| Jake Flowers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born:(1902-03-16)March 16, 1902 Cambridge, Maryland, U.S. | |
| Died: December 27, 1962(1962-12-27) (aged 60) Clearwater, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 7, 1923, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 2, 1934, for the Cincinnati Reds | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .256 |
| Home runs | 16 |
| Runs batted in | 201 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
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D'Arcy Raymond "Jake" Flowers (March 16, 1902 – December 27, 1962) was an American professionalbaseball player,coach andmanager. A reserveinfielder, primarily asecond baseman andshortstop, he appeared in 583Major League games over ten seasons between1923 and1934 for theSt. Louis Cardinals,Brooklyn Robins and Dodgers, andCincinnati Reds. The native ofCambridge, Maryland, attendedWashington College, where he playedfootball andbasketball in addition to baseball.[1] He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 170 pounds (77 kg).
In the majors, Flowers played in over 100 games only once: in1927, for the Robins. He also had his finest offensive season for Brooklyn during the lively-ball1930 season, when Flowersbatted .320 and reached career highs indoubles (18) andruns batted in (50) in only 86 games played. During his two terms with the Cardinals he was a member of two world championship teams, in1926 and1931, collecting onehit and onebase on balls in 15World Seriesplate appearances. During his regular-season big-league career, Flowers batted .256; his 433 hits included 75 doubles, 18triples and 16 home runs.
After his professional playing career ended in 1936, Flowers returned to theEastern Shore of Maryland and turned to managing. In his first season, 1937, he wonThe Sporting News'Minor League Manager of the Year Award. HisSalisbury Indians won the Class DEastern Shore League regular-seasonpennant with a 59–37win–loss record, then prevailed over theCentreville Colts in the league playoffs for the undisputed league championship. Salisbury roared off to a 21–5 record during the season's early weeks, but when an ineligible player was discovered on the Indians' roster, the team was forced toforfeit all 21 wins.[2] Undeterred, Flowers' club then won 59 of its last 70 games without the banned player to finish 31⁄2 games ahead of the second-placeEaston Browns. Had the 21 early-season wins not been forfeited, Salisbury would have compiled awinning percentage of .833, good for 135 wins during a 162-game season.
After three seasons in the Eastern Shore League, Flowers returned to the majors to coach under two former Cardinal teammates:Frankie Frisch with thePittsburgh Pirates (1940–45) andBilly Southworth with theBoston Braves (1946). Flowers then wasgeneral manager of the Braves' topfarm system affiliate, theMilwaukee Brewers of theAmerican Association, from 1947 to 1950 and aCleveland Indians coach in 1951–52. He laterscouted for theBaltimore Orioles. He suffered a fatalheart attack at age 60 inClearwater, Florida.
Jake Flowers is a member of the Washington College[1] and Eastern Shore Baseball Foundation[2] halls of fame.