Elmer Flick (1963)


Date of Birth: 1/11/1876
Date of Death:1/9/1971
Birthplace: Bedford, Ohio

Elmer Flick was a catcher when he played on his high school's baseball team. At age 15, he played on a semi-pro team. He signed with his first professional team in the Interstate League in 1896. He played with them for two years before being drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in October, 1897.

Philadelphia Phillies

Flick started his major league career in 1898 with the Phillies, playing in 134 games that season and batting .302 with 137 hits, 16 doubles, 13 triples, and 23 stolen bases. The following season, he raised his batting average to .342. He finished the 1899 season with 166 hits, 22 doubles, and 31 stolen bases in 127 games.

Flick had career highs in hits (200), home runs (11), and batting average (.367) in 1900. He also had 32 doubles, 16 triples, and 35 stolen bases in 138 games. He had another good season in 1901, batting .333 with 180 hits, 32 doubles, 17 triples, and 30 stolen bases in 138 games.

Cleveland Bronchos (Indians)

In 1902, Flick moved to the Philadelphia Athletics but he only stayed with them for a short time before being traded to the Cleveland Bronchos. He finished the season with 137 hits, 21 doubles, 12 triples, 24 stolen bases, and a .297 batting average in 110 games with the Bronchos and 11 games with the Athletics.

Flick batted .296 in 140 games in 1903. He had 155 hits, 23 doubles, 16 triples, and 24 stolen bases. He led the AL in stolen bases in 1904 with 38. That season, he batted .306 with 177 hits, 31 doubles, and 17 triples in 150 games.

Flick led the AL in triples, batting average, and OPS in 1905. He had 154 hits, 29 doubles, 18 triples, 35 stolen bases, a .308 batting average, and an OPS of .845 in 132 games.

Flick had one of his best seasons in 1906, when he led the AL in games played, triples, and stolen bases. He had 194 hits, a .311 batting average and career highs in games played (157), doubles (34), and triples (22). He stole 39 bases that season.

In 1907, Flick again led the AL in triples with 18. He batted .302 and he had 166 hits and a career high 41 stolen bases in 147 games.

Flick developed stomach issues that limited his playing time from 1908 through 1910. He played in a total of only 99 games during those three years.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Led AL in triples (3 times)
  • Led AL in stolen bases (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Flick in 10 seasons (1898-1907) in the major leagues include:

  • 8 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 200 in 1900
  • 4 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 34 in 1906
  • 10 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 22 in 1906
  • 10 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 41 in 1907
  • 8 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .367 in 1900

Career batting statistics for Flick include:

  • 1,483 games played
  • 1,752 hits
  • 268 doubles
  • 164 triples
  • 330 stolen bases
  • .313 batting average
  • .389 on-base percentage
  • .834 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Flick as an outfielder include:

  • 1,456 games played
  • 2,373 putouts
  • 145 errors
  • .947 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

Prior to retiring completely from baseball, Flick played in the minor leagues in 1911 and 1912. Later, he became a scout for the Indians. He died on January 9, 1971 from congestive heart failure.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Elmer Flick
ESPN - Elmer Flick
Baseball Reference - Elmer Flick

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