Mortimer Gardner
by Martín Abresch
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“Scowl at the pitcher and swing hard,” may be the most famous description of Mortimer Gardner’s style of play, but it barely begins to describe his all-around performance. Pittsburgh’s center fielder in the 1890s and early 1900s, he saved as many doubles with his glove as he drove into the gap with his bat. He hit over .300 for 10 seasons in a row, stole over 800 bases, and led Pittsburgh to their first ever Championship.
Gardner debuted in the big leagues as a teenager with Tom Guthrie's 1887 Baltimore Crabbers. Though well regarded as a prospect, management preferred another promising young center fielder, Bimm Sawyers. On July 17, 1890, the Crabbers traded Gardner and two others to the Pittsburgh Weavers for first baseman Ferdinand Farnsworth. Farnsworth finished his career with fewer than 100 at-bats. By the century’s end, Farnsworth for Gardner had become infamous as one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history.
Coincidentally, the center fielder who won the Baltimore starting job, Bimm Sawyers, had been traded by Pittsburgh almost exactly one year prior to the Gardner trade. On July 18, 1889, Pittsburgh traded Sawyers to Rochester for pitcher Grant McGee. After the 1889 season, Rochester disbanded, freeing Sawyers to sign with Baltimore and win the center field job in place of Gardner. Sawyers had a brilliant season in 1891, winning the batting title and leading the league in slugging, but injuries derailed his promising career.
The Pittsburgh Weavers finished dead last in 1890, but young acquisitions like Gardner and McGee would soon propel the team to success. In fact, Pittsburgh management seemed to have a knack for making savvy acquisitions.
In Pittsburgh, Gardner immediately impressed. In his first full season with the Weavers, he finished in the top five in runs (113), doubles (29), triples (30), and stolen bases (82). He also led the league with 107 strikeouts and became known for his technique inside the batter’s box: scowl at the pitcher and swing hard.
Gardner was not a big man—he stood a few inches short of six feet—but he was a mean one. He played with a chip on his shoulder, and that anger fueled his success. He liked to stand close to the plate, ready to swing hard at outside pitches and daring pitchers to throw him inside. He was hit by 153 pitches in his career—a number that puts him within the top 10 all-time—but he refused to give an inch. If a pitcher didn’t hit him, then his quick wrists usually enabled him to turn on an inside heater and drive it into left field.
“There was nothing sensible in pitching to Gardner,” wrote Royal Ricketts in his autobiography. “I might as well have been instructed to catch a wasp with bare hands. He glared at me as if my intention to toss the ball plateward was a personal affront. His swing, quick and powerful, impressed upon me the sensibility that he wished to return the ball direct back but with double the force, thereby to lift my head from off my neck.”
Gardner’s speed helped him as much as his scowl. In 1893, he stole a career high 98 bases. He stole 90 in 1894 and 80+ bases in four other seasons. In 1897 against St. Louis, he stole six bases in one game. He converted many doubles into triples, hitting 20+ triples in nine seasons. His speed also helped him in the field. As impressive as Gardner was at the plate, he was even better patrolling the Pittsburgh outfield. Intensely focused and alert at all times, he took off like a shot at the crack of a bat, reaching balls that no other center fielder of his era (and few of any era) could reach.
Gardner’s best seasons came in the mid-1890s. In 1895, he hit .343 with 39 doubles, 25 triples, 134 runs scored, and 115 RBIs. In 1896, he hit .317 and led the league with 17 home runs—the only time he reached double-digit numbers in dingers. In 1897, he hit .336 and drove in 112.
Gardner’s 1896 performance powered Pittsburgh to its first-ever first place finish. The team was a hodgepodge of castoffs and overlooked talent. Their ace, Prince Bale, had been released by Brooklyn back in 1891. Pittsburgh signed the 30-year-old and he would win 160 games for them, including a league-leading 31 in 1891 and 27 in 1896. Mid-season trades for Ervin Fair and Russell Fankester added depth to the team. Fair would go on to lead the league in strikeouts in 1897, while Fankester would bat .300 in seven of 11 seasons with Pittsburgh (and win the batting title in 1905). Gardner was the team’s one true superstar, but in the World Series against Philadelphia, it was his motley collection of teammates who rose to the occasion. Despite Gardner hitting just .219 for the series, Pittsburgh won the World Series in seven games.
For the 1897 season, Pittsburgh signed Cincinnati castoff Joseph Madison. Madison promptly won the starting job at the hot corner, hit .337 on the season, and led the league with 236 hits. Pittsburgh repeated as division champions and, once again, they faced their cross-state rivals in the World Series. Eager to dispel memories of his dismal 1896 World Series, Gardner played the 1897 World Series with a chip on his shoulder. Dispel them he did. He went 14-for-29 (.483) with two doubles, two triples, and six stolen bases. He scored four runs, drove in nine, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series. Pittsburgh repeated in seven games.
Gardner never stopped trying to improve his game. Having once led the league in strikeouts, he strove to be more selective. In 1890, he struck out 120 times. In 1893, he cut that in half, striking out just 50 times. In 1896, he cut that total in half again, striking out just 19 times. But in 1898, he struck out just four times in 679 plate appearances. In fact, from 1898 to 1900, he struck out just 19 times total. He still scowled, he still swung hard, but he swung less often and when he swung, he rarely missed.
As offense dipped league-wide and baseball began to enter the Deadball Era, Gardner continued to mash. In 1901, he hit .321 and scored 114 runs. He began 1902 hitting .344, but a July injury ended his season early.
In 1903, Gardner had the worst season of his career. Teammates Fankester and Madison picked up the slack. Young phenom Milton Currie hit .316 while covering the left side of the infield. Pittsburgh finished first with their best record yet, 93-65, and defeated New York in seven to win their third championship. Gardner rebounded in 1904, and Pittsburgh again faced New York in the World Series. Gardner hit .310 in the series, but this time it was New York who won in seven.
In 1905, it was clear that injuries and age had robbed Gardner of his speed. Fly balls that he once ran down with ease now fell in for hits. He hit just .230 on the season. Pittsburgh released the 38-year-old. New York signed him, but he spent most of the season on the bench. The Knickerbockers won their division and faced Chicago in the World Series. The Traders swept the series. Gardner, playing left field, started all four games but hit just one single in 19 plate appearances, a sad coda to an extraordinary career.
New York released Gardner after the season. As intense as ever, he looked to sign with another team in 1907. When no team expressed interest, he retired.
For his career, Gardner hit .302 with 2,848 hits, 464 doubles, 313 triples, 1,508 runs scored, and 872 stolen bases. He led the league in home runs (1896), doubles (1893), and total bases (1896). He won Player of the Week 11 times and Batter of the Month six times. He played on three Championship teams (Pittsburgh 1896-97, 1903) and won a World Series MVP (1897).
In 1907, the Pittsburgh Industrials retired No. 5 in Mortimer Gardner's honor. In 1948, Gardner was inducted into the Hall of Fame.