak (A) 1979-84, 1989-93, NY (A) 1985-89, Tor (A) 1993 The greatest thief since Willie Sutton, Henderson demolished the single-season stolen base record in 1982, when he swiped 130 for Oakland. Three times he has gone over 100, and he's led the AL in steals eleven times. He shattered Lou Brock's all-time stolen-base record a couple of years ago and is now hard at work on his second thousand. An ideal leadoff man, Rickey usually bats in the .290-.310 range, draws plenty of walks (he's twice led the American League), and scores and scores and scores; he's averaged over 100 runs scored per season for his career. Henderson also hits with occasional power, setting the record for leadoff home runs. Tommy Henrich Outfielder, NY (A) 1937-42, 1946-50 "Old Reliable" Henrich played right field on eight Yankee champions in eleven years. Yankee fans like to say that the Keller-DiMaggio-Henrich outfield was the best ever, but Yankee fans are like that. Tommy was a first-rate player, but his .282 batting average and 183 homers do not quite put him in "best" circles. On the other hand, DiMaggio called him the smartest player in the majors, and nobody gave tests to prove otherwise. One thing, Tommy was always in the middle of the action. In the 1941 Series, he was at bat when Mickey Owen dropped that third strike. Henrich alertly raced to first, igniting the game-winning rally in Game Four. He got the game-winning hits in three of the four Yankee victories in the 1947 Series, including the deciding seventh game. He played hurt most of 1949 but was such a clutch hitter in the 115 games he limped into that he finished sixth in the MVP voting. He finished the season with a flourish, whipping the home run that beat Boston on the final day to clinch the flag, the first of Casey Stengel's record-breaking five straight pennants. Then, in the opening game of the World Series, Tommy slugged a homer off Newcombe in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Dodgers, 1-0. Billy Herman Second Baseman, Chi (N) 1931-41, Bkn (N) 1941-43, 1946, Bos (N) 1946, Pit (N) 1947. Manager, Pit (N) 1947, Bos (A) 1964-66 Herman was a great hit-and-run man and smart second baseman, who played on four NL champs with the Cubs and Dodgers, winning every third year--1932, 1935, 1938, and 1941. Billy succeeded Rogers Hornsby at second base for the Cubs in 1932, hit .314, improved the defense, and helped the team move up from third to the flag. He set an NL record by handling over 900 chances at second for five straight years. For his first seven seasons in Chicago, Billy teamed with shortstop Billy Jurges in a double-play combination that had even old-time Cubs fans asking "Who-to-who-to-Chance?" Herman's best year was 1935, when he hit .341, cracked 227 hits to lead the NL, and scored 113 runs. His career batting average was .304. Early in the 1941 season, Billy was sent off to Brooklyn. "I just bought a pennant," Dodger owner Larry MacPhail crowed. He was right. Billy and his new partner young Pee Wee Reese meshed beautifully and the Dodgers won their first flag in twenty-one years. Herman was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1975. Floyd "Babe" Herman Outfielder, Bkn (N) 1926-31, 1945, Cin (N) 1932, 1935-36, Chi (N) 1933-34, Pit (N) 1935, Det (A) 1937 Poor Babe is remembered as the man who hit .393 and couldn't win the batting crown, and as the daffy Dodger who got hit on the head with a fly ball and somehow tripled into a triple play. True on the first count. Libel on the other two. Babe hit .393 in 1930, when players were benched for hitting .290 and optioned to Topeka for hitting .280. Bill Terry won the batting championship with .401, the last time a National Leaguer topped the .400 mark. In 1935 he hit the first night-game home run in big league history. Even after he left Brooklyn, someone was always willing to hire him for his hitting and look the other way while he tried to play the outfield. For his thirteen major league seasons, he averaged .324 with his bat and slightly higher with his glove. Herman was not the naive simpleton that the writers and historians created. He was a thoughtful, intelligent man, and he did not triple into a triple play. He doubled into a double play. It happened like this: With the bases loaded