Levi Samuel Meyerle (July 1849 – November 4, 1921) was an American

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), ...

player who played for eight seasons in organized professional league play. During his career he played for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

of the National Association,

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 Chicago White Stockings 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 ...

and Keystones of Philadelphia of 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 ...

National Association career

On May 20, 1871, Meyerle began his organized professional league career in the National Association, starting at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the

of the National Association. Meyerle had an impressive season, placing first in the league with a .492

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 ...

, a .500

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 ...

, and a .700

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, ...

. He also tied for first in

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

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 ...

, finished second in

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

s, and placed third in

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, en route to a first-place finish for Philadelphia. Meyerle's .492 average established a record for major league play—that is, if the National Association is considered a major league. The

MLB 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), ...

does not recognize statistics from the NA; many historians do, however. His

fielding average 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, divi ...

in that historic 1871 season was a .646. In 1872, he saw extensive action in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

, played 26 games in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

and only one at third base. Before the 1873 season, he was traded to the

Philadelphia White Stockings The Philadelphia White Stockings were an early professional baseball team. They were a member of the National Association from 1873 to 1875. Their home games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They were managed by Fergy Malone, Jimmy ...

, where he played 48 games at third base and one at

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 ...

. Meyerle also recorded a career high 58 RBIs in 1873. Meyerle played the 1874 season with the Chicago White Stockings of the National Association. For Chicago, Meyerle had the only 100-hit season of his career and recorded his highest batting average (.394) since his .492 mark in the 1871 season. He returned to the Philadelphia Whites in 1875, hitting .316 with 1 home run and 54 RBI in 68

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. For the 1876 season, he rejoined the

in their first season in the newly formed

. Meyerle played at third base, second base, right field, and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and put up a .340 batting average. After the Philadelphia club was expelled from the league following the 1876 season, Meyerle signed on with the

. He played only 27 games for Cincinnati, and didn't return to the major leagues for the 1878 season. After 6 years out of major league baseball, Meyerle appeared in three games for the

Philadelphia Keystones The Philadelphia Keystones (also known as the Keystone Club of Philadelphia) were a professional baseball franchise. In 1884, they were a member of the short-lived Union Association. The team was owned by former player Tom Pratt. The Keystones w ...

in 1884. His final game was on April 26, 1884. Known as "Long Levi" in his playing days, Meyerle finished his career with some stellar numbers, hitting .356 for his career with 513 hits, 86 doubles, and 279 RBI in 307 games over 8 seasons. He only hit under .300 once in his career. Meyerle also pitched three games in his career, once with the Athletics of the National Association in 1871, and twice with the Athletics of the NL in 1876. He went 0–2 with a 6.25 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance.

Personal life

Meyerle died in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

in 1921, and is interred at its Oakland Cemetery.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meyerle, Levi 1845 births 1921 deaths Burials at Oaklands Cemetery Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball infielders Philadelphia Geary players Philadelphia Athletics (NABBP) players Chicago White Stockings (NABBP) players Philadelphia Athletics (NA) players Philadelphia White Stockings players Chicago White Stockings players Philadelphia Athletics (NL) players Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879) players Philadelphia Keystones players Philadelphia Athletic players Springfield (minor league baseball) players Rochester (minor league baseball) players Washington Nationals (minor league) players Baseball players from Philadelphia 19th-century baseball players