Jesse Burkett's claim to fame in baseball is as the finest bunter of all-time; this, along with his ability to foul off pitches with amazing consistency, was one of the major reasons fouls began to be counted as strikes. He used his speed as a weapon on the field, and his mouth as one off of it. Along with Rogers Hornsby and Ty Cobb, he was only the third player in history to bat .400 in 3 different seasons. Despite his generally repugnant behavior, Burkett's status as a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame can never be questioned.
Baseball Town
Jesse Cail Burkett was born December 4, 1868 in Wheeling, West Virginia. Taking advantage of the strong baseball connections in the town, Burkett began playing professional ball while still in his teens. After spending 2 years with the Scranton team in the Central League, he was called up to join the Worcester team in the New England League. He led the league in wins and ERA as a pitcher, and was finally called up to the big leagues in 1890.
When One Door Closes...
Burkett began play in the majors as a pitcher with the New York Giants, where he went 3-10 with a dismal 5.57 ERA. However, he showed much more prowess as a batter, hitting .301 in 101 games, while also connecting for 13 triples. He hit 10 triples or more in a season 11 times, although he never led the league. He was sold to the Cleveland Spiders the following year and moved into the outfield.
Speed Kills
Burkett broke his right leg in 1892 and only returned to half-form in 1893, but by 1894, he had emerged as the star on the Spiders team. He led the league in both 1894 and 1895 in batting average and hits, reaching over .400 both times. One interesting note is that he hit 33 home runs with the Spiders, and 31 of them were inside-the-park dingers.
New Team, Same Old Jesse
In 1900, when the National League reorganized itself, the Cleveland team was disbanded and Burkett jumped to play with St. Louis Cardinals. The change of scenery had virtually no effect on Burkett's on the field play: he batted .363 in 1900, and led the league again in hits and batting average in 1901, batting a scorching .376.
Touchy, Touchy
Burkett's talent couldn't be denied, but his etiquette left much to be desired. He constantly got into arguments with teammates, fans, and umpires. One unfounded rumor was that he was the son of Cleveland manager Jack Glasscock. Whenever anyone mentioned this, Burkett would fly into a rage and attack the offending speaker. So disliked by his teammates that they gave him the nickname "The Crab" for his surly demeanor.
Even after his league-leading 1901 season, Burkett was traded across town to the American League St. Louis Browns. Here the competition was much stiffer, and Burkett's numbers suffered: his average sank from .306 in 1902 to a dismal .257 in 1905.
Be Prepared
By this time, Burkett had already prepared for his eventual retirement: he had purchased the appropriately named Worcester Busters of the New England League in 1904, and in 1906 he took over as manager. He continued to play in the outfield sporadically until 1913, when he retired from the field.
After Baseball
Burkett moved around from minor league club to minor league club, coaching and managing. He spent a short while coaching at Holy Cross and at Assumption College. In 1921 he returned to the majors to coach his first team, the New York Giants. The team won the World Series, though apparently Burkett's tongue had not tempered with age: manager John McGraw had to pay Burkett a bonus from his own pocket because the players refused to vote him a share.
The End Of A Legend
Burkett continued to coach for minor league teams through the 1920s and into the 1930s, when he retired to Worcester to see over his team. Jesse "The Crab" Burkett passed away May 27, 1953, just 7 years after he was selected to join the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
Lifetime Statistics
YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA
1890 NYG NL 101 401 67 124 23 13 4 60 14 0 33 52 .309
1891 CLV NL 40 167 29 45 7 4 0 13 1 0 23 19 .269
1892 CLV NL 145 608 119 167 15 14 6 66 36 0 67 59 .275
1893 CLV NL 125 511 145 178 25 15 6 82 39 0 98 23 .348
1894 CLV NL 125 523 138 187 27 14 8 94 28 0 84 27 .358
1895 CLV NL 131 550 153 225 22 13 5 83 41 0 74 31 .409
1896 CLV NL 133 586 160 240 27 16 6 72 34 0 49 19 .410
1897 CLV NL 127 517 129 198 28 7 2 60 28 0 76 ? .383
1898 CLV NL 150 624 114 213 18 9 0 42 19 0 69 ? .341
1899 STL NL 141 558 116 221 21 8 7 71 25 0 67 ? .402
1900 STL NL 141 559 88 203 11 15 7 68 32 0 62 ? .363
1901 STL NL 142 601 142 226 20 15 10 75 27 0 59 ? .376
1902 SLB AL 138 553 97 169 29 9 5 52 23 0 71 ? .306
1903 SLB AL 132 515 73 151 20 7 3 40 17 0 52 ? .293
1904 SLB AL 147 575 72 156 15 10 2 27 12 0 78 ? .271
1905 BOS AL 148 573 78 147 12 13 4 47 13 0 67 ? .257
CAREER 2066 8421 1720 2850 320 182 75 952 389 0 1029 230 .338
* Bold denotes led league.
Sources
- http://www.pubdim.net/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/B/Burkett_Jesse.stm
- http://www.thebaseballpage.com/past/pp/burkettjesse/default.htm
- http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/people/hallfame/1982burk.htm
- http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/burkeje01.shtml
Hall of Fame Index
Jim Bunning | Roy Campanella