at Ebbets Field, Herman slammed a drive off the wall, and the ball bounced all the way back to second base. One run scored, and someone yelled to throw home. Dazzy Vance, halfway home, turned and scrambled back to third base, where Chick Fewster had already arrived from first base. Herman, running full out but head down, heard the yell and thought Fewster must be scoring, so he raced for third. He slid in safely--even stylishly--to find the other two already there. They called Fewster and Herman out and gave him credit for a double. Ever after, when the Dodgers put three men on base, some wag was sure to ask, "Which base?" As for getting hit on the head with a fly, Herman stoutly denied it. "How about the shoulder, Babe?" someone asked. "No," he said, "the shoulder don't count." Keith Hernandez First Baseman, StL (N) 1974-83, NY (N) 1983-89, Cle (A) 1990- If Hernandez ever melts down his Gold Gloves, he can fill every cavity in New York. As of 1990, he's won eleven and may be good for a few more before he's done. He is easily the premier fielding first baseman of today. The only argument is whether he is the best of all time. The fact that he already holds the record for career assists by a first baseman (but is not in the top ten of games played) supports the "Aye" vote. A consistent .300 hitter with line-drive power, Keith led the NL with a .344 batting average in 1979 and was voted co-MVP with Willie Stargell. In 1982 he hit .299 and drove in 94 runs, as the Cardinals won the world championship. His surprise trade to the Mets the next season is still a sore point with Cardinals' fans. Mets fans think of it as akin to Christmas morning. Hernandez played on his second world champion team with New York in 1986 and a divisional championship in 1988. The handsome lefthanded hitter is considered a leader in the clubhouse and on the field. Dorrel "Whitey" Herzog Manager, Tex (A) 1973, KC (A) 1975-79, StL (N) 1980-90. Outfielder, Was (A) 1956-58, KC (A) 1958-60, Bal (A) 1961-62, Det (A) 1963 Herzog's playing career was eight years of undistinguished outfielding. His managing career ranks as one of the best and brightest. He took over at Kansas City in mid-1975 and brought them home second. Three consecutive division titles followed, but the Royals lost the LCS all three times. When Kansas City finished second in 1979, he was fired. He crossed the state to St. Louis, where he had his greatest success. His Cardinals won the world championship in 1982 and pennants in 1985 and 1987. In none of those years was St. Louis favored in preseason appraisals. Whitey's best Series may have been 1987. Playing without his top hitter, Jack Clark, and with substitutes in several positions, he still took the Series to seven games against Minnesota. "Whitey-ball" in the 1980s was tailored to Busch Stadium, with its artificial surface and deep power alleys. Typically his lineup was mostly made up of speedy, good-fielding, line-drive hitters, with at least one strong power hitter to bat cleanup. His pitching staff normally hosted more than the usual number of lefthanders. Gil Hodges First Baseman, Bkn (N) 1943, 1947-57, LA (N) 1958-61, NY (N) 1962-63. Manager, Was (A) 1963-67, NY (N) 1968-71 Gil was one of the top guns in the Dodgers' Murderers' Row, 1948-1959. He slugged 370 homers during an eighteen-year career, drove in 1,274, and was considered a top fielder among National League first basemen. He played on seven Dodger pennant winners, six in Brooklyn and the last in 1959 for Los Angeles. Hodges was an even-tempered gentleman of immense strength, both in physique and character. His inner strength helped him persevere during the extended batting slumps that he was prone to as a player. Most fans know Hodges' frustrating 1952 Series when he went 0-for-21. Dodger fans were sending him batting tips and lighting candles in church for him. Fewer recall that he hit .364 the next year in the Series or that he drove in both runs of the final game in 1955, as the Dodgers won their first world championship. As manager of the dreadful Washington Senators (1963-1967), he needed every ounce of his patience. When he brought the team up to sixth in 1967, people said his next project would be parting the Red Sea. Actually he undertook something