Cy Seymour
Cy Seymour | ||
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Runs batted in 799 | | |
Win–loss record | 61–56 | |
Earned run average | 3.73 | |
Strikeouts | 591 | |
Teams | ||
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Career highlights and awards | ||
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James Bentley "Cy" Seymour (December 9, 1872 – September 20, 1919) was an American
Primarily a center fielder, Seymour retired with 1,724
Career
Early career
Seymour played
Major League Baseball
New York Giants (1896–1900)
Seymour signed with the
In 1898, he
Seymour held out from the Giants for the first month of the 1899 season in a contract dispute, eventually signing for $2,000 ($73,248 in current dollar terms), a $500 raise ($18,312 in current dollar terms) over his 1898 salary.[1] He finished second in the NL in strikeouts with 142.[1] Seymour was briefly demoted to the minor leagues after walking 11 batters in a victory against the St. Louis Perfectos on June 7, 1900.[7] Due to injuries and the ineffectiveness of the Giants' outfielders, the team began to play Seymour in the outfield, though they insisted that Seymour would not shift positions on a permanent basis.[1] Seymour last pitched for the Giants that season, at which point he converted into an outfielder full-time due to injury from throwing the screwball.[1]
Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902)
With the formation of the
Cincinnati Reds (1902–1906)
Reds owner
New York Giants (1906–1910)
The Giants purchased Seymour from the Reds on July 12, 1906 for $10,000 ($339,111 in current dollar terms), the largest monetary transaction in baseball to date.[1] Seymour attempted to hold out from the Giants in order to obtain a portion of this transfer fee, claiming that Herrmann had promised him this money if the sale was completed.[14] McGraw convinced Seymour not to hold out, which could have set a precedent for players obtaining money in player transactions.[1] He batted .286 in 1906 for the Reds and Giants, finishing eighth in the NL.[1]
Seymour finished fifth in the NL in batting average (.294) for the 1907 season.[15] However, an ankle injury prematurely ended his season.[16] His batting average declined to .267 for the 1908 season. That year, he participated in one of baseball's most infamous plays, known as Merkle's Boner, in which the Giants lost the pennant to the Chicago Cubs. In the replayed game between the Giants and Cubs, Giants pitcher Christy Mathewson reportedly waved Seymour to move further back in the outfield; Seymour refused, only to see the ball hit over his head, allowing the Cubs to score three runs on their way to the win.[17] Mathewson later denied waving Seymour back, saying Seymour "knew the Chicago batters as well as [he] did and how to play them."[18]
As there were no full-time base
Later career
The minor league
Seymour subsequently signed as a free agent with the
After baseball
Seymour was declared physically unfit for service in World War I. However, he worked in wartime jobs in the Speedway shipyards and Bush terminal. While working in the shipyards, he contracted tuberculosis, and died at his home on September 20, 1919.[1] He was interred in Albany Rural Cemetery.[30]
Career perspective
Few players enjoyed as much success as Seymour as both a pitcher and hitter; only Babe Ruth recorded more combined pitching victories and hits.[1] As a pitcher, Seymour threw a fastball, a curveball, and a screwball. Orioles catcher Wilbert Robinson said that he had never caught a pitcher as wild as Seymour, as opposing batters did "not know whether their head or feet were in most danger."[1]
"I look upon Seymour as the greatest straight ball player of the age, by that I mean he is absolutely all right if you let him play the game his own way. But if you try to mix up any science on him you are likely to injure his effectiveness."
In his 16-year MLB career, Seymour hit 52 home runs with 799 RBI, 1,723 hits, 222
According to a formula for evaluating baseball players developed by
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Cy Seymour at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Bill Kirwin, Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Cy Seymour Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Cy Seymour Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
- ^ "On the Baseball Field; New York Defeats St. Louis in the First Game of the Present Series. The Attendance Not Large. Brooklyn's Team Developes a Batting Streak in the Eighth Inning and Overcomes the "Colts" – Boston and Baltimore Victorious". The New York Times. September 5, 1897. Retrieved March 22, 2012 – via nytimes.com.
- ^ Verducci, Tom (July 28, 1988). "Yanks' Funhouse Effect Win comedy of errors and homers". Newsday. p. 150. Retrieved March 22, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ^ "Cy Seymour is Real "Iron Man": McGraw Says He Outdid Joe McGinnity in Endurance Feats of Pitching; Three Games in Two Days". Detroit Free Press. June 24, 1917. p. 18. Retrieved April 12, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ISBN 1-58261-693-0.
- ^ "War that Crippled National League: Ban Johnson's Campaign Swept Star Players Out of the Old Organization" (PDF). The New York Times. December 7, 1913. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ Joe Kelley at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Jimmy Keenan, Retrieved March 24, 2012.
- ISBN 1-894963-37-7.
- ^ Bostrom, Don (July 30, 1999). "Sun King Ogea is More than OK * He Tosses Seven Innings of Six- Hit Ball and Sets Up Phils With Three Sacrifice Bunts". The Morning Call. p. C.01. Retrieved April 10, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ^ a b "Perez, Seymour in Reds' Hall". Dayton Daily News. August 1, 1998. p. 1D. Retrieved March 22, 2012. (subscription required)
- ^ Gold, Eddie (February 6, 1991). "Reds' Batting Records". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2012. (subscription required)
- The Hartford Courant. August 4, 1906. p. 13. Retrieved March 22, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ^ "1907 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
- ^ "Seymour Sprains Ankle; New Yorker Slides Into Treacherous Base – Four Giants Chased". The New York Times. September 25, 1907. p. 7. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Ruth Helps Red Sox to Drive Within One Victory of World's Baseball Title: Wild Toss Gives Red Sox Victory in Fourth Game: Douglas of Cubs Throws, Ball Away in Eighth Inning of Seething Battle. Ruth Still Untamed Hero: Tarzan of Boston Tribe Triples with Two on Bases in Early Effort. Governor McCall Sees Game. Ruth Still Untamed. Cubs Tie Up Contest" (PDF). The New York Times. September 10, 1918. p. 10. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- University of Nebraska. p. 186.
- ^ Mathewson, p. 120
- ^ Mathewson, p. 121
- ^ "Seymour is Discharged". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 13, 1909. p. 10. Retrieved March 23, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ^ Tenney, Fred (March 14, 1909). ""Cy" Seymour Repents; Banished Giant May Be Reinstated by Manager McGraw" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ^ "Crippled Giants Beaten By Boston; Doyle and Bridwell Unable to Play and Seymour Hurt in First Inning. New Yorks Weak At Bat: Could Not Hit at the Right Time, While Marquard Keeps Hits Off Him Scattered Well". The New York Times. April 27, 1909. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
- ^ Mathewson, pp. 135–6
- The Atlanta Constitution. August 25, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved March 23, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- The Sun. March 13, 1912. p. 10. Retrieved March 23, 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b "Seymour to Play in Boston". The Christian Science Monitor. February 12, 1913. p. 3. Retrieved March 23, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ^ "Boton Releases Cy Seymour". The New York Times. July 20, 1913. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- Boston Daily Globe. July 20, 1913. p. 9. Retrieved March 23, 2012.[permanent dead link](subscription required)
- ^ "Seymour Funeral Today; Body of Noted Outfielder to be interred at Albany" (PDF). The New York Times. September 22, 1919. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
- ISBN 9780025107748.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- "James Bentley Seymour". Reds Hall of Fame and Museum. Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- Cy Seymour at Find a Grave