Jack Clements
Jack Clements | ||
---|---|---|
Home runs 77 | | |
Runs batted in | 687 | |
Teams | ||
As player
As manager
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John J. Clements (July 24, 1864 – May 23, 1941) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for 17 seasons. Despite being left-handed, Clements caught 1,076 games, almost four times as many as any other left-handed player in major league history [1] and was the last left-hander to catch on a regular basis.[2] He is credited with being the first catcher to wear a chest protector.[3]
Baseball career
Born in
Clements spent the next 13 seasons with the Quakers (who became the Phillies in 1890), and became the team's regular catcher in 1888.
After the 1897 season, Clements was traded to the
Before the 1899 season, Clements was assigned to the Cleveland Spiders. The move took place after Spiders owners Frank and Stanley Robison purchased the Browns and re-distributed players among the two franchises.[6] Clements appeared in only 4 games for the Spiders before being released.[4]
He played his final Major League season in 1900, playing in 16 games for the
At the time of his retirement, he held the single-season and career records for home runs by a catcher. Both of his records were broken by Gabby Hartnett in the 1920s; the single-season record fell in 1925, while the career record fell in 1928.[9] Clements is also the only 19th-century baseball player of prominence to retire with more home runs than triples.[6]
In 1160 games over 17 seasons, Clements posted a .287
He died of an illness in
In his Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranked Clements as the 58th greatest catcher in baseball history.[3]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball player–managers
References
- ^ Rosciam, Chuck. "Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers – Left-Handed Throwing Catchers". Retrieved 2007-05-10.
- ^ Walsh, John (2006-04-06). "Top 10 Left-Handed Catchers for 2006". The Hardball Times. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ ISBN 0-684-80697-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Jack Clements statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ Charlton, James. "The Chronology - 1884". BaseballLibrary.com. Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
- ^ a b c d "Jack Clements". baseballbiography.com. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ "Phillies All-Time Managers". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved 2007-06-25.
- ^ Shiffert, John (2006-10-10). "An MVP case for Ryan Howard". Scout.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-06. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ "SABR-Zine – Record for Most Home Runs by a Catcher: Historic Overview". Society for American Baseball Research. 2004-05-10. Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- New York Times. 1941-05-24. Archived from the originalon 2006-11-12. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)