Jack Fournier
From BR Bullpen
John Frank Fournier
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
- Debut April 13, 1912
- Final Game October 2, 1927
- Born September 28, 1889 in AuSable, MI USA
- Died September 5, 1973 in Tacoma, WA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Jack Fournier was a great player who spent some time mid-career in the minors, and then came back to resume a great career at the major league level.
Fournier broke in with the 1912 Chicago White Sox (who bought him from the Boston Red Sox), and was with them from 1912-16 and one game in 1917. His best year with them was in 1915 when he was third in the league in batting average and first in slugging percentage.
Although Fournier played one game in 1917 with the White Sox, and hit .350 in 27 games with the 1918 New York Yankees, he spent most of the 1917-19 period with the Los Angeles Angels.
He came back to the majors in 1920 with the 1920 St. Louis Cardinals, having his best year with them in 1921 when he hit .343 (teammate Rogers Hornsby hit .397 that year).
In 1923 he moved to the Brooklyn Robins, and had three great seasons with them in 1923-25. He was among the league leaders in many hitting categories in those three years, leading the league in 1923 in Runs Created, in 1924 in home runs, and in 1925 in walks. His Adjusted OPS+ was in the top three in the league each year.
He closed out his career with the 1927 Boston Braves, still an above-average hitter.
Fournier was considered a terrible defensive player, appearing most of his career at first base, which was an important defensive position in those days.
Although Fournier played 15 seasons in the majors, his numbers are a bit short for Hall of Fame consideration. He had around 1600 hits, and neither scored nor drove in 1000 runs. However, his 142 lifetime Adjusted OPS+ is # 63 on the all-time list, higher than Duke Snider or Reggie Jackson.
A true gentlemen engaged in a public protest against the profane language regularly used at ballparks.
Bill James ranks him the 35th best firstbaseman of all time. There is one Hall of Famer on the similarity scores list of the ten most similar players, that one being George Kelly. A more recent player, Pedro Guerrero, is also on the list of the most similar players and seems a pretty good comparison.
Fournier was the head coach at UCLA from 1934 to 1936.
Fournier scouted for the St. Louis Browns (1938-1942, 1944-1947), Chicago Cubs (1950-1957), Detroit Tigers (1960), and Cincinnati Reds (1961-1962).
