Frank Isbell
Encyclopedia
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
, second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
, and outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
in the 1910s. He played for the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
in 1898 briefly, where he had 37 hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
in 159 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s (.233 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
). With the Cubs, he pitched
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
and played outfield more than anything else. Thirteen of his seventeen games pitched came with the Cubs. After not being seen in baseball for the next year, he showed up again in 1900 playing for the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
as a full-time first baseman. The American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
was not recognized in the Majors until 1901. He played with them until 1909. He batted left-handed, but threw right-handed.
Born in Delevan, New York
Delevan, New York
Delevan is a village in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2000 census.The Village of Delevan lies inside the Town of Yorkshire- History :The first lot was cleared around 1821...
, Isbell was nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d Bald Eagle. Isbell was a good enough hitter to earn a starting spot on some very good White Sox teams including the pennant-winning 1901 team, managed by Clark Griffith
Clark Griffith
Clark Calvin Griffith , nicknamed "the Old Fox", was a Major League Baseball pitcher, manager and team owner.-Biography:...
, the 2nd place 1905 team led by Fielder Jones
Fielder Jones
Fielder Allison Jones was an American center fielder and manager in baseball. Born in Shinglehouse, Pennsylvania, his playing career began with the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Superbas in 1896. In , he joined the Chicago White Stockings in the new American League, where he would finish his playing career...
, and finally the 1906 World Series
1906 World Series
- Game 1 :Tuesday, October 9, 1906 at West Side Grounds in Chicago, IllinoisCubs hurler Mordecai Brown was sent to continue the dominance against Nick Altrock. Both pitchers pitched a perfect game through three innings. The Cubs had a runner at second, but couldn't score in the fourth...
champion White Sox that included shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
George Davis and pitchers Doc White
Doc White
Guy Harris "Doc" White was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for two teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox, during his career which lasted from 1901 to 1913....
and Ed Walsh
Ed Walsh
Edward Augustine Walsh was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He holds the record for lowest career ERA, 1.82.-Baseball career:Born in Plains Township, Pennsylvania, Walsh had a brief though remarkable major league career...
. That team was known as one of the worst hitting teams to ever win the World Series, with only Davis and Isbell hitting above .260 (Davis hit .277, Isbell .279). Amazingly, even though Isbell only had 13 career regular season home runs, he hit two homers in that World Series to help the Sox beat his former team, the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
. He also set many other offensive World Series records that year, including doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and extra base hit
Extra base hit
In baseball, an extra base hit , also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire another base runner...
s in a game. However, Isbell was better known for his outstanding speed, even for that day-in-age. He never beat out his 1901 season when he had 52 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s and led the Majors, but he averaged 37 steals a year and ended out with 253 in his career.
In a 10-year career and 1119 games, he ended out with a .250 batting average with 13 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 455 RBIs. He had 1056 career hits in 4219 at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s. As a pitcher, he went 4-7 with a 3.59 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
.
Isbell also became notable for being manager and owner of many teams in the Western League
Western League (defunct minor league)
The Western League is a name given to several circuits in American minor league baseball. Its earliest progenitor, which existed from 1885 to 1899, was the predecessor of the American League...
. He died in Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases