Ed Delahanty (1945)


Date of Birth: 10/30/1867
Date of Death: 7/2/1903
Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio

Ed Delahanty came from a baseball family, with four brothers who also played in the major leagues. He started his own professional career in 1887 with the minor league Ohio State League. The next year, he played minor league baseball in the Tri-State League.

Philadelphia Quakers/Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies purchased Delahanty's contract on May 21, 1888. That year, he played in 74 games with the Phillies and he batted .228 with 66 hits and 38 stolen bases.

Delahanty played in just 56 games in 1889. He had 72 hits, 13 doubles, 19 stolen bases, and a .293 batting average.

Cleveland Infants (Players League)

After the 1889 season, Delahanty jumped to the Cleveland Infants of the Players League. He batted .296 in 115 games with them in 1890. He had 153 hits, 26 doubles, 13 triples, and 25 stolen bases.

Return to the Phillies

The Players League folded after the 1890 season, and Delahanty returned to the Phillies. He struggled in his first season back with them, batting just .243 in 128 games. He finished the 1891 season with 132 hits, 19 doubles, and 25 stolen bases.

Delahanty had a much better season in 1892. That year, he led the NL in triples with a career high of 21. He had 146 hits, 30 doubles, 29 stolen bases, and a .306 batting average in 123 games. The next year, he led the league in home runs with 19. He finished the 1893 season with 219 hits, 35 doubles, 18 triples, 37 stolen bases, and a .368 batting average in 132 games.

Delahanty batted over .400 in both 1894 and 1895. He had 199 hits, 39 doubles, 18 triples, 21 stolen bases, and a .407 batting average in 114 games in 1894. The next year, he batted .404, and he led the NL in doubles, on-base percentage, and OPS. He finished the 1895 season with 194 hits, 49 doubles, 10 triples, 11 home runs, and 46 stolen bases in 116 games. He had an on-base percentage of .500 and an OPS of 1.117.

In 1896, Delahanty led the NL in doubles, home runs, RBIs, and OPS. He had 198 hits, 44 doubles, 17 triples, 13 home runs, 37 stolen bases, 126 RBIs, and a .397 batting average in 123 games. His OPS was 1.103.

Delahanty batted .377 with 200 hits, and 40 doubles in 1897. The next season, he led the NL in stolen bases with a career high of 58. He batted .334 with 183 hits and 36 doubles in 1898.

Delahanty led the NL in hits, doubles, batting average, and OPS in 1899. He had career highs in games played (146), hits (238), doubles (55), and batting average (.410). His OPS was 1.046.

Delahanty had an average season in 1900, batting .323 with 174 hits. The next year, he again led the NL in doubles with 38 and in OPS with .955. He finished the 1901 season with 192 hits, 29 stolen bases, and a .354 batting average in 139 games.

Washington Senators

In 1902, Delahanty moved to the American League and the Washington Senators for his last two years in the major leagues. That season, he led the league in doubles, on-base percentage, and OPS. He had 178 hits, 43 doubles, 14 triples, and a .376 batting average in 123 games. His on-base percentage was .453 and his OPS was 1.043.

Delahanty died tragically in 1903 at the age of 35 when he was swept over Niagara Falls. It is unclear how the accident happened or if it was a suicide.

MLB Records

  • Led NL in on-base percentage (2 times)
  • Led league in OPS (5 times)
  • Led NL in home runs (2 times)
  • Led league in RBIs (3 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Delahanty in 13 seasons (1890-1902) in the major leagues include:

  • 11 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 238 in 1899
  • 11 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 55 in 1899
  • 10 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 21 in 1892
  • 7 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 146 in 1893
  • 11 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 58 in 1898
  • 11 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .410 in 1899

Career batting statistics for Delahanty include:

  • 1,835 games played
  • 2,596 hits
  • 522 doubles
  • 185 triples
  • 101 home runs
  • 455 stolen bases
  • 244 strikeouts to 741 walks
  • .346 batting average
  • .411 on-base percentage
  • .916 OPS

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Ed Delahanty
ESPN - Ed Delahanty
Baseball Reference - Ed Delahanty

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