Socks Seybold

American baseball player (1870–1921)
Baseball player
Socks Seybold
Outfielder
Born: (1870-11-23)November 23, 1870
Washingtonville, Ohio, U.S.
Died: December 22, 1921(1921-12-22) (aged 51)
Greensburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 20, 1899, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
October 7, 1908, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.294
Home runs51
Runs batted in556
Teams
  • Cincinnati Reds (1899)
  • Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1908)
Career highlights and awards

Ralph Orlando "Socks" Seybold (November 23, 1870 – December 21, 1921) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball over parts of nine seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and Philadelphia Athletics.[1] Known as a power hitter, Seybold set the American League record for home runs in 1902, which would not be broken until 1919. He stood at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and weighed 200 lbs.[2]

Biography

Seybold was born in Washingtonville, Ohio.[1] He started his professional baseball career in 1892, and over the next few years he played in the Pennsylvania State League and Atlantic League.[3] In 1896, he had a breakout season, hitting .352 at Lancaster, and in 1897, he led the team to the pennant[2] by slugging a league-leading 14 home runs.[4] Seybold led the Atlantic League in homers again in 1898 and was leading in 1899 when he was purchased by the Cincinnati Reds.[2]

Seybold made his major league debut on August 20.[1] He did not hit well in Cincinnati, and returned to the minors in 1900. He led the American League in home runs, with 9.[5] Seybold then got his second shot in the majors in 1901, with the Philadelphia Athletics, and this time, he stuck. That season, he hit .334 and had a 27-game hitting streak in July and August.[2]

In 1902, Seybold batted .316 and set career-highs in home runs, with 16, and runs batted in, with 97.[1] The home run total led the league and stood as the AL record until Babe Ruth broke it in 1919.[6][7] The Athletics also won the pennant. In 1903, Seybold's batting average dipped below .300; however, his OPS+ stayed at exactly 138, and he ripped a league-leading 45 doubles.[1] Seybold continued his solid hitting from 1904 to 1907. In 1905, he played in his only World Series, which the Athletics lost to the New York Giants; Seybold went 2 for 16 at the plate.[1]

In 1908, Seybold tore some ligaments in his leg sliding into home in a pre-season game at New Orleans.[8][9] He left the team in June 1908 saying, "I feel that I cannot do myself justice. I have decided to quit for the season."[9] He later returned to the team, but struggled the rest of the year, batting just .215. He played his last major league game on October 7, 1908.[1] In December 1908, Philadelphia manager Connie Mack announced that he was releasing Seybold.[10]

In 997 games over nine seasons, Seybold posted a .294 batting average (1085-for-3685) with 478 runs, 218 doubles, 54 triples, 51 home runs, 556 RBI, 66 stolen bases, 293 bases on balls, .353 on-base percentage and .424 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .964 fielding percentage.[1]

Seybold then played and coached in several minor league and industrial teams for a few years.[2] In January 1909, he signed a contract to play for the Toledo Mud Hens,[11] but injuries continued to slow Seybold during the 1909 season.[12] From 1910 to 1911, he coached industrial teams in Jeanette. On April 4, 1912, he signed with the Richmond Rebels of the United States Baseball League.[13] His baseball career ended with the demise of the league in June.

At the end of July 1919, Babe Ruth equaled Seybold's American League record of 16 home runs in a season;[14] Ruth went on to hit 29 homers in 1919.[15]

Seybold was married but had no children. His wife, Wilhelmina "Minnie" Heitz, died in 1917.[2] In his later years, Seybold was employed as a steward of a social club (Fraternal Order of Eagles) in Jeannette, Pennsylvania.[16] In 1921, Seybold was driving a car when it overturned at a sharp curve on the Lincoln Highway east of Jeanette;[16] he was killed instantly.[2] He left an estate valued at $20,000.[17] Seybold was buried next to his wife at Brush Creek Cemetery in Irwin.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Socks Seybold Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Altieri, Vince. "Socks Seybold". bioproj.sabr.org. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  3. ^ "Socks Seybold Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  4. ^ "1897 Atlantic League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  5. ^ "1900 American League Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  6. ^ Socks Seybold - Baseballbiography.com
  7. ^ Seymour, Harold. Baseball: The Golden Age (Oxford University Press US, 1971), p. 157.
  8. ^ Tierney, John P. Jack Coombs: A Life in Baseball (McFarland, 2008), p. 37.
  9. ^ a b "Socks Seybold Quits Baseball for Season". The Pittsburgh Press. June 18, 1908.
  10. ^ "SEYBOLD AND COLLINS RELEASED". The Christian Science Monitor. December 12, 1908.
  11. ^ "'Socks' Seybold Has Signed a Contract to Play with the Toledo Team: Heavy Hitting Outfielder Says He Is Glad to Come Here to Play the Garden". The Toledo News-Bee. January 16, 1909.
  12. ^ "'Socks' and Nill to Stay at Home". The Toledo News-Bee. June 15, 1909.
  13. ^ "Seybold signs with U. S. League: Richmond Team Will Have Famous Slugger in Line-Up This Season". Richmond Times Dispatch. April 5, 1912.
  14. ^ "Babe Ruth Has Fine Chance To Break Record: Redsox Slugger, With Sixteen Homers, Equals American League Mark Set by Socks Seybold". The Pittsburgh Press. August 1, 1919.
  15. ^ "Babe Ruth Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com.
  16. ^ a b "Old Ball Player Killed: Seybold, Formerly of Athletics, Dies in Auto Accident" (PDF). The New York Times. December 23, 1921.
  17. ^ "SEYBOLD WORTH $20,000". Detroit Free Press. December 30, 1921.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
  • Socks Seybold at Find a Grave
  • v
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Philadelphia Athletics 1902 American League champions
Regular season
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