Phil Geier
From BR Bullpen
Philip Louis Geier (Little Phil)
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 5' 7", Weight 145 lb.
- Debut August 17, 1896
- Final Game October 8, 1904
- Born November 3, 1875 in Washington, DC USA
- Died September 25, 1967 in Spokane, WA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Phil Geier played five seasons in the majors, spread out at three different times. He came up with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1896-97. He was one of the youngest players in the league in 1896, at age 20. He had come from the Fall River team, and so had 21-year-old Nap Lajoie. There is a story, unclear if true, that the Phils wanted Geier and that Lajoie was just a throw-in. Lajoie was an immediate success as a hitter with the Phillies while Geier was not so much.
Geier came back in 1900 and 1901, first with the National League and then with the new-born American League.
In 1903 Geier did well with the St. Paul Saints, leading the minor league American Association with a .361 average. He outhit his teammate Miller Huggins.
Geier came back to the majors in 1904, at this point 28 years old, to get 580 at-bats. He hit .243, which is better than it sounds since the dead-ball era had started and his team had an average of .237. Even his slugging percentage of .284 was only 16 points below the team average of .300.