more difficult--he became manager of the Mets. Throughout the 1960s the Mets had always been good for a laugh but rarely good for a win. They didn't disappoint the stand-up comics in 1968, Hodges' first year at the helm, finishing ninth. Then, in 1969, with Hodges platooning a lineup of mostly retreads and with a young pitching staff boasting Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman, and Tug McGraw, the team became the Amazing Mets. They won the NL East, brushed aside Atlanta in the LCS, and humbled Baltimore in a five-game World Series--"The Miracle of Flushing Meadows." Harry Hooper Outfielder, Bos (A) 1909-20, Chi (A) 1921-25 Hooper was an excellent rightfielder with a legendary throwing arm. He played with Tris Speaker and Duffy Lewis in what old-timers called the best outfield ever. There have been several "best-ever" outfields since, but the trio brought the Red Sox two world titles--in 1912 and 1915. Speaker was the star, of course, but after Spoke moved on to Cleveland, Lewis and Hooper helped the Sox win another World Series in 1916. And then, when Duffy wasn't around in 1918, Hooper was still there for a fourth championship. If you get the idea that Harry was a winner, you're probably running on all cylinders. In the final game of the 1912 World Series, he went back as far as he could, then leaped, speared Larry Doyle's drive barehanded, and fell backward into the stands. His robbery kept the Sox alive to win in the tenth. In 1915, after hitting only two home runs all season, he hit two in the final game of the World Series with the last one providing the margin of victory. In the 1916 Series, he hit .333 and scored six runs in five days. Harry was a leadoff hitter with a modest .281 lifetime batting average, but he drew a lot of walks, which allowed him to score 1,429 runs in his career. Hooper was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. Rogers Hornsby Second Baseman, StL (N) 1915-26, 1933, NY (N) 1927, Bos (N) 1928, Chi (N) 1929-32, StL (A) 1933-37. Manager, StL (N) 1925-26, Bos (N) 1927, Chi (N) 1930-32, StL (A) 1933-37, 1952, Cin (N) 1952-53 Hornsby always said he could have made it to the majors on his fielding even if he'd only been an ordinary hitter. Well, maybe. The question is, how long would he have stayed there? Using his chances-handled-per-game as a gauge, he started out with pretty good range but slowed down fast. By 1920, when he first showed himself to be a great hitter, he was average at best in the field. And throughout the 1920s just about every good team in the NL had a second baseman covering more ground than the Rajah. Of course, none of them hit as well. Hornsby never had to make a living with his glove; he was a magnificent hitter. Many call him the greatest righthanded hitter of all time. Proving that takes all sorts of adjustments as you try to relate one era to another, so there might have been a righthander to rank ahead of Hornsby, but he has to be in the top handful. Take a deep breath and listen: His career batting average of .358 is second only to Ty Cobb, who batted southpaw. Hornsby is the only righthanded batter to hit .400 three times, and his .424 in 1924 is a record for this century. He won six straight batting titles from 1920 to 1925 and added a seventh in 1928. He made 250 hits in 1922, led the league four times, and cracked over 200 seven times. He led the NL in home runs twice, led in triples once and tied once, led in doubles four times. He led or tied in runs five times and in RBIs four times. He won two Triple Crowns and two MVPs. Whew! In the feet-of-clay department, the Rajah had a royal disdain for the opinions and feelings of everybody he ever met. He was brusque, blunt, hypercritical, dictatorial, moody, and argumentative. He alienated almost everyone sooner or later. St. Louis traded him right after he'd player-managed them to a world championship in 1926. The Giants traded him in 1927 after he hit .361. He predicted he'd lead the league again in 1928. He did, and the Braves immediately traded him to the Cubs for 1929. Except for that 1926 pennant in his second year as skipper, he had no success as a major league manager. He never had any other Hornsbys playing for him, and he was satisfied with nothing less. His