| Max Carey | |
|---|---|
 Carey in 1921 | |
| Outfielder /Manager | |
| Born:(1890-01-11)January 11, 1890 Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Died: May 30, 1976(1976-05-30) (aged 86) Miami, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| October 3, 1910, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1929, for the Brooklyn Robins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .285 |
| Hits | 2,665 |
| Home runs | 70 |
| Runs batted in | 802 |
| Stolen bases | 738 |
| Managerial record | 146–161 |
| Winning % | .476 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1961 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), also known asMax George Carey, was an American professionalbaseballcenter fielder andmanager. Carey played inMajor League Baseball for thePittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through 1926 and for theBrooklyn Robins from 1926 through 1929. He managed the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932 and 1933.
Carey starred for the Pirates, helping them win the1925 World Series. During his 20-year career, he led the league instolen bases ten times and finished with 738 steals, aNational League record until 1974 and still the 9th-highest total in major league history. Carey was elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961.
Maximillian George Carnarius was born inTerre Haute, Indiana, on January 11, 1890. His father was aPrussian soldier and swimming teacher. He had emigrated to the United States after theFranco-Prussian War and worked as a contractor.[1]
Carey's parents wanted their son to become aLutheranminister. He attendedConcordia College inFort Wayne, Indiana, studying in the pre-ministerial program. He also playedbaseball, and was a member of the swimming andtrack-and-field teams. After graduating in 1909, he went toConcordia Seminary inSt. Louis, Missouri.[1]
In the summer of 1909, Carey attended a game ofminor league baseball'sCentral League between theTerre Haute Hottentots and theSouth Bend Greens. South Bend was without a startingshortstop, as they had sold theirs to another team. Carey foundAggie Grant, South Bend'smanager, and convinced Grant to give him the opportunity to fill in for the remainder of the season, based on his track-and-field skills. He used the name "Max Carey" in order to retain his amateur status at Concordia College. He had a .158batting average and committed 24errors in 48 games.[1][2]
Carey returned to play for South Bend in the 1910 season. The team had a new shortstop,Alex McCarthy, so Carey agreed to play as theirleft fielder. He had a .298 batting average with 86stolen bases in 96 games. He also recorded 25assists. Able to make a career in baseball, Carey decided to drop out of Concordia.[1]
The president of the Central League recommended Carey to thePittsburgh Pirates ofMajor League Baseball's (MLB)National League towards the end of the 1910 season. The Pirates bought Carey and McCarthy from South Bend on August 15. Carey made his MLB debut with the Pirates, appearing in two games as a replacement forFred Clarke during the 1910 season.[1][3]
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In 1911, Carey played in 122 games as the Pirates'center fielder, replacingTommy Leach.[4] He had a .258 batting average on the season.[5] The next year, he succeeded Clarke as the Pirates' left fielder on a permanent basis.[4] In 1913, Carey led the National League inplate appearances (692),at bats (620),runs scored (99), and stolen bases (61).[6] In 1914, he led the National League in games played (156), at bats (596), andtriples (17).[7] He led the National League in steals in 1915 (36),[8] 1916 (63),[9] 1917 (46),[10] and 1918 (58), while also leading the league with 62 walks in 1918.[11] After the 1915 season, Carey went on abarnstorming tour withDave Bancroft.[12]
Carey missed much of the 1919 season with an injury, but returned to form in the 1920 season.[1] He again led the National League in steals in 1920, with 52,[13] in the 1922 season with 51,[14] in the 1923 season with 51,[15] in the 1924 season with 49,[16] and in the 1925 season with 46.[17] In the 1922 season, he was onlycaught stealing twice.[4]
In 1924, Carey altered hisbatting stance based onTy Cobb's. He had a .343 batting average in the 1925 season, and the Pirates won theNational League pennant that year. In the deciding game of the1925 World Series, Carey had four hits, including threedoubles, off ofWalter Johnson.[1] Carey's .458 batting average led all players in the series, and the Pirates defeated theAmerican League'sWashington Senators.[18] He hit for abatting average over .300 three seasons in a row from 1921 to 1923. He led the league instolen bases eight times, including each season between 1922 and 1924.[2] He regularly stole 40 or more bases and maintained a favorable steal percentage; in 1922 he stole 51 bases and was caught only twice. He also stole home 33 times in his career, second best only to Ty Cobb's 50 on the all-time list.
In 1926, Clarke, now the team vice president, was also serving as an assistant to managerBill McKechnie. Clarke would sit on the bench in full uniform and give advice to McKechnie. Carey ended up in a slump that summer and one day Clarke commented to McKechnie that they should replace Carey, even if they had to replace him with a pitcher. When Carey found out about the remark, he called a team meeting, along withBabe Adams andCarson Bigbee, who were also discontented with Clarke. The players voted on whether Clarke should remain on the bench during games. The players voted 18–6 in favor of Clarke remaining on the bench. Clarke found out about the meeting and ordered that the responsible players were to be disciplined.[19] Adams and Bigbee were released, while Carey was suspended.[20] The Pirates placed Carey onwaivers and he was claimed by theBrooklyn Robins.[19] Carey played his final three and a half years with the Robins, but he was aging and no longer the same player. Carey retired in 1929.
Carey returned to the Pirates as acoach for the 1930 season.[21] After sitting out the 1931 season, he became the manager of the Dodgers before the 1932 season, succeedingWilbert Robinson.[22][23] He traded for outfielderHack Wilson,[24] and tradedBabe Herman, also an outfielder, forthird basemanJoe Stripp.[25] Behind Wilson, Brooklyn finished in third place in the National League in 1932. However, the team struggled in the 1933 season, leading to outrage when the club renewed his contract for 1934 in August.[26] Receiving criticism by Brooklyn newspapers, he was replaced before the 1934 season byCasey Stengel, and remarked that he became "the first manager fired by the newspapers".[1] The organization stated that they fired Carey due to his inability to get along with his players.[27]
Carey worked as a scout for theBaltimore Orioles and served as a minor league manager.[28] He was the manager andgeneral manager of theMiami Wahoos of theFlorida East Coast League in 1940 and 1941.[1] In 1944, Carey became the manager of theMilwaukee Chicks in theAll-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). That year, Milwaukee won the AAGPBL pennant.[1] Beginning in 1945, he spent several years as the league's president.[29] He then spent three seasons managing the league'sFort Wayne Daisies.[28]
Carey moved toFlorida, and became involved inreal estate. Carey lost more than $100,000 ($1,831,202 in current dollar terms) in the1929 stock market crash. He became a writer in the 1950s. He self-published a book on baseball strategy and authored magazine articles for publications such asEsquire.[1] He also served on the Florida State Racing Commission.[30]
In 1961, theVeterans Committee elected Carey andBilly Hamilton to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.[31]
In 1968, Carey joined other athletes in supportingRichard Nixon'spresidential campaign. The athletes created a committee called Athletes for Nixon.[32]
Carey died on May 30, 1976, at age 86 inMiami, Florida. He was buried in Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum (nowCaballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum). He was survived by his wife, Aurelia, and a son, Max Jr.[30]
Carey was nicknamed "Scoop" for his ability to catchfly balls in front of him.[33] His mark of 738 stolen bases remained a National League record, untilLou Brock surpassed it in 1974.[34]
When Carey was young, his mother sewed special pads into his uniform to protect his legs and hips whilesliding. Carey went on topatent these sliding pads.[1][35][36] He also shared a patent on aliniment called Minute-Rub.[1]
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| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle June 20, 1925 | Succeeded by |
