Michael Joseph Griffin (March 20, 1865 – April 10, 1908) 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), ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

who was born in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. He played in 1,511

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 ...

over 12 seasons for teams in 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 ...

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

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 ...

. He had 1,755

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 ...

, resulting in a .296

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 ...

, and was a prolific base stealer who swiped 473 bases during his career. In his last year in the majors, he was also a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

for the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms 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 ...

Career

While playing for the local Utica professional team, Griffin was scouted and signed by

Billy Barnie William Harrison Barnie (January 26, 1853 – July 15, 1900), nicknamed "Bald Billy", was an American manager and catcher in Major League Baseball. Born in New York City, he played as a right fielder in the National Association in 1874–75. In 1 ...

of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. On April 16, 1887, he became the first major league player to hit a

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 ...

in his first

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

, an honor he shares with George Tebeau, who homered on the exact same day in his first plate appearance (it is unclear which player hit his home run first, chronologically, so both are considered "the first"). Griffin went on to become one of the premiere ballplayers of the time, leading his league in

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 ...

in 1889 and doubles in 1891. Griffin was team captain of Bridegrooms in 1897 and 1898 and served as interim

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 ...

for a part of 1898, a total of four games, winning one. After the 1898 season, Brooklyn signed him to a $3,500 contract to manage the following season. But before the season started, Brooklyn and Baltimore merged, and Baltimore manager Ned Hanlon was named Brooklyn's manager instead. Griffin was offered a $2,800 contract to play by Brooklyn, but he refused to sign. Brooklyn released him to the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...

, who then released him to the

St. Louis Perfectos ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

. After failing to receive a contract he felt he was worth from any team, he sued Brooklyn for the salary he believed they owed him from the contract he had signed and won a judgment of $2,300 from the club. He then unofficially retired from major league baseball. Griffin returned to Utica where he became involved in the management of local breweries. It was there that he died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

, at age 43, and was buried at St. Agnes Cemetery.Baseball Almanac player page
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References

External links

SABR Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Mike 1865 births 1908 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball player-managers Baltimore Orioles (AA) players Philadelphia Athletics (PL) players Brooklyn Grooms players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Brooklyn Bridegrooms managers Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Utica Pent Ups players Baseball players from New York (state) Sportspeople from Utica, New York

Career

See also

References

External links