only vice--outside of a personality that could sand wood--was betting on horses. He was bad at it. What he was, was a hitter. He never drank, smoked, read, or went to movies because he wanted to protect his batting eye. Hornsby was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1942. Frank Howard Outfielder, LA (N) 1958-64, Was (A) 1965-71, Tex (A) 1972, Det (A) 1972-73. Manager, SD (N) 1981, NY (N) 1983 When six-seven, 255-pound Howard came up to bat, the pitcher must have figured someone had moved the mound closer to the plate. "Hondo" was intimidating and he could deliver. He hit some of the mightiest blasts ever seen and left painted seats in the upper decks all over both leagues as mementoes of his homers. Even Ted Williams, his manager at Washington, shook his head in admiration. Of course Howard struck out a lot too, flailing at low outside curves. But when he connected, the balls flew. Playing for the Dodgers, he walloped a long home run in the 1963 World Series to beat Whitey Ford, 2-1, and complete a four-game sweep of the Yankees. With Washington, he hit 136 home runs from 1968 through 1970. In 1968, the Year of the Pitcher, Howard had a streak of ten homers in twenty at-bats. Number ten, against Lolich, hit the roof of Tiger Stadium. He was a bit clumsy in the outfield but was no Babe Herman. And he played hard, was always hustling. He finished with 382 career homers and everyone's respect. Waite Hoyt Pitcher, NY (N) 1918, 1932, Bos (A) 1919-20, NY (A) 1921-30, Det (A) 1930-31, Phi (A) 1931, Bkn (N) 1932, 1937-38, Pit (N) 1933-37 "The secret of success," Hoyt once said, "is to pitch for the New York Yankees." This Broadway playboy, vaudeville singer, part-time undertaker, and baseball broadcaster won 237 games, mostly for the great Yankees of Ruth and Gehrig. Signed by John McGraw when he was only fifteen, Hoyt pitched only one inning for the Giants before he was sent to the Boston Red Sox in 1919. His record was mediocre over two seasons, except for one brilliant eleven-inning perfecto stint sandwiched between hits in a thirteen-inning game against the Yankees. Impressed, New York acquired him in 1921 and made him a regular starter. Hoyt won 19 as the Yankees won their first pennant. He was sensational in the World Series that fall, pitching three complete games without allowing an earned run. Nevertheless, an error cost him the final game of the Series, 1-0. He was the ace of the Yankees' staff throughout the 1920s, with his top seasons coming in 1927, when he was 22-7 and led the AL in ERA, and in 1928, when he went 23-7. After leaving the Yankees in 1930, he pitched for many teams with only occasional success as a starter. He was, however, an effective relief pitcher for four seasons with the Pirates in the mid-1930s. Hoyt, who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1969, was a popular play-by-play man for Cincinnati for twenty-four years. Cal Hubbard Umpire, 1936-50 Hubbard is the only man in the baseball, college football, and pro football Halls of Fame. A 250-pound behemoth when most football linemen were 200-210 pounds, Big Cal played end and tackle at both Centenary and Geneva Colleges in the mid-1920s, then went on to an all-pro career with the New York Giants and Green Bay Packers of the NFL. A devastating defensive player and road-clearing blocker, he starred on four championship teams. Cal had taken up umpiring in the summers while still a football player and moved smoothly into his new career. He became an AL umpire in 1936 and served for fifteen years. He was known for his intimate knowledge of the rules and for the efficient and authoritative way he ran a game. A hunting accident prematurely ended his active career, but he continued as supervisor of umpires for the AL for another fifteen years. Carl Hubbell Pitcher, NY (N) 1928-43 In one of baseball's small ironies, the intelligent, level-headed Hubbell will forever be known as a "screwball" pitcher. The adjective refers, of course, to what he threw, not what he was. The pitch, thrown with a clockwise snap of his left wrist, left Carl with a left arm so twisted that the palm of his hand faces out! It also made him the NL's premier lefthander of the 1930s. Reportedly, when he was a Tiger farmhand, Detroit manager