Check out the Facts on George Sisler.
We have here another installment of our less well known Hall of Famers with a tribute to George Sisler. Sisler is borderline for this series, since in my opinion he's a well known legend of the game, but he's not really one of the first 20 guys you might name amongst baseball greats, and his accomplishments are worth recounting.
George Harold Sisler was born March 24, 1893 in Manchester, Ohio. Sisler made his debut for the St. Louis Browns in 1915, and like Babe Ruth, he did it as a pitcher. He made 8 starts that year, going 4/4 before being moved to first base in 1916. He was a promising left-handed prospect as a pitcher, but his bat was too good to have a pitchers limited at bats, and his glove was too good at first base to use in any other way. In the field he was fast and graceful; he still holds the record for assists by a first baseman (1,528).
As a hitter, he was even better, batting over .300 in 13 out of his 15 seasons. He batted over .400 twice, and not surprisingly, won batting titles both times (.407 in 1920 and .420 in 1922). He won the American League MVP Award in 1922 for his .420, along with a league-leading 246 hits (18 triples), 51 steals, and 105 RBI's average. In my opinion, his 1920 season was even better, when he hit .407, scored 137 times, stole 42 bases, set a record that still stands today with 257 hits, and career highs in home runs (19) and RBI's (122), he even had a save in one pitching appearance, striking out two of the three batters he faced. For his career, he had 2,812 hits with a .340 average and 1,175 career RBI's. In addition, he only struck out 327 times in 8,739 plate appearances; that's 1 strike out for every 23.5 plate appearances (Barry Bonds, who is quite disciplined at the plate himself, strikes out about once every 8 plate appearances).
In 1923 severe sinusitis infected his optic nerves and for a time he saw double. He missed the entire 1923 season. Sisler returned in 1924 with a $25,000 contract as player-manager. He hit .305 in 151 games and moved the Browns to third. In 1925 he was back on track with 224 hits and a .345 average. In fact, he only had one sub-.300 season in seven after the illness. They were seasons most players would have been proud of, but he was not really himself. His eyes never regained their former acuity.
In the winter of 1927 the Browns traded Sisler to Washington, who then sent him to Boston (Braves), where he played with his rival, Rogers Hornsby.
After 1930 he drifted into the minors, ran a Sisler printing company in St. Louis, then a Sisler sporting-goods firm. Branch Rickey brought him back to baseball in the 1940s as a scout and special hitting instructor at Brooklyn and Pittsburgh. He died at the age of 80, on March 26, 1973.
Posted by at November 6, 2003 07:18 PM