Zack Wheat (1959)


Date of Birth: 5/23/1888
Date of Death: 3/11/1972
Birthplace: Hamilton, Missouri

Zack Wheat, who played for the Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers from 1909 through 1926, had a brother who also played with the Dodgers while Zack was with them. He started his professional baseball career in 1906 in the Kansas League. In 1907, he moved to the Texas League and in 1908, he played in the Southern Association. The Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers bought his contract in July, 1909.

Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers

Wheat joined the Dodgers in September, 1909. That season he played in just 26 games with the Dodgers. He batted .304 with 31 hits.

In 1910, his first full season in the major leagues, Wheat batted .284 with 172 hits, 36 doubles, a career high 15 triples, and 16 stolen bases in a career high 156 games. He played well defensively, leading all NL left fielders in putouts with 354.

Wheat had a career high 21 stolen bases in 1911. He batted .287 with 153 hits and 26 doubles in 140 games. The following season, he batted .305 with 138 hits and 28 doubles in 123 games. In 1913, he had 161 hits, 28 doubles, and a .301 batting average in 138 games. He once more led all NL left fielders in putouts with 338.

Wheat continued to play well defensively in 1914, 1915, and 1916. He led NL left fielders in putouts all three seasons, with 331 putouts in 1914, 345 putouts in 1915, and 333 putouts in 1916. He also played well offensively in 1914, finishing with a .319 batting average and 170 hits in 145 games. His batting average dropped to .258 in 1915, but he had a career high in stolen bases with 21. In 1916, his batting average went up to .312. That year, he had 177 hits and 32 doubles in 149 games.

Wheat played in just 109 games in 1917. He finished the season with 113 hits and a .312 batting average. The following season, he played in 105 games. He led the NL in batting average in 1918 with .335.

Wheat had a .297 batting average in 137 games in 1919. That year, he again led NL left fielders in putouts with 300. He led the league's left fielders in putouts two more times in his career (289 putouts in 1924 and 319 putouts in 1925).

Wheat had three strong full seasons from 1920 through 1922. He batted .328 in 1920, .320 the next year, and .335 in 1922. He finished the 1920 season with 191 hits, 26 doubles, 13 triples, and 73 RBIs in 148 games. The next year, he had 182 hits, 31 doubles, 14 home runs, and 85 RBIs in 148 games. Both years, he had more walks than strikeouts, walking 48 times and striking out 21 times in 1920, and walking 44 times and striking out 19 times in 1921. He hit a career high 16 home runs in 1922 and he had 201 hits, 29 doubles, and 112 RBIs in 152 games.

In 1923, Wheat had a career high batting average of .375 in 98 games. He had the same high batting average in 1924, but that year, he played in 141 games. He finished the season with 212 hits, 41 doubles, 14 home runs, and 97 RBIs.

Wheat had a strong season in 1925, finishing with career highs in hits (221) and doubles (42). He had 14 triples, 14 home runs, 103 RBIs, and a .359 batting average in 150 games. He played in just 111 games in 1926, and he had a .290 batting average.

Philadelphia Athletics

After the 1926 season ended, the Dodgers released Wheat and he signed with the Philadelphia Athletics. After 88 games with the Athletics in 1927, the team released Wheat. He batted .324 with 80 hits and 38 RBIs in his last season as a major league player.

Career Statistics

Statistics for Wheat in 18 full seasons (1910-1927) in the major leagues include:

  • 11 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 221 in 1925
  • 6 seasons with over 30 doubles, with highs of 41 in 1924 and 42 in 1925
  • 11 seasons with 10 or more triples, with highs of 14 in 1925 and 15 in 1910
  • 13 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .375 in 1923 and 1924

Career batting statistics for Wheat include:

  • 2,410 games played
  • 2,884 hits
  • 476 doubles
  • 172 triples
  • .317 batting average
  • .367 on-base percentage
  • .817 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Wheat as a left fielder include:

  • 2,328 games played
  • 4,990 putouts
  • 184 errors
  • .966 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

In 1928, Wheat played for a season with a team in the American Association. It was the last time he played professional baseball.

After ending his baseball career, Wheat had various jobs. For awhile he operated a bowling alley, later on he became a police officer, and eventually he owned and operated a hunting and fishing resort.

Wheat died on March 11, 1972, from a heart attack.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Zack Wheat
ESPN - Zack Wheat
Baseball Reference - Zack Wheat

Back to Top