Sam Crawford (1957)


Date of Birth: 4/18/1880
Date of Death: 6/15/1968
Birthplace: Wahoo, Nebraska

Sam Crawford started his baseball career with amateur teams. He then moved to semi-pro teams. He played professional baseball in the Canadian League and in the Western League in 1899.

Cincinnati Reds

Crawford's contract was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds in September, 1899. He played in just 31 games with Cincinnati that year. The next season he played in 101 games. In 1900, he had a .260 batting average with 101 hits, 15 doubles, 15 triples, and 14 stolen bases.

In 1901, Crawford led the National League in home runs with a career high of 16. He had good numbers that year, batting .330 with 170 hits, 20 doubles, and 16 triples in 131 games.

Crawford led the NL in triples in 1902. He had 185 hits, 18 doubles, 22 triples, 16 stolen bases, and a .333 batting average in 140 games.

Detroit Tigers

Crawford moved to the Detroit Tigers prior to the 1903 season. In his first season in the AL, he led the league in triples with 25. He finished the 1903 season with 184 hits, 23 doubles, 18 stolen bases, and a .335 batting average in 137 games.

Crawford's batting average dropped to .254 in 1904. He had 143 hits, 22 doubles, 16 triples, and 20 stolen bases in 150 games. He played better the following season, batting .297 in 154 games. He finished the 1905 season with 171 hits, a career high 38 doubles, and 22 stolen bases. In 1906, he batted .295 with 166 hits, 25 doubles, 16 triples, and 24 stolen bases in 145 games.

Crawford improved his batting average to .323 in 1907. That year, he had 188 hits, 34 doubles, and 17 triples in 144 games. Although he only had seven home runs in 1908, he led the AL in that category. He also had 184 hits, 33 doubles, 16 triples, and a .311 batting average in 152 games.

In 1909, Crawford led the AL in doubles with 35. He batted .314 with 184 hits and 30 stolen bases in 156 games. The following season, he led the league in triples with 19. He finished the 1910 season with 170 hits, 26 doubles, 20 stolen bases, and a .289 batting average in 154 games.

Crawford had career highs in hits (217) and in batting average (.378) in 145 games in 1911. He also had 36 doubles and 37 stolen bases. The following season, he had a career high 41 stolen bases. He finished the 1912 season with 189 hits, 30 doubles, 21 triples, and a .325 batting average in 149 games.

Crawford led the AL in triples in 1913 (23), 1914 (a career high 26), and 1915 (19). He batted .317 with 193 hits and 32 doubles in 153 games in 1913. The following season, he played in a career high 157 games. He had 183 hits, 25 stolen bases, and a .314 batting average in 1914. He finished the 1915 season with 183 hits, 321 doubles, 24 stolen bases, and a .299 batting average in 156 games.

Crawford played in just 100 games in 1916, and he batted .286 with 92 hits. In 1917, his last season in the major leagues, he batted just .173 in 61 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Led league in triples (6 times)
  • Led league in home runs (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Crawford in 17 full seasons (1900-1916) in the major leagues include:

  • 14 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 217 in 1911
  • 8 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 38 in 1905
  • 17 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 26 in 1914
  • 6 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 120 in 1910
  • 9 seasons with 20 or more stolen bases, with a high of 41 in 1912
  • 10 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .378 in 1911

Career batting statistics for Crawford include:

  • 2,517 games played
  • 2,961 hits
  • 458 doubles
  • 309 triples
  • 366 stolen bases
  • .309 batting average
  • .362 on-base percentage
  • .814 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Crawford as an outfielder include:

  • 2,299 games played
  • 3,626 putouts
  • 143 errors
  • .965 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After leaving major league baseball, Crawford played for four years (1919-1921) with the Los Angeles Angels, who were not yet part of major league baseball.

Crawford spent six years (1924-1929) as the head coach for the University of Southern California's baseball team.

Crawford's last position in baseball was as an umpire for the Pacific Coast League from 1935-1938.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Sam Crawford
ESPN - Sam Crawford
Baseball Reference - Sam Crawford

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