Emil Frisk
Emil Frisk | |
---|---|
Seattle, Washington, US | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 2, 1899, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
Last MLB appearance | |
April 23, 1907, for the St. Louis Browns | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .267 |
Home runs | 4 |
Runs batted in | 45 |
Teams | |
|
John Emil Frisk (October 15, 1874 – January 27, 1922) was a
Career
Frisk was born in
Frisk then spent 1901 to 1903 with the Denver Grizzlies of the new Western League. During this period, he converted into a full-time outfielder. In 1902, he had his breakout season, batting .373 with 14 home runs and leading the league in both categories.[4] His slugging percentage was .618.[5] It had been a smooth transition from pitching, but in 1903 Frisk slumped down to .273 and subsequently moved to the Pacific Coast League. In 1904, he batted .336 with the Seattle Siwashes to win another batting championship.[6] He was drafted by the St. Louis Browns that fall.[1]
Frisk's only full season in Major League Baseball was 1905. He hit .261 with three home runs;
In 1908, Frisk rejoined the Seattle Siwashes. He batted just .264 that season, but then increased his average to .307 in 1909, which ranked him second in the batting race.[7] He played for the Spokane Indians in 1910 and 1911, and he moved around from Spokane, Seattle, and the Vancouver Beavers from 1912 to 1915.[3] He won his third and final batting title in 1914, when he hit at a .320 clip.[8] That season, he became the first baseball player in history to get 2,000 hits in the minor leagues.[3][9]
Nicknamed the "Wagner of the minors",[10] Frisk was a consistent hitter. He hit safely over 120 times in every season from 1906 to 1914. In 1915, at the age of 40, he batted .272 and then retired from baseball. He finished his career with a .301 average in the minors.[3] In 2003, baseball writer Bill James named him as the best minor league player of the 1900–1909 decade.[10]
Frisk worked as a carpenter in the off seasons,[2] and after his baseball days, he worked as a table operator for the Pacific Coast Company.[11] He had a wife and one son.[2]
Frisk died in Seattle in 1922.[12]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Emil Frisk Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ a b c "Emil Frisk the Hans Wagner of the Minor Leagues – 2000th Game". The Spokesman-Review, June 28, 1914, p. 16.
- ^ a b c d "Emil Frisk Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ Madden, W. C. and Stewart, Patrick J. The Western League: A Baseball History, 1885 through 1999 (McFarland, 2002), p. 69.
- ^ "1902 Western League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ "1904 Pacific Coast League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ "1909 Northwestern League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ "1914 Northwestern League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- ^ Lavelle, Howard. "Combination Package: Pitchers Who Could Hit", Baseball Digest, March 1959, p. 19.
- ^ a b James, Bill. The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (Simon and Schuster, 2003), p. 78.
- ^ "The Players Speak: Heading Home". thedeadballera.com. Retrieved 2010-11-24.
- Newspapers.com.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)