ChinMusic22
Mar 31st 2007, 6:09 pm
Keeing with Cubs Hall of Famers, and 1/2 of th greatest Double Play combo baseball history, it's Joe Tinker time (that & in readings today I read a chapter on how Bill James feels Tinker doesn't belong in the HOF).
Joe Tinker
Joseph Bert Tinker
Born: July 27, 1880, in Muscotah, Kansas
Died: July 27, 1948, in Orlando, Florida
Elected to Hall of Fame by Veterans Committee in 1946, Player
ML Debut: 4/17/1902
Primary Position: Shortstop
Bats: R Throws: R
Played For: Chicago Cubs (1902-1912, 1916), Cincinnati Reds (1913), Chicago Whales - Federal League (1914-1915)
Primary Team: Chicago Cubs
Managed: Cincinnati Reds (1913), Chicago Whales - Federal League (1915), Chicago Cubs (1916)
Post-Season: 1906 World Series, 1907 World Series, 1908 World Series, 1910 World Series
Bio
The standout shortstop with exceptional speed in the Chicago Cubs' famed double play trio, Joe Tinker was an aggressive and spirited performer who excelled in clutch situations. He became a regular in 1902 as a 21-year-old rookie and five times led National League shortstops in fielding, contributing greatly to four Chicago pennants. He concluded his career as a player-manager for the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Federals and the Cubs.
He was born in Muscotah, Kansas.
For most of his career he played for the Chicago Cubs, starting as a 21-year-old rookie in 1902. Tinker was an average hitter, despite usually hitting well against pitcher Christy Mathewson, but a speedy runner, stealing an average of 28 bases a season and even stealing home twice in one game on July 28, 1910. The shortstop excelled at fielding, often leading the National League in a number of statistical categories. During his decade with the Cubs, they went to the World Series four times.
Tinker is perhaps best known as the shortstop in the "Tinker to Evers to Chance" double play combination immortalized in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" by New York newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams. Yet on September 14, 1905, he and Evers ended up in a fistfight on the field because Evers took a cab and left his teammates behind in the hotel lobby. They didn't speak to one another for 33 years until they were both asked to help broadcast the 1938 World Series (Cubs versus Yankees) and tearfully reunited.
Tinker's incessant salary demands got him traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1912. After a year playing and managing the Reds, Tinker jumped to the Federal League and managed the Chicago Whales until 1916 when he was back, briefly, with the Cubs.
Tinker ended his career in Florida, managing, scouting, and dabbling in real estate. He ran the Orlando Gulls in the Florida State League. Tinker Field, a stadium in the shadow of the Citrus Bowl, is named for him. Tinker was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. He died in Orlando, Florida on his 68th birthday of complications from diabetes.
"Baseball's Sad Lexicon"
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double --
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Quote
"Joe Tinker, in my book, was the greatest shortstop who ever lived, and he and Johnny Evers formed the greatest double-play combination the game has ever known."
— Ed Walsh
Did You Know... that on June 28, 1910, Joe Tinker stole home twice in the same game, a feat that has been accomplished less than a dozen times in big league history?
G- 1804
AB- 6434
H- 1687
2B- 263
3B- 114
HR- 31
RBI- 782
SB- 416
CS- 139
BA- .262
Not the strongest offense, but Tinker's defense, and other things he did for baseball (getting the spitball outlawed, & being one of the founders of Florida ST by bringing the Reds down there).
Joe Tinker
Joseph Bert Tinker
Born: July 27, 1880, in Muscotah, Kansas
Died: July 27, 1948, in Orlando, Florida
Elected to Hall of Fame by Veterans Committee in 1946, Player
ML Debut: 4/17/1902
Primary Position: Shortstop
Bats: R Throws: R
Played For: Chicago Cubs (1902-1912, 1916), Cincinnati Reds (1913), Chicago Whales - Federal League (1914-1915)
Primary Team: Chicago Cubs
Managed: Cincinnati Reds (1913), Chicago Whales - Federal League (1915), Chicago Cubs (1916)
Post-Season: 1906 World Series, 1907 World Series, 1908 World Series, 1910 World Series
Bio
The standout shortstop with exceptional speed in the Chicago Cubs' famed double play trio, Joe Tinker was an aggressive and spirited performer who excelled in clutch situations. He became a regular in 1902 as a 21-year-old rookie and five times led National League shortstops in fielding, contributing greatly to four Chicago pennants. He concluded his career as a player-manager for the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Federals and the Cubs.
He was born in Muscotah, Kansas.
For most of his career he played for the Chicago Cubs, starting as a 21-year-old rookie in 1902. Tinker was an average hitter, despite usually hitting well against pitcher Christy Mathewson, but a speedy runner, stealing an average of 28 bases a season and even stealing home twice in one game on July 28, 1910. The shortstop excelled at fielding, often leading the National League in a number of statistical categories. During his decade with the Cubs, they went to the World Series four times.
Tinker is perhaps best known as the shortstop in the "Tinker to Evers to Chance" double play combination immortalized in the poem "Baseball's Sad Lexicon" by New York newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams. Yet on September 14, 1905, he and Evers ended up in a fistfight on the field because Evers took a cab and left his teammates behind in the hotel lobby. They didn't speak to one another for 33 years until they were both asked to help broadcast the 1938 World Series (Cubs versus Yankees) and tearfully reunited.
Tinker's incessant salary demands got him traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1912. After a year playing and managing the Reds, Tinker jumped to the Federal League and managed the Chicago Whales until 1916 when he was back, briefly, with the Cubs.
Tinker ended his career in Florida, managing, scouting, and dabbling in real estate. He ran the Orlando Gulls in the Florida State League. Tinker Field, a stadium in the shadow of the Citrus Bowl, is named for him. Tinker was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. He died in Orlando, Florida on his 68th birthday of complications from diabetes.
"Baseball's Sad Lexicon"
These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double --
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Quote
"Joe Tinker, in my book, was the greatest shortstop who ever lived, and he and Johnny Evers formed the greatest double-play combination the game has ever known."
— Ed Walsh
Did You Know... that on June 28, 1910, Joe Tinker stole home twice in the same game, a feat that has been accomplished less than a dozen times in big league history?
G- 1804
AB- 6434
H- 1687
2B- 263
3B- 114
HR- 31
RBI- 782
SB- 416
CS- 139
BA- .262
Not the strongest offense, but Tinker's defense, and other things he did for baseball (getting the spitball outlawed, & being one of the founders of Florida ST by bringing the Reds down there).