Old Time NY Giants World Series Short Stop: Art Fletcher (1909-1920)

Arthur Fletcher was born January 5, 1885 in Collinsville, Illinois. He came to the New York Giants in 1909 and after two years became their regular short stop through the 1920 season. He was a mainstay during those John McGraw years, playing in four World Series with the Giants.

His best year for batting average was his first full season when he hit .319 (5th in the league),with 17 doubles 20 stolen bases & a .400 on base %. Fletcher would hit over .285 three more times in his Giants career, including a .297 in average in 1913. That same year he stole a career high 32 bases

In 1916 his .286 average put him in the leagues top ten in hitting again. He drove in over 70 runs three times, and made the leagues top ten four times in that department. He had nine seasons where he hit more than 20 doubles, including 32 in 1920. It must be said he received votes for the MVP award in both 1913 & 1914.

His best offensive ability may have been the way he would get on base, by getting hit by pitches. He went on to lead the league five times in that category and came in second twice more. In his career he was hit by 141 pitches putting him at #26 on the all time list.

Fletcher was a fine defensive short stop, leading the league in fielding twice, assists four times & errors once.

He played in four World Series but was on the losing end all four times, batting .191 in World Series play. He was (18-94) with seven RBIs, two stolen bases & of course one hit by pitch.

In June 1920 he was traded to Philadelphia where spent two seasons batting .296 in 1920. He missed the 1921 season, then returned to bat .280 in 110 games in 1922 before retiring.

Retirement: After his playing days he took over as manager of the Phillies and had four losing seasons. He came back to New York as a coach for the AL team across the Harlem River.

He coached there for 17 seasons, and even served as interim manager for 11 games. In September of 1929 NY manager Miller Huggins went down with a tragic blood poisoning disease and Fletcher took over winning six of eleven games. He would go on to coach in ten World Series.

He retired from baseball in 1945 and sadly passed away of a heart attack in Los Angeles at age 65, in 1950. A baseball field was named after him in his home town of Collinsville, Illinois.