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Jake Stenzel

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Jake Stenzel
Center fielder
Born: (1867-06-24)June 24, 1867
Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: January 6, 1919(1919-01-06) (aged 51)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 16, 1890, for the Chicago Colts
Last MLB appearance
July 23, 1899, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average.338
Hits1,024
Runs batted in533
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • 21st-highest batting average in MLB history

Jacob Charles Stenzel (June 24, 1867 – January 6, 1919) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball from 1890 to 1899 for the Chicago Colts, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Browns / Perfectos, and Cincinnati Reds. Stenzel was 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 168 pounds (76 kg).[1]

Early career

Stenzel was born in Cincinnati to German immigrants in 1867 as Jacob Charles Stelzle; he changed his name when he moved to Wheeling, West Virginia to begin his baseball career.[2] He started his professional baseball career in 1887 in the Ohio State League and batted .387 in 41 games. He then spent the next two seasons in the Tri-State League.[3] In 1890, Stenzel hit .311 for the Texas League's Galveston Sand Crabs and also made his major league debut with the Chicago Colts.[2] He went back to the minors after the season. In 1892, while playing for the Portland Webfeet, he led the Pacific Northwest League in batting average, at .339.[4] He joined the National League's Pittsburgh Pirates towards the end of the season and went hitless in nine at bats.[1]

Major league regular

Stenzel appeared in 60 games for the Pirates in 1893 and batted .362 to establish his reputation as a strong hitter.[2] Over the following three seasons, he was the team's regular center fielder. He posted the best statistics of his career in 1894, when he hit .352 with 13 home runs and 121 runs batted in in 131 games. His 148 runs scored in 1894 remains the Pirates single-season franchise record. In 1895, Stenzel raised his batting average to .371; his OPS+ total of 157 ranked fifth in the league.[1] In 1896, he hit .361 to lead the Pirates in batting average for the third straight season. He became the first Pittsburgh player to collect six hits in a game, which he accomplished on May 14.[2]

In November 1896, Stenzel was traded to the Baltimore Orioles. He had another solid season in 1897, batting .353 and leading the NL with 43 doubles.[1] He also hit .381 in the post-season Temple Cup series, which Baltimore won over the Boston Beaneaters.[2] In 1898, Stenzel was batting .254 in June when he was traded to the St. Louis Browns. He finished the year with the Browns and then played briefly for the Browns and the Cincinnati Reds in 1899 before his professional baseball career ended. Over his nine-year MLB career, Stenzel had 1,024 hits and a .338 batting average in 761 games.[1] He has the 21st-highest batting average in history.[5]

Later life

Stenzel had a wife and two children. After his baseball days were over, he ran a bar in Cincinnati until he sold it during World War I. He then went to work as a night watchman in a factory.[2]

Stenzel died in 1919 and was buried in St. Mary Cemetery, which is in Cincinnati.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Jake Stenzel Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Akin, William. "Jake Stenzel" Archived 2011-10-12 at the Wayback Machine. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  3. ^ "Jake Stenzel Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  4. ^ "1892 Pacific Northwest League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
  5. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Batting Average". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 25, 2011.
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