Gabby Hartnett (1955)


Date of Birth: 12/20/1900
Date of Death: 12/20/1972
Birthplace: Woonsocket, Rhode Island
College: Dean College

Gabby Hartnett started his professional baseball career with a team in the Eastern League (minor leagues) in 1921 at the age of 20. A year later, he was acquired by the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago Cubs

Hartnett was the backup catcher for the Cubs in 1922, playing in 31 games with them. In July, 1924, he became the Cubs starting catcher. That season he batted .299 with 106 hits, 17 doubles, and 16 home runs in 111 games. He had another good season in 1925, batting .289 in 117 games. A good defensive catcher, he led all NL catchers in assists with 114 and in putouts with 409.

Hartnett played in just 93 games in 1926, and he batted .275. He led the NL in catching players trying to steal with a 60.7% success rate. In 1927, he played in 127 games, and he had 132 hits, 32 doubles, 80 RBIs, and a .294 batting average. He again led all NL catchers in assists with 99 and in putouts with 479.

Hartnett batted .302 in 1928. He had 117 hits, 26 doubles, 14 home runs, and 57 RBIs in 120 games. He walked 65 times while striking out just 32 times. Defensively, he led all NL catchers in assists with 103 and in caught stealing percentage with .672. He played in just 25 games in 1929.

In 1930, Hartnett had career highs in games played (141), hits (172), home runs (37), RBIs (122), and OPS (1.034). Defensively, he once more led all NL catchers in assists with 68 and in putouts with 646. The next year, he led NL catchers in caught stealing percentage with 60.4%, and in 1932, he led with 64.2%.

Hartnett continued to play well in 1933 and 1934. He had 135 hits, 21 doubles, 16 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a .276 batting average in 140 games in 1933. He had similar numbers in 1934, with 131 hits, 21 doubles, 22 home runs, 90 RBIs, and a .299 batting average in 130 games. He led all NL catchers in assists (86), putouts (605), and caught stealing percentage (.590) in 1934.

In 1935, Hartnett won the National League MVP award. That season he batted .344 with 142 hits, 32 doubles, 13 home runs, and 91 RBIs in 116 games. He again led NL catchers in assists (77) and caught stealing percentage (.603).

Hartnett batted .307 in 1936. He had an even better year in 1937, when he batted a career high .354. He finished the season with 126 hits, 21 doubles, 12 home runs, and 82 RBIs in 110 games. He walked 43 times and struck out just 19 times.

From 1938-1940, Hartnett served as manager as well as catcher for the Cubs. His record as a manager was 203 wins to 176 losses in 383 games.

New York Giants

Hartnett was released by the Cubs in November, 1940, and a month later, he signed with the New York Giants. In 1941, his last season in the major leagues, Hartnett was the backup catcher for the Giants, playing in 64 games with them.

Awards and MLB Records

  • NL MVP
  • Led the NL in caught stealing percentage (6 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Hartnett in 20 seasons (1922-1941) in the major leagues include:

  • 4 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 32 in 1927, 1931, and 1935
  • 3 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 37 in 1930
  • 5 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .354 in 1937

Career batting statistics for Hartnett include:

  • 1,990 games played
  • 1,912 hits
  • 396 doubles
  • 236 home runs
  • 1,179 RBIs
  • 697 strikeouts to 703 walks
  • .297 batting average
  • .370 on-base percentage
  • .859 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Hartnett as a catcher include:

  • 1,793 games played
  • 139 errors
  • 1,254 assists
  • 7,292 putouts
  • .984 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Hartnett include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 16 games played
  • 54 at-bats
  • 13 hits
  • 2 doubles
  • 1 triple
  • 2 home runs
  • 11 strikeouts to 1 walk
  • .241 batting average

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a player from the major leagues, Hartnett became a minor league manager (1941-1946). In the mid-1960s, he became a coach and scout for the Kansas City Athletics for two years.

Hartnett was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955 on the twelfth ballot with 77.7% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Gabby Hartnett
ESPN - Gabby Hartnett
Baseball Reference - Gabby Hartnett

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