Art Fletcher: One of the Finest Defensive Short Stops of the Early New York Giants Era (1909-1920)

He was a mainstay during the John McGraw glory years, playing in four World Series with the New York Giants.
He was an outstanding defensive short stop, leading the league in fielding twice (1917 & 1918) assists four times (1915/ 1917-1919), games played once (1917).
He twice was considered in MVP voting & was considered in Hall of Fame votes eight times. His defensive rankings in baseball reference WAR category had him best in his league six times as well.

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 asset may have been his ability to 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. All time he was hit by 141 pitches putting him at number 25 on the all time list.

In Game #2 of the 1913 World Series against the Phialdelphia A's, he broke a tenth inning scoreless tie with a two RBI base hit off Eddie Plank. The runs secured a Giants win & Christy Mathewson shut out.
He hit .191 in Series play (18-94) with seven RBIs, two stolen bases & of course one hit by pitch in 25 games played.
In June 1920 he was traded to Philadelphia where spent two seasons batting .296 & .280.

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. Fletcher would go on to coach in ten World Series.
Passing: He retired in 1945 and sadly passed away of heart attack in Los Angeles at age 65, in 1950. A baseball field was named after him in his home town of Collinsville, Illinois.
Comments