Sam Crawford started his brilliant career with the Reds in 1898 and in 1901 hit the most home runs (16) in one season up to this time in history. In 1903, Crawford jumped to the Tigers of the newly formed American League.
Crawford, a life-time .309 hitter along with his famous teammate, Ty Cobb, were the best one-two punch in baseball during this "dead ball era". This outstanding pair led the Tigers to three straight pennants, 1907-09.
However both players batted poorly in the all three World Series and were the main reason why the Tigers dropped all three.
In 1908, Sam Crawford led the AL in HR's with seven to become the first player to ever lead both leagues in HR's. When he retired, he held the AL record for career HR's with 70 and his 312 career triples are still the highest amount in baseball history.
Elected to the Hall of Fame, Sam Crawford career stats: 2,964 hits in 2,517 games, .309 batting average, 97 HR's with 1,525 RBI's. |