John Frank "Buck" Freeman (October 30, 1871 – June 25, 1949) was an American

right fielder 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 ...

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), ...

at the turn of the 20th century. Listed at and , he both batted and threw left-handed. Freeman was one of the top sluggers of his era, his most famous feat being the 25

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 he hit during the

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

season.

Career

A native of

Catasauqua, Pennsylvania Catasauqua, referred to colloquially as Catty, is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. Catasauqua's population was 6,518 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Allentown in the Lehigh Valley, which had a population of 861,899 and was the 68th ...

, Freeman showed talent as a

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 ...

from a young age; he later received advice from early

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

player

Bud Fowler Bud Fowler (March 16, 1858 – February 26, 1913), born "John W. Jackson", was an American baseball player, manager, and club organizer. He is the earliest known African-American player in organized professional baseball. He was elected to the ...

to practice hitting more.SABR biography

Washington Statesmen

Freeman made his major league debut as a left-handed starting pitcher with the Washington Statesmen of the major league

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 ...

on June 27, 1891, registering the loss in a 4–5 defeat to the Philadelphia Athletics. Freeman played in a further four games during the season, finishing up with a 3–2 record and an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 3.89 in 44 innings pitched, while striking out 28 but also

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

33.

Minor leagues

Following the 1891 season's conclusion, Freeman did not play in the majors again for seven years. From 1892 through 1898, he played in the Pennsylvania State League, Eastern League,

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

, and Western League. His longest stint was in the Eastern League with

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

from 1896 to 1898.

Washington Senators

Freeman returned to the Washington roster in September of the

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

season, when Arthur Irwin took over as manager; the team was now known as the Senators and played in 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 ...

. Since Freeman's time as a pitcher with the Statesmen, he had bulked out and had begun to show real skill with the bat (in his 18 at bats in 1891 he had recorded a

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 ...

of .222). In light of this, the Senators decided to retrain Freeman as a right fielder, believing that he would be even more useful with the bat than he was with the ball. Albeit with only 107 at bats in 29 games, he recorded a .364 batting average and a .523 slugging percentage during the final weeks of the 1898 Senators season. Following his strong showing with the bat, he was named as the Senators' first-choice right fielder for the following season. The 25 home runs that Freeman recorded for the 1899 Senators were truly remarkable by the standards of the time; the second highest total that year was 12 by Bobby Wallace of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

. Although Freeman failed to equal

Ned Williamson Edward Nagle "Ned" Williamson (October 24, 1857 – March 3, 1894) was a professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for three teams: the Indianapolis Blues of the National League (NL) for one season, the Chicago White ...

's record of 27 home runs in a season, recorded in

1884 Events January–March * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's '' Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London. * January 18 – Dr. William Price at ...

with

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Freeman's total is generally regarded as the greater achievement. Williamson's home field of Lakeshore Park was less than down the foul lines and to center, and prior to 1884 balls hit over the fence at Lakeshore Park had been

ground rule double A ground rule double is a baseball rule that awards two bases from the time of pitch to all baserunners including the batter-runner, as a result of the ball leaving play after being hit fairly and leaving the field under a condition of the gro ...

s; of Williamson's 27 homers, only two were hit away from home. Freeman's tally was not surpassed until

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

, when

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

hit 29 home runs with the

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 eigh ...

. Freeman's contract was sold to Boston in February 1900, as Washington owner J. Earl Wagner correctly foresaw that the National League would be reduced in size. The Senators were one of the teams disbanded as the league contracted from twelve teams to eight.

Boston Beaneaters

Freeman spent the

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

season with the Boston Beaneaters (later known as the Boston Braves), where he did not get along with manager

Frank Selee Frank Gibson Selee (October 26, 1859 – July 5, 1909) was an American Major League Baseball manager in the National League (NL). In his 16-year Major League career, he managed the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901) and Chicago Orphans / Cubs (1902 ...

. Freeman's offensive numbers for the season were well down from the year before, as he recorded six home runs and 65

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 ba ...

during 117 games played. On September 1, during a game between Boston and the New York Giants, assigned umpire Ed Smartwood had to leave the game due to injury; the final four innings were completed with Freeman umpiring at home and

Bill Carrick William Martin Carrick (September 5, 1873 – March 7, 1932) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was nicknamed Doughnut Bill.Wilbert, Warren N. ''The arrival of the American League: Ban Johnson and the 1901 challenge to National L ...

of the Giants umpiring at first.

Boston Americans

For the

1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...

season, Freeman and teammate

Jimmy Collins James Joseph Collins (January 16, 1870 – March 6, 1943) was an American professional baseball player. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball. Collins was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945. Collins was especially regarded fo ...

moved across town to the

Boston Americans 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 ...

(later known as the Boston Red Sox), for the inaugural season of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. The Americans decided to convert Freeman into a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. The 1901 season was something of a return to form; he finished second overall in home runs (12), runs batted in (114), and slugging percentage (.520), finishing behind

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

in all categories. In

1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...

, Freeman returned to playing as a right fielder, which was his better position, and led the

with 121 runs batted in. In

1903 Events January * January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India. * January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...

, he helped Boston to the inaugural

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

by leading the league in both home runs (13) and runs batted in (104); by doing so, Freeman became the first player to have led both the National League and the American League in home runs. On June 21, 1903, he

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...

, the first Americans/Red Sox player to do so. The

1903 World Series The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion Boston Americans against the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates in a best-of-nine series, wi ...

was the only postseason series that Freeman ever played in, and it proved to be lackluster by his own standards—he recorded an average of .281 (9-for-32) with three triples and four runs batted in over the course of eight games, as Boston defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates. In the three years following the championship, Freeman's offense declined sharply. In

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

, he managed a .250 average with one home run and 30 runs batted in. After that, he decided to play in Boston for one further season, but after only four games of the

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...

season when he batted 2-for-12 including a home run, Freeman was sent to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. However, before playing for Washington, his contract was sold into the minor leagues, effectively ending his major league career.

Late career

Freeman went on to finish the 1907 season with the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the

, recording an average of .335 and hitting 18 home runs in 142 games played. Following this successful season, he decided to spend a further season with the Millers; in

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...

he played 92 games with 10 home runs albeit with an average of .218. Freeman then closed his professional career by playing in the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eight ...

in 1909, the

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second leagu ...

in 1910, and a final 15 games in the New York State League in 1912 at age 40 when he managed the

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pacht ...

Legacy

In an 11-season major league career, Freeman was a .293 hitter (1,235-for-4,208) with 82 home runs and 713 runs batted in during 1,126 games, including 199 doubles, 131 triples, 92 stolen bases, a slugging percentage of .462, and a .346 on-base percentage. Freeman died at the age of 77 in

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Wilkes-Barre ( or ) is a city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Luzerne County. Located at the center of the Wyoming Valley in Northeastern Pennsylvania, it had a population of 44,328 in the 2020 census. It is the s ...

. In May 2018, Freeman was inducted to the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freeman, Buck 1871 births 1949 deaths 19th-century baseball players Albany Senators players American League home run champions American League RBI champions Baseball players from Pennsylvania Boston Americans players Boston Beaneaters players Detroit Tigers (Western League) players Harrisburg Senators players Haverhill (minor league baseball) players Major League Baseball right fielders Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players National League home run champions Scranton Miners players Sportspeople from Lehigh County, Pennsylvania Toronto Canadians players Toronto Canucks players Troy Trojans (minor league) players Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Washington Statesmen players Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons players