John Emmett Seery (February 13, 1861 – August 7, 1930) was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He played for the

Baltimore Monumentals The Baltimore Monumentals were an American baseball team in the short-lived Union Association. In their lone season of 1884, they finished fourth in the UA with a 58–47 record. History The team was managed by Bill Henderson. Their top-hitting ...

Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...

, St. Louis Maroons,

Indianapolis Hoosiers Indianapolis Hoosiers was the name of three major league and at least three minor league baseball clubs based in Indianapolis. * Indianapolis Hoosiers (American Association), which played in 1884 * Indianapolis Hoosiers (National League), which pla ...

Brooklyn Ward's Wonders The Brooklyn Ward's Wonders were a baseball team who played in the Players' League in 1890. The team's nickname derived from its superstar shortstop, hall of famer John Montgomery Ward. The team finished with a 76–56 record, finishing in second p ...

Cincinnati Kelly's Killers Kelly's Killers were a Major League baseball team that played in Cincinnati, Ohio during the 1891 baseball season. The team played in the American Association, which was a major league from 1882 to 1891. The team nickname By contemporary news ...

, and

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...

from 1884 to 1892. His first six teams ended their existence in a season in which he played for them. In 916 career Major League games, Seery batted .252 with 893

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. He was 5 feet, 7 inches tall and weighed 145 pounds."Emmett Seery Statistics and History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2011.

Career

Seery was born in

Princeville, Illinois Princeville is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,738 at the 2010 census, up from 1,621 in 2000. It is part of the Peoria, Illinois Peoria metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistical ...

, in 1861. He played semi-pro baseball for a team in

Waltham, Massachusetts Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...

. He started his professional baseball career in 1884 with the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

's Baltimore Monumentals. That season, he batted .313 and finished in the top five of several UA statistical categories, including

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

(.342), hits (146),

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

(115), and total bases (192). He also led the league's outfielders in

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s (157) and assists (26). In 1885, Seery joined the Western League's member

."Emmett Seery Minor League Statistics & History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 28, 2011. He again performed well at the plate, pacing the circuit in both runs scored (43) and

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

(9). He also pitched for the Cowboys and led all pitchers with 11 losses. Seery played for the Cowboys until the team disbanded. Seery finished the 1886 season with the St. Louis Maroons of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

until that team, too, disbanded at the close of the 1886 season. He batted just .162 in 59 games and took a lot of needling from his teammate, the "whiskey-guzzling"

Charlie Sweeney Charles Joseph Sweeney (April 13, 1863 – April 4, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher from 1883 through 1887. He played for the Providence Grays, St. Louis Maroons, and Cleveland Blues, and is best known for his performance in ...

. Seery and Sweeney got into a vicious fight that year, with the whole team siding with Seery. In 1886, Seery raised his batting average to .238 while playing in a league-leading 126 games. He was then purchased by the

in March 1887 and played the next three years there as the club's regular

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. In 1887, he batted .224, and in 1888, he batted .220 while ranking second in the league with 80

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. In 1889, he raised his average above .300, to .314, for the first and only time since his rookie season in the Union Association. It was arguably Seery's best campaign, and he finished in the National League's top 10 in on-base percentage (.401), hits (165), and runs scored (123). The following year, Seery joined the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders of the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

, and his batting average fell to .223. In 1891, he went to the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He batted .285 for the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers, and his .423 on-base percentage was fourth-best in the circuit. In 1892, Seery went back to the National League to play for the Louisville Colonels. He batted just .201 in 42 games, and the last Major League appearance of his career was on June 10. Seery also had short stints that year in the Southern Association and the Western League. His minor league and professional baseball career ended in 1895. Seery was a patient hitter during his

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. In 1887, the ''

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'' wrote that he was "a good enough waiter to preside at a restaurant." He finished in his league's top 10 in

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

five times, and he finished in the top 10 in

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s four times.

Later life

After retiring from baseball Seery lived in Florida, "thriving" as the proprietor of an orange grove. In 1907, he attended an "Old-Timers Day" in Massachusetts with other former ballplayers.
Reache's official American league base ball guide
' (1908). p. 125. Seery died in

Saranac Lake, New York Saranac Lake is a village in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406, making it the largest community by population in the Adirondack Park. The village is named after Upper, Middle and Lower Saran ...

, in 1930. He was buried in All Saints Cemetery in

Jensen Beach, Florida Jensen Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,652 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Port St. Lucie, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Histor ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seery, Emmett 1861 births 1930 deaths Major League Baseball outfielders Baltimore Monumentals players Kansas City Cowboys (UA) players St. Louis Maroons players Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players Brooklyn Ward's Wonders players Cincinnati Kelly's Killers players Louisville Colonels players 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Illinois New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Indianapolis Hoosiers (minor league) players Omaha Omahogs players St. Joseph Saints players

Career

Later life

See also

References

External links