Estel Crayton Crabtree (August 19, 1903 – January 4, 1967) was a
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), ...
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 ...
for the
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 ...
(1929; 1931–1932; 1943–1944) and the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
(1933; 1941–1942). His playing career was unusual in that he went eight years between
major league appearances. He was a native of Crabtree, Ohio, a
populated place
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
within
Scioto County
Scioto County is a county located along the Ohio River in the south central region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,008. Its county seat is Portsmouth. The county was founded March 24, 1804, from Adams ...
.
Crabtree made his
major league debut
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), ...
on April 18, 1929, as a
pinch-hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...
in a 3–1 loss to the Cardinals at
Crosley Field
Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...
. Though his most regular playing time came in 1931 and 1932, his best season was 1941, when he returned to the big leagues at age 37. He finished 32nd in voting for
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 ...
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
for playing in 77 games and having 167
at bats
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 ...
, 27
runs, 57
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 ...
, 6
doubles, 3
triples, 5
home runs
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 ...
, 28
RBI, 1
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 ...
, 26
walks, .341
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 ...
, .439
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 ...
, .503
slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...
, 84
total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while ...
and 2
sacrifice hits
In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...
.
In 1931, he finished seventh in the league with 12 triples, and from 1941 to 1944 finished in the league's top ten in the oldest-player category.
In eight seasons, he played in 489 games, had 1,408 at bats, 174 runs, 396 hits, 53 doubles, 25 triples, 13 home runs, 142 RBI, 8 stolen bases, 113 walks, .281 batting average, .339 on-base percentage, .382 slugging percentage, 538 total bases and 23 sacrifice hits. Often used as a pinch-hitter during his career, he was an average defensive outfielder for his era, handling 813 out of 833
total chances
In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...
for a .976
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
.
Crabtree lived in
Nelsonville, Ohio, for many years. Crabtree, better known as "Crabby", was one of the most highly regarded sports personalities ever to have lived in
Nelsonville. In addition to being a former major leaguer who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds, he was a player-coach for Rochester Red Wings, and was posthumously inducted into the Red Wings Hall of Fame in 1989. He retired in 1944 and returned to
Nelsonville. "Crabby" helped organize Little League baseball for youngsters in the
Nelsonville area. He was also active in the Nelsonville Band Boosters and served as their president, and was the founder of the annual "Old-Timers Baseball Day" held each year during the Parade of the Hills, an annual festival held each year in
Nelsonville. Crabtree Field, a baseball field in
Nelsonville, is dedicated to him.
Crabtree died in nearby
Logan, Ohio
Logan is a city in Hocking. The population was 7,152 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hocking County. Logan is located in southeast Ohio, on the Hocking River 48 miles southeast of Columbus. The current mayor of Logan is ...
at Hocking Valley Hospital at the age of 63 after a brief illness and is buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in
.
References
External links
Retrosheet*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crabtree, Estel
1903 births
1967 deaths
Baseball players from Ohio
Cincinnati Reds coaches
Cincinnati Reds players
Columbus Senators players
Major League Baseball outfielders
Oklahoma City Indians players
People from Nelsonville, Ohio
Rochester Red Wings managers
Rochester Red Wings players
St. Louis Cardinals players
People from Scioto County, Ohio