By George, He's Done It
George Sisler’s name was dug up last year as Ichiro Suzuki chased and eventually surpassed Sisler's single-season hits record. But how much do we know about this man?
Born in 1893, George Sisler was arguably the best all-around
first baseman of all time. He was never as famous as Lou Gehrig or Jimmie Foxx
in his own era, and Mark McGwire recently, and although he lacked the hitting
power of those three, he was an excellent baserunner (357 career stolen bases)
and was a legendary defensive player as well. His career average was .340, and
along with Ty Cobb and Rogers Hornsby was one of three players since 1900 to
top .400 in multiple seasons.
In his
first five seasons with the St. Louis Browns, Sisler averaged .335, and was on
pace for that number in his sixth season, 1920, when he was moved from cleanup
to third in the order. He hit .423 the rest of the way from that position. In
the final month of the season, Sisler stepped up his effort, hitting 57 hits in
30 games in September to finish with 257 hits, nine more than Ty Cobb’s
previous record.
Unlike
Ichiro, Sisler was not just a singles hitter. In that 1920 season he finished
with 49 doubles, 18 triples, and 19 home runs, good enough for second place in
each category. In 631 at-bats he struck out just 19 times, and was held hitless
only 24 times all season.
In 1922
Sisler smacked 246 hits, good enough for a .420 average, the third highest
average since 1900. At this point, his career average was .361. Sadly, he was
forced to sit out the following season with a serious eye infection, and
although he returned to the major leagues, was never quite the same. He
finished his career 188 hits shy of 3,000, a milestone he surely would have
reached had he played in 1923, and with a career batting average of .340.
The fact
that no one came close to Sisler’s record for 84 years is a testament to the
greatness of the man who set it. While Sisler will now fade back into relative
obscurity, fans of Ichiro and baseball fans in general would do well to
remember a legendary ball player not unlike the current Seattle
all-star.
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