Billy Herman | |||
---|---|---|---|
Second baseman / Manager | |||
Born: New Albany, Indiana |
July 7, 1909|||
Died: October 5, 1992 West Palm Beach, Florida |
(aged 83)|||
|
|||
MLB debut | |||
August 29, 1931, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
August 1, 1947, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .304 | ||
Hits | 2,345 | ||
Home runs | 47 | ||
Runs batted in | 839 | ||
Managerial record | 189–274 | ||
Winning % | .408 | ||
Teams | |||
As player
As manager |
|||
Career highlights and awards | |||
Member of the National | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 1975 | ||
Election Method | Veteran's Committee |
As player
As manager
William Jennings Bryan "Billy" Herman (July 7, 1909 – September 5, 1992) was an American second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1930s and 1940s. Known for his stellar defense and consistent batting, Herman still holds many National League (NL) defensive records for second basemen and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
Born in New Albany, Indiana, in 1909, Herman attended New Albany High School.
Herman broke into the majors in 1931 with the Chicago Cubs and asserted himself as a star the following season, 1932, by hitting .314 and scoring 102 runs. His first at-bat was memorable. Facing Cincinnati Reds pitcher Si Johnson, Herman chopped a pitch into the back of home plate, which then bounced up and hit Herman in the back of the head, knocking him out. A fixture in the Chicago lineup over the next decade, Herman was a consistent hitter and solid producer. He regularly hit .300 or higher (and as high as .341 in 1935) and drove in a high of 93 runs in 1936.
After a sub-standard offensive year in 1940, Herman was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1941. He had one of his finest offensive season in 1943, when he batted .330 with a .398 on-base percentage and 100 runs driven in.