Theodore J. Scheffler (April 5, 1864 – February 24, 1949) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player whose career spanned from 1885 to 1902. He played two 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), ...

as an

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

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

in 1888 and the Rochester Broncos in 1890.

Early years

Scheffler was born in

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in 1864. In 1887, he drew attention when he compiled a .429 batting average for the Manchester Farmers in the New England League.

Major leagues

On August 3, 1888, the

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 ...

purchased Scheffler from the Manchester club. He appeared in only 27 games for Detroit and compiled a .202 batting average. The Detroit team disbanded after the 1888 season, and Scheffler spent the 1889 season with the Worcester Grays in the Atlantic Association. Scheffler got a second shot at the major leagues in 1890 with the

Rochester Bronchos The Rochester Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and ...

of 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 ...

. He appeared in 119 games, all of them as an outfielder, and led the league with 29 outfield assists. Despite a .245 batting average, Scheffler also showed a knack for getting on base. He ranked fourth in the league with 78 bases on balls and 14 times

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, contributing to a much higher

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 ...

of .374. He also showed great speed on the base paths, finishing second in the league with 77 stolen bases. His 111 runs scored were eighth most in the league.

Minor leagues

In 1891, Scheffler played for the Buffalo Bisons in the Eastern Association. He totaled a career high 82 stolen bases and 17 triples in 123 games for Buffalo. Despite posting impressive statistics in 1890, and a strong showing with Buffalo in 1891, Scheffler never played again in the major leagues. He did play 17 seasons in the minor leagues, including prolonged stints with the

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(1892-1894), Springfield Ponies/Maroons (1894-1897) and Newark Colts (1898-1899). Across all 17 minor league seasons, Scheffler compiled a .314 batting average, scored 1,143 runs, and contributed 95 triples and 475 stolen bases.

Later years

Scheffler died in 1949 in the

Jamaica, Queens Jamaica is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is mainly composed of a large commercial and retail area, though part of the neighborhood is also residential. Jamaica is bordered by Hollis to the east; St. Albans, Springfi ...

, section of New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scheffler, Ted 1864 births 1949 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball outfielders Rochester Broncos players Detroit Wolverines players Manchester Farmers players Manchester Maroons players Worcester Grays players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Troy Trojans (minor league) players Springfield Ponies players Springfield Maroons players Troy Washerwomen players Scranton Indians players Newark Colts players Rochester Patriots players Ottawa Wanderers players Derby Lushers players Scranton Miners players Bristol Bell Makers players Schenectady Electricians players Bristol Bellmakers players Baseball players from New York City Ilion Typewriters players