Jouett Meekin

From BR Bullpen

George Jouett Meekin

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 1", Weight 180 lb.

Debut June 13, 1891
Final Game July 8, 1900
Born February 21, 1867 in New Albany, IN USA
Died December 14, 1944 in New Albany, IN USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Jouett Meekin was a star pitcher in the majors from 1891-1900, reaching a peak in 1894 when he won 33 games for the New York Giants, a year in which his teammate Amos Rusie won 36 games for the team. In spite of having two 30-game winners, the team only finished second in the league.

Meekin came into the league in 1891 as a hard-throwing pitcher who got 144 strikeouts his first year in 228 innings. His strikeout/9-innings ratio was 5.68, which led the league. Pitchers such as Meekin were a main reason that the National League moved the pitching mound from 50 feet back to 60 feet 6 inches in 1893.

Meekin started out for three years with the Louisville Colonels and the Washington Senators before spending the bulk of his career with the New York Giants. In 1896, he had 26 wins on a team that finished under .500.

Also in 1896, Meekin was ordered by team captain Kid Gleason to give the first-ever intentional walk to Jimmy Ryan, in order to pitch to George Decker, who struck out to end the game. Source: Baseball Digest, 2000, Jerome Holtzman. The strategy, if historically true, seems to have worked, even though George Decker ended up with a higher slugging percentage in 1896 than Jimmy Ryan. Another source says that Meekin was "amazed" at Gleason's suggestion (it's a wonder he wasn't insulted). See Kid Gleason, Brilliant and Aggressive.

The Giants never won the pennant, and in 1899 Meekin finally came to the Boston Beaneaters, one of the decade's top teams. He spent only a couple months there, on a team that won 95 games in 1899, and he posted a record of 7-6. The team's top pitcher was Vic Willis, who won 27 games in 1899. The circumstances of his leaving the Giants apparently involved a release and perhaps a purchase by the Beaneaters, and Giants fans were outraged. Owners of the Brooklyn team claimed that New York had traded him to Boston to harm Brooklyn's chances of winning the pennant.

He finished out his major league career in 1900 pitching 2 games with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

As a hitter, he hit .243 lifetime with 15 home runs and 131 RBI. His slugging percentage in 1896 was well over the team slugging percentage.