Doc Cramer
| Doc Cramer | |||
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| Center fielder | |||
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Born: July 22, 1905 Beach Haven, New Jersey |
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Died: September 9, 1990 (aged 85) Manahawkin, New Jersey |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 18, 1929, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| May 12, 1948, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .296 | ||
| Hits | 2,705 | ||
| Runs batted in | 842 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
Roger Maxwell "Doc" Cramer (July 22, 1905 – September 9, 1990) was an American center fielder and left-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams from 1929 to 1948.
A mainstay at the top of his team's lineup for many years, Cramer led the American League in at bats a record seven times and in singles five times. He hit over .300 eight times, primarily with the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox, and retired among the league's career leaders in hits (10th, 2705), games played (10th, 2239) and at bats (5th, 9140). One of the few major leaguers to play regularly in center field after turning 40, he also ended his career among the major leagues' all-time leaders in games in center field (3rd, 2031) and outfield putouts (4th, 5412), and ranked seventh in AL history in total games in the outfield (2142).
Born in Beach Haven, New Jersey, Cramer was nicknamed "Flit", which was the name of a popular insecticide, by sportswriter Jimmy Isaminger for his great ability to judge fly balls; in other words, he was death to flies. Indeed, he led AL outfielders in putouts in 1936 and 1938.
After starting his career in semipro ball in New Jersey in 1928, he was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics and hit .404 to win the Blue Ridge League batting championship in 1929. He played with the Athletics' powerful championship teams of 1929-1931, breaking in gradually, though in the postseason for the A's he appeared only twice, as a pinch-hitter, in the 1931 World Series. After he hit .336 in 92 games in 1932, his place on the team was secure. On June 20, 1932, he tied a major league record by going 6-for-6 in a nine-inning game (and later became the only AL player to do it twice (on July 13, 1935)). He scored 100 runs in a season for the first time in 1933, and hit for the cycle on June 10, 1934. In 1934, Cramer set a team record among left-handed hitters with 202 hits and topped it in 1935 with 214 – still the Athletics franchise record for a left-handed batter; he finished eighth in the 1935 MVP voting. But the fortunes of the A's declined just as Cramer was becoming a solid everyday player as the star players on the financially struggling team were sent on to other teams. Al Simmons and Jimmy Dykes were sold to the Chicago White Sox on the same day in September 1932, and Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane were traded away after the 1933 season. Jimmie Foxx was traded to the Red Sox in December 1935, and Cramer joined him a month later.
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