Fred Carroll
Encyclopedia
Frederick Herbert Carroll (July 2, 1864 – November 7, 1904) was a catcher
and outfielder
in Major League Baseball
. From 1884 through 1891, he played with the Columbus Buckeyes
(1884) and for the Pittsburgh
teams Alleghenys
(1885–89), Burghers
(1890) and Pirates
(1891). Carroll batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Sacramento, California
.
with 27 home run
s and 366 RBI
in 754 games played
.
In 1886 Carroll compiled career-high numbers in hits
(140) and doubles
(28) while batting .288 with 92 runs
and 64 RBI. The next season he went .328, 71, 54, and had a career-high 15 triples
.
In August 1886, Carroll was briefly suspended after fighting with a teammate, first baseman Otto Schomberg
. Schomberg was unpopular with his teammates, and the fight started after Carroll referred to him with what The Sporting News
subsequently termed "vile names". The pair were separated by Frank Ringo
and Ed Glenn, and while Carroll was immediately suspended, the suspension was short-lived. The directors of the Pittsburg Alleghenys convened a meeting that night, and after the players refused to testify, Carroll was reinstated and his penalty was reduced to a $50 fine.
On May 2, 1887 Carroll became the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle
.
Carroll died in San Rafael, California
, at age 40.
in his book Baseball Abstract, Carroll has been the best "young" catcher before Johnny Bench
. A victim of the 1890s Brotherhood
, he also was a competent outfielder and played shortstop
, first base
, and third
as well. James also remarks that Carroll's major league career was shortened by his dislike of living on the East Coast
.
Carroll holds a major league catchers record for age 24 in OPS
with a .970 mark, set in 1889. The same season, he posted a career-high .330 BA and a .930 fielding percentage
as catching. An above-average runner with good instincts, he compiled 137 stolen base
s in his career.
During the 1887 season Carroll, is rumored to have buried his pet monkey, which served as an unofficial team mascot for the team, beneath the home plate at Pittsburgh's Recreation Park
, in a pre-game ceremony. The stadium stood at the corner of North, Grant, and Pennsylvania Avenues on Pittsburgh's Northside
.
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
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 Major League Baseball
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...
. From 1884 through 1891, he played with the Columbus Buckeyes
American Association (19th century)
The American Association was a Major League Baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from to . During that time, it challenged the National League for dominance of professional baseball...
(1884) and for the Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
teams Alleghenys
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
(1885–89), Burghers
Pittsburgh Burghers
The Pittsburgh Burghers were a baseball team in the Players' League, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the 1890 season. The team included a number of players who had jumped from the National League's Pittsburgh Alleghenys , including Hall of Famers Pud Galvin, Ned Hanlon, and Jake...
(1890) and Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
(1891). Carroll batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
.
Baseball career
In an eight-season Major League career, Carroll posted a .284 batting averageBatting 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 27 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 366 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
in 754 games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
.
In 1886 Carroll compiled career-high numbers in 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....
(140) and 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....
(28) while batting .288 with 92 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
and 64 RBI. The next season he went .328, 71, 54, and had a career-high 15 triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
.
In August 1886, Carroll was briefly suspended after fighting with a teammate, first baseman Otto Schomberg
Otto Schomberg
Otto H. Schomberg was a Major League Baseball first basemen who played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys and the Indianapolis Hoosiers.-Pittsburgh Alleghenys:...
. Schomberg was unpopular with his teammates, and the fight started after Carroll referred to him with what The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
subsequently termed "vile names". The pair were separated by Frank Ringo
Frank Ringo
Frank C. Ringo was a Major League Baseball catcher. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors, from until , for five different teams....
and Ed Glenn, and while Carroll was immediately suspended, the suspension was short-lived. The directors of the Pittsburg Alleghenys convened a meeting that night, and after the players refused to testify, Carroll was reinstated and his penalty was reduced to a $50 fine.
On May 2, 1887 Carroll became the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycle
Hitting for the cycle
In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
.
Carroll died in San Rafael, California
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...
, at age 40.
Legacy
According Bill JamesBill James
George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...
in his book Baseball Abstract, Carroll has been the best "young" catcher before Johnny Bench
Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...
. A victim of the 1890s Brotherhood
Players League
The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League , was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century...
, he also was a competent outfielder and played 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...
, first base
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...
, and third
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
as well. James also remarks that Carroll's major league career was shortened by his dislike of living on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
.
Carroll holds a major league catchers record for age 24 in OPS
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...
with a .970 mark, set in 1889. The same season, he posted a career-high .330 BA and a .930 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
as catching. An above-average runner with good instincts, he compiled 137 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 in his career.
During the 1887 season Carroll, is rumored to have buried his pet monkey, which served as an unofficial team mascot for the team, beneath the home plate at Pittsburgh's Recreation Park
Recreation Park (Pittsburgh)
Recreation Park, originally known as Union Park, was a stadium located in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, before its 1907 annexation into the city of Pittsburgh, in the latter 19th century to the early 20th century. It was the first official home to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the city's Major League...
, in a pre-game ceremony. The stadium stood at the corner of North, Grant, and Pennsylvania Avenues on Pittsburgh's Northside
Northside (Pittsburgh)
North Side refers to the region of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, located to the north of the Allegheny River and the Ohio River...
.
Highlights
- Led NLNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in on base percentageOn base percentageIn baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
(1889, .486) - Led NL in OPSOn-base plus sluggingOn-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...
(1889, .970) - Became the first Pittsburgh player to hit for the cycleHitting for the cycleIn baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are uncommon in Major League Baseball , occurring 293 times since the first by Curry...
(May 2, 1887) - Set a major league record with nine hits in a doubleheader (July 5, 18861886 in baseball-Champions:* World Series St. Louis Browns 4, Chicago White Stockings 2*National League: Chicago White Stockings*American Association: St. Louis Browns-National League final standings:-American Association final standings:...
)