Fred Clarke (1945)


Date of Birth: 10/3/1872
Date of Death: 8/14/1960
Birthplace: Winterest, Iowa

Fred Clarke played semi-pro baseball in Nebraska in 1892. A year later, he started his professional baseball career in the minor leagues with a team in the Southern League. On June 28, 1894, he signed with the Louisville Colonels of the National League.

Louisville Colonels

In 1894, Clarke joined the Colonels as a left fielder, playing in 75 games with them. He batted .268 with 83 hits and 25 stolen bases. The following year, he batted .347 with 191 hits, 21 doubles, and 40 stolen bases in 132 games.

Clarke had a career high 18 triples in 1896. He finished the season with 168 hits, 15 doubles, 34 stolen bases, and a .325 batting average in 131 games.

From 1897 through 1899, Clarke was player-manager for the Colonels. His record as manager during that time was 180 wins to 212 losses.

Clarke had a good season as a player in 1897, batting a career high .390 in 128 games. He had 202 hits, 30 doubles, 13 triples, and a career high 57 stolen bases. The following year, his batting average dropped to .307 in 149 games. He finished the 1898 season with 184 hits, 23 doubles, 12 triples, and 40 stolen bases.

Clarke had a career high 206 hits in 148 games in 1899. He also had 23 doubles, 49 stolen bases, and a .342 batting average.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Clarke was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on December 8, 1899, and he immediately became their player-manager in 1900. In his first season with the Pirates, he batted .276 with 110 hits, 15 doubles, and 21 stolen bases in 106 games.

Clarke batted .324 in 129 games in 1901. He had 171 hits, 24 doubles, 15 triples, and 23 stolen bases. The following season, he played in just 113 games. He finished the 1902 season with 145 hits, 27 doubles, 14 triples, 29 stolen bases, and a .316 batting average.

In 1903, Clarke had one of his best seasons, batting .351 with 150 hits, a career high 32 doubles, 15 triples, and 21 stolen bases in 104 games. That season he led the NL in doubles and in OPS with .946. The next year, he played in just 72 games, and he batted .306 with 85 hits.

Clarke played in 141 games in 1905. He had 157 hits, 18 doubles, 15 triples, 24 stolen bases, and a .299 batting average. The next season, he led the NL in triples with 13. He finished the 1906 season with 129 hits, 14 doubles, 18 stolen bases, and a .309 batting average in 118 games.

Clarke had similar numbers in 1907 and 1908. He had 145 hits, 18 doubles, 13 triples, 37 stolen bases, and a .289 batting average in 148 games in 1907. The following season, he played in 151 games, and he had 146 hits, 18 doubles, 15 triples, 24 stolen bases, and a .265 batting average. He led all NL left fielders in putouts in 1908 with 346.

While also managing the team in 1909, Clarke played in a career high 152 games. He batted .287 with 158 hits, 16 doubles, and 31 stolen bases. The following season, he played in 123 games, and he batted .263 with 113 hits. In 1911, he batted .324 with 127 hits and 25 doubles in 110 games.

In 1912, Clarke didn't play. He only managed the Pirates that season and he led the team to 93 wins and 58 losses. From 1913 through 1915, he played in a total of just 12 games, spending most of his time managing the team.

Clarke had an excellent ability to spot strikes and balls and he rarely struck out. In 1909, he walked 80 times while never striking out all season. From 1897 to 1909, Clarke went without a single strikeout. His career record was 135 strikeouts to 874 walks.

Clarke managed the Pirates through the 1915 season. His record as the Pirates' manager was 1,422 wins to 969 losses. He led the team to four National League pennant wins (1901-1903, 1909) and one World Series win (1909).

Career Statistics

Statistics for Clarke in 21 seasons (1894-1911, 1913-1915) in the major leagues include:

  • 9 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 206 in 1899
  • 14 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 18 in 1896
  • 14 seasons with over 20 stolen bases, with a high of 57 in 1897
  • 11 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .390 in 1897

Career batting statistics for Clarke include:

  • 2,242 games played
  • 2,672 hits
  • 220 triples
  • 506 stolen bases
  • 135 strikeouts to 874 walks
  • .312 batting average
  • .386 on-base percentage
  • .815 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Clarke as an outfielder include:

  • 2,193 games played
  • 4,795 putouts
  • 256 errors
  • .952 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a major league player, Clarke stayed with the Pirates in various positions, including coach, vice president, and assistant manager.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Fred Clarke
ESPN - Fred Clarke
Baseball Reference - Fred Clarke

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