James Patrick Casey (March 15, 1870 – December 31, 1936) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1898 and 1907 for the Washington Senators, Brooklyn Superbas,

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

, and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

."Doc Casey Statistics and History"
"baseball-reference.com. Accessed on May 24, 2017.

Early years

Casey was born in

Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...

, in 1870. He studied dentistry at Baltimore Medical College, but left to play baseball in 1892 for the Pawtucket, Rhode Island baseball team in the New England League. Casey reportedly earned the nickname "Doc" because he sometimes used his knowledge of dentistry to assist fellow baseball players with their teeth. From 1893 to 1894, Casey attended Maryland Agricultural College and played on its baseball team. He also continued to play baseball in the New England League, for

, in 1893 and Portland, Maine, in 1894.

Professional baseball career

Toronto

From 1894 to 1898, Casey played for the

Toronto Canucks The Toronto Maple Leafs were a high-level minor league baseball club located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which played from 1896 to 1967. While the Maple Leafs had working agreements with numerous Major League Baseball clubs after the introdu ...

in the Eastern League. In 1898, he compiled a .328 batting average with 66

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, 41 extra base hits, and 123 runs scored in 122 games for Toronto.

Washington

Casey made his major league debut with the Washington Senators in September 1898. He appeared in 28 games for the Senators in 1898, principally as a third baseman, and compiled a .277 batting average with 15 stolen bases. The Senators finished in 11th place in 1898 with a 51–101 record.

Brooklyn

In April 1899, he was traded by Washington, one of the worst teams in the National League, to the Brooklyn Superbas, one of the best teams in the league. Early in the season, Casey drew attention for his defensive play at third base. Casey appeared in 143 games and stole 27 bases and helped lead the 1899 Brooklyn club to the National League championship and a 101–47 record. Casey ranked second among National League third basemen in 1899 with 23 double plays turned. The 1899 Superbas had the two shortest players in the National League in Casey (5', 6") and Wee Willie Keeler (5', 4"). Casey appeared in only one game for Brooklyn in 1900. In May 1900, ''Sporting Life'' reported that Casey had been "loaned" by the Brooklyn club to the

of the newly formed American League. ''Sporting Life'' reported on the reaction to Casey's departure: "Brooklyn cranks will be sorry to see the little fellow depart, for he came to this city when the club was in a bad way, and did a great deal to bring the championship to the nine, when it looked for a time as if it might not be won because of the injuries to players. With aveCross on the team there was no place for Casey as a matter of course. He will be better off with something to do every day than he possibly could be sitting on the bench all the time. He isn't the kind of ball player who cares to ornament the bench."

Detroit

Casey became the Tigers starting third baseman in 1900, appearing in 115 games for the club. In October 1900, '' Sporting Life'' selected Casey as the best fielding third baseman in the American League. Casey remained with the Tigers in 1901 and 1902, the team's first two seasons as a major league club. In 1901, Casey led the American League in both

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s turned by a third baseman (25) and in errors by a third baseman (58). He also ranked second in the American League in 1901 with a career high 324 assists at third base and ninth in the league with 34 stolen bases.

Chicago

Prior to the start of the 1903 season, Casey jumped from the Tigers to the

. He was the Cubs starting third baseman from 1903 to 1905. During Casey's three years with the Cubs, he was the fourth member of the infield that included Tinker to Evers to Chance. The Cubs finished in third, second, and third place in the National League from 1903 to 1905. In 1905, he led all National League third basemen with a .949 fielding percentage. He also had the seventh highest defensive Wins Above Replacement rating among all position players – higher even than Evers and Chance.

Brooklyn

In December 1905, Casey was traded by the Cubs to the Brooklyn Superbas in a deal that sent outfielder

Jimmy Sheckard Samuel James Tilden Sheckard (November 23, 1878 – January 15, 1947) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Superbas (1897–98, 1900–01, 1902–05), Baltimore Orioles (NL) (1899), Balt ...

to the Cubs. Sheckard was a starter for Cubs teams that won three consecutive pennants from 1906 to 1908. Casey, on the other hand, joined a team that had finished in eighth place in 1905. Casey became Brooklyn's starting third baseman in both 1906 and 1907. During the 1907 season, despite being one of the oldest players in the National League, Casey continued to perform well defensively, compiling the second highest fielding percentage (.955) among the league's third basemen. He also compiled a career high 176 putouts at third base in 1907 – the third highest total by any National League third baseman that year. Casey appeared in his last major league game on October 5, 1907.

Major league career statistics

In his 10-year major league career, Casey compiled 1,312 putouts at third base, a figure which, at the time of his retirement, ranked 10th in major league history (the only third basemen with more putouts at the time Casey retired were Jimmy Collins (14 seasons), Lave Cross (21 season),

Billy Nash William Mitchell Nash (June 24, 1865 – November 15, 1929) was a Major League Baseball third baseman. He played 15 seasons in the majors, from to . He served as player-manager of the Philadelphia Phillies in , and in 1901 he umpired 101 games ...

(15 seasons), Arlie Latham (17 season),

Billy Shindle William D. Shindle (December 5, 1860 – June 3, 1936) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played from 1886 to 1898 for the Detroit Wolverines (1886–87), Baltimore Orioles (1888–89, 1892–93), Philadelphia Athletics (18 ...

(13 seasons), Jerry Denny (13 seasons), Denny Lyons (13 seasons), Hick Carpenter (12 seasons), and

George Pinkney George Burton Pinkney (January 11, 1859 – November 10, 1926) born in Orange Prairie, Peoria, Illinois, was a third baseman for the Cleveland Blues (1884), Brooklyn Grays/Bridegrooms/Grooms(1885–91), St. Louis Browns (1892), and Louisville Co ...

(10 seasons)). He also had 2,184 assists and 325 errors at third base, a career batting average of .258 with 9 home runs, 354 RBI and 191

Montreal

After the 1907 season, Brooklyn sold Casey to the Jersey City Club, which in turn sold him to the Montreal Royals of the Eastern League. He served as the Royals manager in 1908 and 1909 and also appeared in 251 games as a player.

Later years

In 1910, he worked as a scout for the Detroit Tigers. In November 1910, Casey was hired by Claud H. Varnell, owner of the Fort Wayne, Indiana baseball club ( Central League) to serve as manager for the 1911 season. After retiring from baseball, Casey maintained a dentistry practice in Detroit. He later purchased a drug store in Detroit (at the corner of Woodward Avenue and Adelaide Street). Casey's drug store reportedly "became known to thousands of fans as headquarters of the city's Winter Stove League." He also worked in later years as a city permit inspector and a guard at the municipal court in Detroit. On New Year's Eve 1936, Casey died in Detroit at the age of 66. He suffered a stroke and had been in ill health thereafter. He was interred at the Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casey, Doc 1870 births 1936 deaths Major League Baseball third basemen Baseball players from Massachusetts Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Brooklyn Superbas players Detroit Tigers players Chicago Cubs players Maryland Terrapins baseball players 19th-century baseball players Sportspeople from Lawrence, Massachusetts Pawtucket (minor league baseball) players Manchester Gazettes players Lawrence (minor league baseball) players Portland (minor league baseball) players Toronto Canucks players Toronto Canadians players Albany Senators players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players Montreal Royals players Montreal Royals managers Fort Wayne Brakies players Burials in Michigan American dentists