Ervin Thomas Beck (July 19, 1878 – December 23, 1916), nicknamed "Dutch", was an American second baseman. He played three seasons in

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), ...

(MLB) from 1899 to 1902 for the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californi ...

, Cleveland Blues,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, and

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 ...

."Erve Beck Statistics and History"
Accessed June 8, 2017.

Career

Ervin Thomas Beck was born on July 19, 1878, in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. He made his first professional baseball appearance at the age of 16, when he signed with the Adrian Reformers of the

Michigan State League The Michigan State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in various seasons between 1889 and 1941. The league franchises were based exclusively in Michigan, with the league forming on six different occasions. Twenty two different ...

. From 1896 into the 1899 minor league baseball seasons, he played for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

of the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

, hitting 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and a .298 batting average in 1898. During his time with the Mud Hens, he was considered to be one of the top players at his position in the Interstate League. In August 1897, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

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 ...

(NL), offered Toledo $1,500 for the rights for Beck as well as their

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, Bade Meyers. In August 1899, Beck was sold by the Mud Hens to the

of the

, and made his major league debut on September 19. Superbas

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Ted Sullivan initially offered Toledo $200 for Beck's rights, but eventually agreed to $1000. In total, Beck played in eight games for the Superbas, six as a second baseman and two as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, and collected just four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 24

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 for a .167

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 ...

. For the 1900 season, he returned to the Mud Hens and played a full season, achieving career-high totals in every major hitting category, highlighted by his .360 batting average and 71 doubles. Following the season, his rights were retained by Cincinnati of the NL but he instead chose to play for the Cleveland Blues of the newly-major American League. On April 25, 1901, Beck hit the first major league home run in American League history. On November 27, 1901, it was reported that Beck had signed with the

of the NL before the 1902 season; a one-year contract for $3,000 to play second base. After his strong performance in 1901, the move was made to strengthen the Reds offense among their

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

s. In 1904, Beck played for the

Portland Browns Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. In 208 games for the Browns, he collected 217 hits and had a .273 batting average. After the season, he was rumored to be a part of a trade with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, but it never materialized. He did change teams during the off-season, signing a contract with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division and play their hom ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cl ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Erve Major League Baseball second basemen Brooklyn Superbas players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Blues (1901) players Detroit Tigers players Adrian Reformers players Adrian Demons players Augusta Tourists players Nashville Vols players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Portland Browns players Shreveport Giants players Toledo Mud Hens players Baseball players from Ohio Sportspeople from Toledo, Ohio 1878 births 1916 deaths 19th-century baseball players