| Buck Freeman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Right fielder | |
| Born:(1871-10-30)October 30, 1871 Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
| Died: June 25, 1949(1949-06-25) (aged 77) Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 27, 1891, for the Washington Statesmen | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 20, 1907, for the Boston Americans | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .293 |
| Home runs | 82 |
| Runs batted in | 713 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
John Frank "Buck"Freeman (October 30, 1871 – June 25, 1949) was an Americanright fielder inMajor League Baseball at the turn of the 20th century. Listed at 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) and 169 lb (77 kg), he both batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was one of the top sluggers of his era, his most famous feat being the 25home runs he hit during the1899 season.
A native ofCatasauqua, Pennsylvania, Freeman showed talent as apitcher from a young age; he later received advice from earlyAfrican-American playerBud Fowler to practice hitting more.[1]
Freeman made his major league debut as a left-handedstarting pitcher with theWashington Statesmen of the major leagueAmerican Association on June 27, 1891, registering the loss in a 4–5 defeat to thePhiladelphia Athletics.[2] Freeman played in a further four games during the season, finishing up with a 3–2 record and anearned run average of 3.89 in 44 innings pitched, while striking out 28 but alsowalking 33.
Following the 1891 season's conclusion, Freeman did not play in the majors again for seven years. From 1892 through 1898, he played in thePennsylvania State League,Eastern League,New England League, andWestern League. His longest stint was in the Eastern League withToronto from 1896 to 1898.
Freeman returned to the Washington roster in September of the1898 season, whenArthur Irwin took over as manager;[3] the team was now known as the Senators and played in theNational League. Since Freeman's time as a pitcher with the Statesmen, he had bulked out and had begun to show real skill with the bat (in his 18at bats in 1891 he had recorded abatting average of .222). In light of this, the Senators decided to retrain Freeman as a right fielder, believing that he would be even more useful with the bat than he was with the ball. Albeit with only 107 at bats in 29 games, he recorded a .364 batting average and a .523slugging percentage during the final weeks of the1898 Senators season. Following his strong showing with the bat, he was named as the Senators' first-choice right fielder for the following season.
The 25 home runs that Freeman recorded for the1899 Senators were truly remarkable by the standards of the time;[4] the second highest total that year was 12 byBobby Wallace ofSt. Louis. Although Freeman failed to equalNed Williamson's record of 27 home runs in a season, recorded in1884 withChicago, Freeman's total is generally regarded as the greater achievement. Williamson's home field ofLakeshore Park was less than 200 feet (61 m) down the foul lines and 300 feet (91 m) to center, and prior to 1884 balls hit over the fence at Lakeshore Park had beenground rule doubles; of Williamson's 27 homers, only two were hit away from home. Freeman's tally was not surpassed until1919, whenBabe Ruth hit 29 home runs with theBoston Red Sox.
Freeman's contract was sold to Boston in February 1900, as Washington ownerJ. Earl Wagner correctly foresaw that the National League would be reduced in size.[5] The Senators were one of the teams disbanded as the league contracted from twelve teams to eight.
Freeman spent the1900 season with theBoston Beaneaters (later known as the Boston Braves), where he did not get along with managerFrank Selee.[1] Freeman's offensive numbers for the season were well down from the year before, as he recorded six home runs and 65runs batted in during 117 games played. On September 1, during a game between Boston and theNew York Giants, assigned umpireEd Smartwood had to leave the game due to injury; the final four innings were completed with Freeman umpiring at home andBill Carrick of the Giants umpiring at first.[6][7][8]
For the1901 season, Freeman and teammateJimmy Collins moved across town to theBoston Americans (later known as the Boston Red Sox), for the inaugural season of theAmerican League. The Americans decided to convert Freeman into afirst baseman. The 1901 season was something of a return to form; he finished second overall in home runs (12), runs batted in (114), and slugging percentage (.520), finishing behindNap Lajoie in all categories.
In1902, Freeman returned to playing as a right fielder, which was his better position, and led theAmerican League with 121 runs batted in. In1903, he helped Boston to the inauguralWorld Series by leading the league in both home runs (13) and runs batted in (104); by doing so, Freeman became the first player to have led both the National League and the American League in home runs. On June 21, 1903, hehit for the cycle, the first Americans/Red Sox player to do so.[9] The1903 World Series was the only postseason series that Freeman ever played in, and it proved to be lackluster by his own standards—he recorded an average of .281 (9-for-32) with threetriples and four runs batted in over the course of eight games, as Boston defeated thePittsburgh Pirates.
In the three years following the championship, Freeman's offense declined sharply. In1906, he managed a .250 average with one home run and 30 runs batted in. After that, he decided to play in Boston for one further season,[10] but after only four games of the1907 season when he batted 2-for-12 including a home run, Freeman was sent to theWashington Nationals.[11] However, before playing for Washington, his contract was sold into the minor leagues,[12] effectively ending his major league career.
Freeman went on to finish the 1907 season with theMinneapolis Millers of theAmerican Association, recording an average of .335 and hitting 18 home runs in 142 games played. Following this successful season, he decided to spend a further season with the Millers; in1908 he played 92 games with 10 home runs albeit with an average of .218. Freeman then closed his professional career by playing in theNew York State League in 1909, theTri-State League in 1910, and a final 15 games in the New York State League in 1912 at age 40 when he managed theScranton Miners.[13]
In an 11-season major league career, Freeman was a .293 hitter (1,235-for-4,208) with 82 home runs and 713 runs batted in during 1,126 games, including 199doubles, 131 triples, 92stolen bases, a slugging percentage of .462, and a .346on-base percentage. Freeman died at the age of 77 inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.[14] In May 2018, Freeman was inducted to theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame.[15]
· Baseball Almanac, orRetrosheet| Achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle June 21, 1903 | Succeeded by |