Ty Cobb discouraged him from throwing "that thing." Fortunately, Carl continued to toss what is, in effect, a reverse curve, and when the Giants bought his contract, he got the chance to use it against major league batters. They hated it! He had five straight winning seasons under his belt, twice posting 18 wins, when he suddenly blossomed into "Super Pitcher" in 1933. Carl considered his greatest game to be a 1933 18-inning shutout without giving up a base on balls. In July, he went 46 straight innings without allowing a run. He pitched ten shutouts in all that year, had a 23-12 mark for the champion Giants, with the unbelievably low (for those years) ERA of 1.66. He won the MVP. In the Series that fall, Hub beat Washington in the opener, giving up two unearned runs. In Game Four he went eleven innings, giving up another unearned run. In the eleventh he loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a bunt that didn't roll foul. Then he calmly ended the game on a double play to win 2-1. His ERA for the Series was 0.00. In 1934 he went 21-12, with a league-leading 2.30 ERA. In the All-Star Game that year he struck out Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin in succession. After a 23-12 year in 1935, "King Carl," the Giants' "Meal Ticket," took them to another pennant in 1936 with his second MVP year, a 26-6 gem that saw him again lead the NL in ERA. That year Hubbell began a 24-game regular-season winning streak that extended into 1937. His 22-8 mark in 1937 gave him five straight 20-win seasons and gave New York one more flag. Carl became a spot starter for his final six seasons, with his only losing mark being 11-12 in 1940. He finished with a 253-154 career record, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947. Not bad for a screwball! Miller Huggins Second Baseman, Cin (N) 1904-09, StL (N) 1910-16. Manager, StL (N) 1913-17, NY (A) 1918-29 Huggins wasn't a bad little second baseman for thirteen years in the NL, but his main claim to fame is as manager of the Yankees' "Murderers' Row" of the 1920s. He began as the Cardinals' manager in 1913. The Redbirds had never won a pennant up till then, and Hug didn't change the status quo. He did, however, twice get them as high as third. That earned him a chance with the Yankees in 1918. New York was another team that had never won a pennant but had some prospects for improvement. Hug got them up to fourth and then third in 1919. The Yankees bought Babe Ruth in 1920, and when they finished third went out and bought more talent. By 1921 they were ready. Almost as interesting as the yearly pennant races was the relationship between the five-four, 140-pound Huggins and his overgrown Peck's Bad Boy, Ruth. Hug fought with him, fined him, suspended him, was hung over the rear platform of trains by him, and above all won pennants with him--six of them in eight years, 1921-1928, including three world championships. In 1925 Babe was making $52,000 and hitting .246, when he stayed out three nights in a row. Hug called Babe and all the players into the dugout and slapped a $5,000 fine on him, ten times the previous record. Ruth complained to owner Jacob Ruppert, who backed Hug. The fine stuck. The Babe apologized. Many consider Hug's 1927 Yankees the greatest team of all time. Both his 1927 and 1928 teams swept the World Series in four straight games. The little guy died suddenly of blood poisoning in 1929. Even Ruth cried at the news. Their monuments now stand side by side in Yankee Stadium's center field. In 1964 Huggins joined Ruth in the Hall of Fame. William Hulbert National League Founder, President 1877-82 Hulbert's Hall of Fame plaque is incorrectly identified as "Morgan Bulkeley." The real Bulkeley was a figurehead president in the NL's first year; Hulbert founded the National League. What they did in Cooperstown was sort of like citing that dog that used to listen to "his master's voice" as the inventor of the phonograph. From 1871 to 1875, the loose, rowdy, gambler-ridden National Association made a stab at being a league. Hulbert, the Chicago team owner, thought it might be nice to have a league with enforced rules, regular schedules, civilized behavior, and scores that weren't known on the mornings of the games. In 1876 he called