Thomas Francis Michael McCarthy (July 24, 1863 – August 5, 1922) 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. He was elected to the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

in 1946.

Career

McCarthy was born on July 24, 1863 in Boston, Massachusetts, the eldest son of Daniel and Sarah McCarthy.SABR Biography
/ref> After graduating from

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformati ...

's John A. Andrew Grammar School, McCarthy worked for a clothing company during the day and played baseball at night. In 1884 he went to work for a piano company, where he received $18 a week for work in their factory and play for the company baseball team. Later that year, McCarthy joined the Boston Reds in 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 ...

as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

and

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 ...

. In limited innings and at-bats, he played poorly,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

at a paltry .215 average, and lost all seven of his pitching appearances. McCarthy moved to 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 played with the

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

the following season and the Philadelphia Quakers the following two years but failed to bat higher than .200 in any season, although in limited at-bats. Setting aside aspirations of being a star pitcher, McCarthy finally settled into an everyday position in a lineup in with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

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 ...

. With the Browns until , McCarthy scored over 100 runs each season and grew increasingly productive at the plate. He batted .350 in and drove in 95 runs in 1891. Although the shoddy record-keeping of the time prevents an accurate tally, he also asserted himself as a daring presence on the base-paths, by some accounts stealing over 100 bases in 1888 and approaching the mark in 1890. 100px, left McCarthy moved back to the National League to play for the

in and enjoyed his most productive seasons over the next few years. In he drove in over 100 runs for the first time in his career, a feat that he repeated in while hitting 13

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. The press of the day called McCarthy and teammate

Hugh Duffy Hugh Duffy (November 26, 1866 – October 19, 1954) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was a player or player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Pirates, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters, Milwaukee ...

the "Heavenly Twins". Their Boston team was one of the most successful clubs of the era. McCarthy played 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, Califor ...

in before retiring. He finished his career with a .292 batting average, 44 home runs and roughly 500 stolen bases.

Post-playing career

After his playing career ended McCarthy, served as the head baseball coach at Holy Cross (1899–1900, 1904–1905, and 1916), Dartmouth (1906–1907), and

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

(1920). He was also a scout 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 ...

(1909–1912), Boston Braves (1913–1915) and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

(1920) and manager of the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

(1918). In 1921 he joined the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

coaching staff. In 1921, McCarthy had a severe attack of double pneumonia and was in critical condition. He recovered and traveled south for the winter. His health declined when he returned home and in June was diagnosed with cancer. He died on August 5, 1922.

Hall of Fame selection

McCarthy's selection into the

1946 Events January * January 6 - The 1946 North Vietnamese parliamentary election, first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into f ...

has always been a controversial one due to his less than spectacular statistics, especially when compared to those of his fellow inductees and some players who have not yet been honored. In his 2001 book, ''

The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract ''The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'' is a reference book written by Bill James featuring an overview of professional baseball decade by decade, along with rankings of the top 100 players at each position. The original edition was publi ...

'',

Sabermetrician Sabermetrics, or originally SABRmetrics, is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. Sabermetricians collect and summarize the relevant data from this in-game activity to answer specific ques ...

Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...

makes the point that McCarthy was held in such high esteem because of his introduction of the "

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there may be an ...

" play into the game. This play, among other novel strategies (such as batter to baserunner signals, etc.) that he and his Boston teammates utilized, were a clever and gentlemanly counter to the rough and tumble "Baltimore" style of play which was, at the time, giving baseball a bad name. Nevertheless, in the same book, James also said that McCarthy is the worst right fielder in the Hall of Fame. As of 2014, McCarthy had the lowest

Jaffe Wins Above Replacement Score The Jaffe Wins Above Replacement Score, commonly abbreviated JAWS, is a sabermetric baseball statistic developed to evaluate the strength of a player's career and merit for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Created by averaging a player's ...

of any player in the Hall of Fame. According to ''

SABR The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

'', McCarthy is also the only

player elected to the Hall of Fame.SABR's Baseball Cards Committee
''SABR Baseball Cards Blog''. Retrieved on December 16, 2017.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Tommy 1863 births 1922 deaths 19th-century baseball players Baseball players from Boston Boston Beaneaters players Boston Braves scouts Boston College Eagles baseball coaches Boston Reds (UA) players Boston Red Sox scouts Brockton (minor league baseball) players Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Cincinnati Reds scouts Dartmouth Big Green baseball coaches Haverhill (minor league baseball) players Holy Cross Crusaders baseball coaches Major League Baseball player-managers Major League Baseball right fielders Minor league baseball managers National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Oshkosh (minor league baseball) players Philadelphia Quakers players Providence Grays (minor league) players St. Louis Browns (AA) managers St. Louis Browns (AA) players

Career

Post-playing career

Hall of Fame selection

See also

References

External links