Bobby Veach

Veach in 1925

Left fielder

Born: June 29, 1888
St. Charles, Kentucky

Died: August 7, 1945 (aged 57)
Detroit, Michigan

Batted: Left

Threw: Right

MLB debut

August 6, 1912, for the Detroit Tigers

Last MLB appearance

October 2, 1925, for the Washington Senators

MLB statistics

.310

2,063

1,166

Teams

Career highlights and awards

3× AL RBI leader (1915, 1917, 1918)

Robert Hayes "Bobby" Veach (June 29, 1888 – August 7, 1945) was an American baseball player from 1910 to 1930, including 14 seasons in the major leagues. He was the starting left fielder for the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1923 and also played for the Boston Red Sox (1924–1925), New York Yankees (1925) and Washington Senators (1925).

Veach hit for both power and average. He compiled a .310 career batting average and finished second to Ty Cobb for the 1919 American League batting title with a .355 average. He also led the American League in runs batted in (RBIs) three times (1915, 1917, and 1918) and was among the league leaders 10 times. Nobody in baseball had as many RBIs or extra base hits as Veach from 1915 to 1922.

Veach was also among the best defensive outfielders of his era, regularly ranking among the league leaders in putouts, range factor, and fielding percentage. Despite being one of the most productive hitters in baseball during his years in Detroit, Veach played in the shadows of three Detroit outfielders who won 16 batting titles and were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Cobb in center field and Sam Crawford followed by Harry Heilmann in right field. Detroit's 1915 outfield consisting of Veach, Cobb, and Crawford has been ranked by baseball historian and statistician Bill James as the greatest outfield in history.

Veach was born in St. Charles, Kentucky, in 1888. His family moved to Madisonville, Kentucky, when he was 12 years old. His father was a coal miner, and Veach also began working in the coal mine as a boy. In 1915, Veach recalled: "I started in as a miner when I was fourteen years old and worked at it in the winters until a couple years ago, long after I was earning money as a player." At age 17, Veach moved to Herrin, Illinois, where he began playing semi-pro baseball.

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Wikipedia