Earl John "Sparky" Adams (August 26, 1894 – February 24, 1989) was a professional

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 (A ...

player who played with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. At , Adams was the smallest Major League player during his career.

Career

Chicago Cubs

Adams made his Major League debut with the Cubs on September 18, 1922. He played 11 games during the 1922 season. He spent the following two seasons as the team's

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 wh ...

, splitting time at the position with Charlie Hollocher. In the 1923 season, he hit four

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 in 311

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 the season, then went on to hit only five the following 5,246 at-bats of his career. The 1925 season became his breakthrough, as he became a second baseman as a result of a trade that sent

George Grantham George Grantham may refer to: * George Grantham (baseball) * George Grantham (musician) George Grantham (born January 20, 1947) is an American drummer and vocalist best known for his work with pioneering country rock band Poco. Grantham and p ...

to Pittsburgh, leaving the second base position open. As a hitter, he finished the season with 26

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 o ...

s, eight triples, and 627 at-bats, which led 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 ...

. As a fielder, he led all second basemen 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 wi ...

s, assists, and

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 ...

for the season. In 1926, Adams increased his batting average to .309, and stole a career-high 27 bases, second-best in the National League. He also played all 154 games of the season, finished first in at-bats for the second year in a row with 624, and finished first in

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 runn ...

s with 700. The 1927 season saw Adams being used mainly as a utility infielder, although he started nearly every game. He played 60 games at second base, 53 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 ...

, and 40 at shortstop. He led the league in at-bats for the third year in a row with 647, and stole 26 bases for the third year in a row.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The 1927 season marked the end of Adams' time in Chicago. On November 28, 1927, Adams was traded, along with Pete Scott, to the

for

Kiki Cuyler Hazen Shirley Cuyler (; August 30, 1898 – February 11, 1950), nicknamed Kiki, was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Brooklyn Dodg ...

. Manager

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most vis ...

was criticized for the move, as the Cubs has plenty of outfield strength, but lacked a solid infield presence. It was also considered a good move for Pittsburgh, with sportswriters picking the Pirates to finish first the National League in 1928. He was given the starting second baseman job for the 1928 season. Adams took the place of

, so was moved to first base, the second time that Adams forced Grantham to another infield position. However, his batting average began to decline, and by the 1929 season, Adams was being used as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

. At the end of the season, the

purchased his contract from the Pirates after two seasons of playing in Pittsburgh.

St. Louis Cardinals

As the 1930 season began, Adams was given the starting

third baseman 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 ...

job. He went on to have a career high batting average of .314, and hit a career high nine triples. Adams played all six games in the

1930 World Series The 1930 World Series featured the defending World Series champion (and 1930 American League (AL) champion) Philadelphia Athletics against the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Athletics defeated the Cardinals in six games ...

, hitting .143 as the Cardinals ended up losing the series. That season, every Cardinals player with over 300 at-bats had a batting average over .300, the only time in history this has happened. The 1931 season ended up being a career year for Adams. He was first in the league in doubles with 46, and had over 600 at-bats for the fourth season. Adams also placed in MVP voting, finishing ninth with 18 votes. He played 143 games over the season; however, an injury in September caused him to miss postseason time. Adams was injured on September 20 when, after winning a bunting and running contest before the game, he sprained his ankle while taking part in the baserunning challenge. He played two games as the Cardinals won the

1931 World Series The 1931 World Series featured the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals beat the Athletics in seven games, a rematch and reversal of fortunes of the previous World Series. The same two ...

. Adams was the last surviving member of the 1931 World Champion Cardinals. The following season, he only played 31 games due to injury.

Cincinnati Reds

On May 7, 1933, Adams was traded along with

Paul Derringer Samuel Paul Derringer (October 17, 1906 – November 17, 1987) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three National League teams from 1931 to 1945, primarily the Cincinnati Reds. He won 20 games for Cincin ...

and Allyn Stout to the

for

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an infie ...

Dutch Henry Frank John "Dutch" Henry (May 12, 1902 – August 23, 1968) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Robins, New York Giants and Chicago White Sox between 1921 and 1930. Henry batted and threw left handed. ...

, and Jack Ogden, after playing only eight games for the Cardinals that season. He became the starting leadoff man during the 1933 season, as he had been for the other teams he played for. During the 1934 season, as primarily a backup to

Mark Koenig Mark Anthony Koenig (July 19, 1904 – April 22, 1993) was an American baseball shortstop who played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played with the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds and New Yor ...

, Adams was used as the backup second baseman and third baseman. At the end of the season, Adams was released, then retired at the end of the 1935 season. After his retirement, he became a farmer and a service station operator in Tremont, Pennsylvania. When he died in

Pottsville, Pennsylvania Pottsville is the county seat of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,346 at the 2020 census, and is the principal city of the Pottsville, PA Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city lies along the west bank of th ...

on February 24, 1989, he was the last remaining player of the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1931 World Series.

Career statistics

In 1,424 games over 13 seasons, Adams posted a .286

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 ...

(1,588-for-5,557) with 844 runs, 249 doubles, 48 triples, 9 home runs, 394 RBI, 154 stolen bases, 453 bases on balls, .343 on-base percentage and .353 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .963 fielding percentage playing at second base, third base, shortstop and several games in the outfield. In the 1930 and '31 World Series, he was unproductive, hitting only .160 (4-for-25) with only one RBI.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Sparky Baseball players from Pennsylvania People from Northumberland County, Pennsylvania 1894 births 1989 deaths Chicago Cubs players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Reading Coal Barons players Danville Tobacconists players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Wichita Falls Spudders players Columbus Red Birds players Rochester Red Wings players