Tommy McCarthy (1946)


Date of Birth: 7/24/1863
Date of Death: 8/5/1922
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts

Tommy McCarthy started his professional baseball career in 1884 as a pitcher and outfielder with the Boston Reds of the short-lived Union Association. He played in 53 games that season and batted .215.

Prior to the 1885 season, McCarthy signed with the Boston Beaneaters. In his first season in the major leagues, he played in 40 games with the Beaneaters. From 1886 through 1887, McCarthy played for the Philadelphia Quakers. He played in just 26 games during those two seasons.

St. Louis Browns

McCarthy's first full season in the major leagues was in 1888, when he played for the St. Louis Browns (modern day Baltimore Orioles). That season, he batted .274 with 140 hits, 20 doubles, and 93 stolen bases in 131 games. He stayed with the Browns through the 1891 season, serving as player-manager in 1890. His best season with the Browns was 1890, when he batted .350 with 192 hits, 28 doubles, and 83 stolen bases in 133 games. That year, he led the American Association in stolen bases.

Boston Beaneaters/Braves

In 1892, McCarthy returned to the Boston Beaneaters for four seasons. He played in a career high 152 games in 1892. He finished the season with 146 hits, 19 doubles, 53 stolen bases, 29 strikeouts to a career high 93 walks, and a .242 batting average.

McCarthy's batting average went up to .346 in 1893. He had 160 hits, a career high 28 doubles, 46 stolen bases, and 64 walks to just 10 strikeouts in 116 games. The next year, his batting average was .349. He finished the 1894 season with 188 hits, 21 doubles, a career high 13 home runs, and 48 stolen bases in 127 games. He struck out just 17 times, while walking 59 times.

In 1895, McCarthy had 131 hits, 13 doubles, 18 stolen bases, 12 strikeouts to 72 walks, and a .290 batting average in 117 games. After the season ended, his contract was purchased by the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and he played his last major league season, 1896, with the Bridegrooms.

Career Statistics

McCarthy played in over 100 games in each of 9 seasons (1888-1896). His statistics during that time include:

  • 5 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 192 in 1890
  • 2 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 126 in 1894
  • 6 seasons with over 40 stolen bases, with a high of 93 in 1888
  • 4 seasons with a batting average over .300, with highs of .349 in 1894 and .350 in 1890

Career batting statistics for McCarthy include:

  • 1,275 games played
  • 1,496 hits
  • 735 RBIs
  • 468 stolen bases
  • .292 batting average
  • .364 on-base percentage
  • .740 OPS

Career fielding statistics for McCarthy as an outfielder include:

  • 1,188 games played
  • 266 assists
  • 2,016 putouts
  • 262 errors
  • .897 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Tommy McCarthy
ESPN - Tommy McCarthy
Baseball Reference - Tommy McCarthy

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