Stuffy McInnis

From SoSH

John Phalen "Stuffy" McInnis (born September 19, 1890, Gloucester, MA; died February 16, 1960, Ipswich, MA) joined the Boston Red Sox on January 10, 1918 when he was traded by the Philadelphia A's for third baseman Larry Gardner, outfielder Tilly Walker, and catcher Hick Cady.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Red Sox Career 3 McInnis' Moments in the Sun 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

Mcinnis broke in with the A's as an 18-year-old shortstop in 1909. He was moved to first base in 1911, forming one-fourth of Philadelphia's legendary "Million Dollar Infield", with second baseman Jack Barry, shortstop Eddie Collins, and third baseman Frank Baker.

McInnis was a right-handed pull hitter. McInnis played in five World Series -- three with the A's (1911-13-14), one with Boston (1918) and one with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1925).

McInnis was a great fielding first baseman, committing only one error in 152 games for the 1921 Red Sox, and handling 1,700 consecutive chances without an error for Boston and Cleveland in 1921-22.

Red Sox Career

With the Red Sox in 1918, however, McInnis began the season at third base. After Boston's regular first baseman, Dick Hoblitzel, left the team to join the Army in May, McInnis moved back across the diamond. In 1918, he hit only .272, the lowest batting average of any of his full seasons. Before coming to Boston, he had finished in the American League's top ten batting average leaders for six straight seasons (1912-1917).

McInnis' Moments in the Sun

• On June 27, 1911, playing against the Red Sox at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, McInnis hit one of Ed Karger's warm-up pitches for an inside-the-park home run while the Red Sox were still taking their positions in the field. Boston manager Patsy Donovan argued, but umpire Ben Egan cited AL president Ban Johnson's new rule prohibiting warm-up pitches (designed to speed up games) and the home run call stood.

• Member of the World Series Champion Philadelphia Athletics in 1911 and 1913, the Boston Red Sox in 1918 and the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1925.

• Holds numerous major league records including:

• [*] Fewest strikeouts by a righthander in a season (150 or more games) (9 in 1921).
• [*] Highest fielding percentage for a season (150 games or more) by a first baseman (.994 in 1921).
• [*] Highest fielding percentage for a season (100 games or more) by a first baseman (.994 in 1921).
• [*] Fewest errors in a season (150 games or more) by a first baseman (1 in 1921).
• [*] Most consecutive chances accepted without an error for a career by a first baseman (1,700 from 1921-1922).
• [*] Most consecutive chances accepted without an error for a season by a first baseman (1,300 in 1921).

Trivia

• His nickname apparently came from his teenage years playing in the Boston suburbs, where fans would cheer his play with shouts of "That's the stuff, kid." Other accounts state that it was McInnis himself who used that cheer.

• Has the record for running into the most triple plays: 6

Transactions

• January 10, 1918: Traded by the Philadelphia Athletics to the Boston Red Sox for Larry Gardner, Tilly Walker, and Hick Cady.
• December 24, 1921: Traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Cleveland Indians for George Burns, Joe Harris, and Elmer Smith.
• January, 1923: Selected off waivers by the Boston Braves from the Cleveland Indians.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis