Ed Crane | |||
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1887 Old Judge baseball card of Crane
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Pitcher/Outfielder | |||
Born: Boston, Massachusetts |
May 27, 1862|||
Died: September 20, 1896 Rochester, New York |
(aged 34)|||
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MLB debut | |||
April 17, 1884, for the Boston Reds | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
July 19, 1893, for the Brooklyn Grooms | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Win–loss record | 72-96 | ||
Earned run average | 3.80 | ||
Strikeouts | 720 | ||
Teams | |||
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Career highlights and awards | |||
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Edward Nicholas Crane (May 27, 1862 – September 20, 1896), nicknamed Cannonball, was an American right-handed pitcher and outfielder in Major League Baseball for eight seasons. He played for the Boston Reds (1884), Providence Grays (1885), Buffalo Bisons (1885), Washington Nationals (1886), New York Giants (NL) (1888–89, 1892–93), New York Giants (PL) (1890), Cincinnati Kelly's Killers (1891), Cincinnati Reds (1891), and Brooklyn Grooms (1893). Crane was the first pitcher in the history of major league baseball to record 4 strikeouts in a single inning (New York Giants, 1888), and is one of the few players to play in four major leagues: the Union Association, the National League, the Players' League, and the American Association.
Born in Boston, Cannonball Crane was a man of uncommon strength. In his prime, he was described as "a giant in physical strength and proportions." He reportedly could throw a baseball 135 yards, farther than anyone else who played the game in his era. After his playing career ended, he died from what was officially declared an accidental overdose but was reported by others to have been a suicide.
Cannonball debuted in April 1884 with the Boston Reds of the Union Association. He played in 101 games for the Reds, including 57 as an outfielder and 42 as a catcher. As a rookie, he was among the UA league leaders in most batting categories, with 12 home runs (2nd in the UA), a .451 slugging percentage (4th in the UA), 193 total bases (4th in the USA), 41 extra base hits (5th in the UA), 59 runs (7th in the UA), 122 hits (8th in the UA), and a .285 batting average (10th in the UA).