Willie Keeler
From BR Bullpen
William Henry Keeler (Wee Willie)
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 4½", Weight 140 lb.
- Debut September 30, 1892
- Final Game September 5, 1910
- Born March 3, 1872 in Brooklyn, NY USA
- Died January 1, 1923 in Brooklyn, NY USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1939
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[edit] Biography
Willie Keeler played 19 years in the major leagues, split between the 19th and 20th Centuries. His .341 batting average is one of the highest of all time. His best year was 1897, with the famous Baltimore Orioles, when he hit .424 to lead the league and was a teammate of John McGraw, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson.
He had played in the Eastern League before coming to the majors, and went into real estate afterwards.
[edit] Quotations by and about Willie Keeler
". . . he had a trick of hitting a high hopper to an infielder. The ball would bounce so high that he was across the bag before he could be stopped." - Honus Wagner
"I was just thinking of those suckers, the club owners, paying me for playing ball. Why, I would pay my way into their ballparks if that was the only way I had to get into a game." - Willie Keeler
"I hit 'em where they ain't." - Willie Keeler
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2-time NL Batting Average Leader (1897 & 1898)
- NL OPS Leader (1897)
- NL At Bats Leader (1895)
- NL Runs Scored Leader (1899)
- 3-time NL Hits Leader (1897, 1898 & 1900)
- 7-time League Singles Leader (1897-1900/NL & 1904-1906/AL)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 8 (1894-1901)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 8 (1894-1901)
- Consecutive Seasons hitting .350: 7 (1894-1900); only Ty Cobb has more
- 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 2 (1896 & 1897)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1939
[edit] Records Held
- Batting average, left handed batter, season, .424, 1897
- Consecutive games with a hit from the first game of the season, 44, 1897
- Most hits in a season without hitting a home run. In 1897, he collected 239 hits for a .424 batting average, but he did not hit a single dinger.
- Most franchises with 800+ career hits, 3. Doc Cramer is the only other player to have at least 750 hits for 3 teams.