together some like-minded owners, convinced them there was hope for the future, and formed the National League. The only mistake he made was to get Bulkeley from Hartford to pretend to be president as a sop to the eastern teams. Hulbert had a problem with the east; he'd just lured four of Boston's best players to Chicago. Well, the next year--after Chicago had won the first NL pennant--Bulkeley didn't show up at the league meeting, so there was nothing to do but elect Hulbert as president. He did things like kick New York and Philadelphia out of the league for failing to fulfill their schedules, ban four players for life for fixing games, come down hard on drunks and rowdies, and generally run things with a firm hand until his death in 1882. In the 1800s, he was referred to as the "Savior of the Game," which is a bit much but beats "What's-his-name-from-Hartford" hands down. Jim "Catfish" Hunter Pitcher, KC (A) 1965-67, Oak (A) 1968-74, NY (A) 1975-79 Hunter was the ace of the A's great teams in the first half of the 1970s and helped the Yankees win three straight pennants in the second half of the decade. And he started as a batting practice pitcher! In 1964 A's owner Charles O. Finley signed Hunter to a $50,000 bonus contract. And because Finley thought "Jim Hunter" lacked oomph and because his bonus baby liked to hunt and fish, the owner hung the nickname "Catfish" on him. Considering the possibilities in the animal kingdom, it could have been worse. In his first season, the eighteen-year-old righthander pitched only batting practice for the A's. At one point, Finley had a publicity photo taken with Hunter sitting on the lap of Satchel Paige, who was sitting in a rocker. Maybe you had to be there to appreciate the joke. In 1965 the nineteen-year-old Hunter became a regular starter for the A's and went 8-8. The next year he was named to the AL All-Star team; his record was 9-11 with the seventh-place A's. He pitched a perfect game in 1968 but didn't have his first winning season until 1970, when he was 18-14. By then Finley had moved the A's to Oakland, and his young players were becoming stars. Starting in 1971, Hunter was 21-11, 21-7, and 21-5, and he won the Cy Young Award in 1974 with a 25-12 mark and a league-leading 2.49 ERA. The A's won pennants and world championships from 1972 to 1974. But all was not happy in A's-ville. Hunter sued Finley for breach of contract and ended up winning a bigger award than the Cy Young: he was declared a free agent and signed a five-year contract with the Yankees for an estimated $3.75 million. His best year in New York was his first, 25-14, his fifth straight 20-win season. He slumped after that, but was still a useful starter in the three pennant-winning seasons (1976-1978). After the 1979 season, he retired. His career totals were 224-166. In 1987 he was elected to the Hall of Fame. Monford "Monte" Irvin Outfielder, Negro Leagues, 1938-48, Newark Eagles, NY (N) 1949-55, Chi (N) 1956 Irvin got to the New York Giants after a fine career in the Negro Leagues, where he was credited with two batting titles with the Newark Eagles, .396 in 1941 and .398 in 1946. In the latter year, Irvin played shortstop for Newark, and he and second baseman Larry Doby helped bring the Eagles the black world championship of 1946 over Satchel Paige's Kansas City Monarchs. Irvin signed with the New York Giants in 1949 and played briefly with the team that year. He was thirty years old, and all agree that his skills had diminished from the level he had shown in the Negro Leagues. The "diminished" Irvin hit .299 in 1950. In 1951 he upped that to .312, led the NL in RBIs with 121, and knocked out 24 homers. Down the stretch, as the Giants chased the Dodgers to a playoff and ultimate victory, he hit over .400. In the World Series, he hit .458 and even stole home in the opening game. A broken leg in 1952 almost ended Irvin's career, but he bounced back with .323 in 1953. In eight years but only five full seasons, his NL batting average was .293, with 99 homers. In 1968 Irvin joined the Commissioner's Office as a public relations expert. Irvin represented Commissioner Kuhn at Atlanta when Henry Aaron broke Babe Ruth's home run record. Irvin was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.