Tom Guthrie
by Martín Abresch
| |
|
|
|
The first hitter to win the Triple Crown, Tom Guthrie was the biggest star of the American Base Ball Association. He was an all-around player with blazing speed. He finished his career with a 148 OPS+ and 1,249 stolen bases. He used his speed in the field, too, covering the right side of the infield and posting a zone rating of +136.2.
Guthrie began his career with the Philadelphia Keystones and won the batting title in his sophomore 1883 campaign. The team folded after the 1884 season, and he signed with the Baltimore Crabbers. He quickly flashed his talent, hitting in 26 straight games in his first season with his new club. On August 2, 1886, he hit for the cycle against the St. Louis Perfectos. In 1887, he hit .333 with 12 home runs and 105 RBIs to win the Triple Crown. For good measure, he also stole 135 bases.
In the last week of May of 1889, Guthrie achieved an impressive trio of accomplishments. On May 23, he went 6-for-6 against the St. Louis Perfectos. This was part of a 25-game hitting streak that ended two days later. Then on May 29, he hit for the cycle against the Milwaukee Badgers.
Guthrie ended 1889 with 156 stolen bases, a total that would have set a new record had Arnold Church not bested him by stealing 157. In 1891, he became the first player to score 1,000 runs, and he led Baltimore to their first World Championship Series, where they lost to the Chicago Haymakers, five games to three. The American Base Ball Association folded after the 1892 season, and Baltimore joined the National Base Ball League in 1893. Guthrie continued to thrive, batting .318 in 1893 and .321 in 1894, but injuries limited his playing time and forced his retirement in 1895 at the age of 36.
Guthrie led the league in batting average (1883, 1887, 1889), on-base percentage (1883), slugging percentage (1883, 1887-1889), hits (1883, 1885-87, 1889), total bases (1883, 1886-87, 1889), doubles (1889), triples (1883, 1886), home runs (1887), RBIs (1885, 1887, 1889), stolen bases (1891), and WAR (1883, 1889, 1891). He won Player of the Week 14 times and Batter of the Month 12 times. He finished his career with a .312 batting average, 2,041 hits, 312 doubles, 215 triples, 90 home runs, 1044 RBIs, and 1,327 runs scored. His 1,249 stolen bases rank second all-time (behind Arnold Church), and his 82.8 career WAR was the record until Edmond Godfrey surpassed it in 1909.
In 1946, Tom Guthrie was one of the first six players inducted into the Hall of Fame.