Bill Greenwood (baseball)

William F. Greenwood (April 19, 1857 – May 2, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball player (mostly a second baseman) for six seasons from 1882 to 1890.[1] He played more games at second base than any other left-handed player.

Bill Greenwood
Second baseman
Born: April 19, 1857
Philadelphia
Died: May 2, 1902(1902-05-02) (aged 45)
Philadelphia
Batted: Both Threw: Left
MLB debut
September 16, 1882, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
October 15, 1890, for the Rochester Broncos
MLB statistics
Batting average.226
Home runs8
Runs batted in185
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Played 538 games in the infield, most in history by a left-handed player

Career

Greenwood was fast and was often among the league leaders in stolen bases, but he usually hit for a mediocre batting average. He was a left-handed infielder, not entirely uncommon in the 19th century, and he is the all-time leader in games played at second base by a left-hander with 538.[2] He also played 30 games at shortstop.[1]

For the 1883 season, he signed and was playing for the Merrits of Camden, New Jersey, when Charlie Byrne of a fellow league team, the Brooklyn Grays, bought his contract, along with other Merrits Sam Kimber, Charlie Householder, Frank Fennelly, and Jack Corcoran. He finished out the year and transitioned with the team over to the American Association, where they would be known as the Atlantics.[3]

Playing in the AA until 1890, Greenwood changed teams every year, except for 1887-88, when he played two seasons for the Baltimore Orioles. His 1887 season with Baltimore was one of his best; he hit .263, recorded 65 RBI, and stole 71 bases. During an 1887 home game, Greenwood was on the receiving end of a collision at second base from St. Louis Browns outfielder Curt Welch. The collision angered Baltimore fans, and St. Louis players had to run off the field to avoid the irate fans.[4]

The next year, his batting average fell to .191 and he did not hit above .225 again in the major leagues.[1]

Greenwood thought that his biggest struggle as a left-handed middle infielder was fielding ground balls, but he also had a problem that would be expected of a left-hander: making quick, accurate throws to first base. Compounding his problems was the fact that he liked to drink to excess, so he sometimes got on the bad side of a manager with his behavior.[4]

Post-career

Greenwood died in his hometown of Philadelphia at the age of 45. He had a heart attack while discussing the Athletics game that had been played that day.[4] He is interred at the Mount Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia.[5]

gollark: In my school programming is lumped under (E)DT.
gollark: that's so incredibly stupid.
gollark: ~~🐟~~
gollark: ~~WHY~~
gollark: ~~C#±~~

See also

References
  1. "Bill Greenwood's career statistics". baseball-reference.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  2. "Labor Day Lefties". reconditebaseball.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  3. Long Before the Dodgers: Baseball in Brooklyn, 1855–1884 By James L. Terry, pg. 128. books.google.com. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
  4. Nemec, David (2011). Major League Baseball Profiles, 1871-1900, Volume 1: The Ballplayers Who Built the Game. University of Nebraska Press. p. 360. ISBN 9780803230248.
  5. "Bill Greenwood's career information". retrosheet.org. Retrieved 2007-12-03.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.