Donie Bush
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Owen Joseph "Donie" Bush (October 8 1887 - March 28 1972), was a Major League Baseball shortstop in the American League for the Detroit Tigers (1908-1921) and the Washington Senators (1921-1923).
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- Team(s) = *Detroit Tigers (1908-1921), Washington Senators (1921-1923)
[edit] Background
In fourteen seasons in the major leagues, Bush displayed a keen eye and a talent for drawing bases on balls, drawing more walks during the decade from 1910-1919 than any other player in Major League Baseball. He was also an excellent contact hitter who was consistently among the league leaders in sacrifice hits, runs scored, and stolen bases. Bush is also remembered as one of the best fielding shortstops of the Dead-ball era. He holds the Major League records for most triple plays (9) and most putouts in a season by a shortstop with 425. He was also regularly among the American League leaders in assists by a shortstop, and still holds the American League record for total chances by a shortstop. Bush was a true baseball man who spent 67 years (1905-1972) working in professional baseball as a Major League manager (including manager of the 1927 Pirates team that lost in the World Series to the 1927 Yankees), minor league manager, scout, owner, and executive. He remained active until 1972, succumbing to an illness while working as a scout in Florida at age 84. He became known in Indiana as "Mr. Baseball."
[edit] Semi-Pro and Minor League Baseball: 1905-1908
Bush was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and raised on the east side of that city. He played semi-pro ball for local teams, and began his professional career in 1905 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan with the Copper Country Soo.[1] After playing with South Bend (Central) in 1907, the Detroit Tigers acquired Bush's contract and assigned him to the Indianapolis Indians. Bush helped the Indians finish first in 1908, and by mid-September he called up to play for the Tigers. [2]
[edit] Playing Career with the Detroit Tigers: 1908-1921
Bush was the Tigers' starting shortstop for thirteen seasons from 1909-1921. Only Alan Trammell played for a longer time as the Detroit shortstop. In 1914, Bush came in third in the American League Most Valuable Player voting behind Eddie Collins and Detroit teammate Sam Crawford. He also finished 14th in the Most Valuable Player voting in 1911 and 12th in 1913. For a player who did not hit for high average or power, his MVP votes were the result of his fielding as a shortstop and his talent for stealing bases, drawing bases on balls, and scoring runs.
[edit] Rookie Star of the 1909 World Series
In his first full season in Major League Baseball, Bush helped lead the Tigers to the 1909 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Though Honus Wagner's Pirates beat the Tigers 4 games to 3, rookie Bush was the surprise hitting star for Detroit. With Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford slumping in the World Series (batting .231 and .250 respectively), Bush picked up the slack. He hit .318 during the seven-game series with an on-base percentage of .483, picking up 7 hits, 5 bases on balls, 3 sacrifice hits, and twice being hit by a pitch. Bush scored 5 runs and collected 3 RBIs in the World Series. In Game 3, he had 4 hits, and in Game 6, he had a hit, 2 walks and was hit by a pitch. Bush played all seven game of the World Series at shortstop, collecting 9 putouts, 18 assists, and 3 double plays (but also committing 5 errors).
[edit] "It Ain't How Big You Are, It's How Good You Are"
Bush was one of the shortest players in the major leagues at 5 foot, 6 inches, and 130 pounds. He once said, "I used to tell 'em it ain't how big you are, it's how good you are. But whenever another team had an uncommonly small player, I'd slip up and compare heights. Always turned out he was an inch taller than me." [1]
[edit] The All Time Record for Putouts and AL Record for Chances by a Shortstop
Bush played in 1,867 Major League games at shortstop. Possessing both speed and agility, Bush collected more putous, assists, and chances than any other shortstop of the era. Nearly a century later, his 1914 total of 425 putouts is still the Major League record for shortstops. [3] His 1914 total of 969 chances is also still the American League record. [4] He led the American League in assists by a shortstop on five occasions: 1909 (567), 1911 (556), 1912 (547), 1914 (544), and 1915 (504). [5] In 1911, he totaled a remarkable 6.7 total chances per game.
Bush also holds the all-time Major League Baseball record (shared with Bid McPhee) for most career triple plays with nine. Bush's triple plays came on May 4, 1910, April 24, 1911, May 20, 1911, September 9, 1911, April 6, 1912, August 23, 1917, August 14, 1919, May 18, 1921, and September 14, 1921. [6]
[edit] A Talent for Drawing Base on Balls
Bush ranked among the league leaders in bases on balls twelve straight years, from 1909 through 1920. He walked over 80 times in each of his first seven full seasons. In 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, and 1914, he led the league in the category. His career high was 118 bases on balls in 1915. During the decade from 1910-1919, no one had more bases on balls than Bush. At the time of his retirement in 1923, Bush had 1,158 walks, No. 2 on the all-time Major League walks list, trailing only Eddie Collins. With bases on balls more prevalent in modern baseball, Bush now ranks No. 55 in MLB history, but in the early days of baseball, Bush and Collins were the all-time leaders.
[edit] Bush's Role in Babe Ruth's Most Thrilling Game
Bush also broke up a noteworthy no-hitter on July 17, 1917. With Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth having allowed no hits, Bush hit a scratch single in the 8th inning. After giving up the single to Bush, the Bambino struck out the Tigers' best three hitters in the 9th (Bobby Veach, Sam Crawford, and Ty Cobb) to secure a 1-0 complete game shutout. In a 1942 speech in Los Angeles‚ Ruth called this game his greatest thrill. [7]
[edit] A Leader in Stolen Bases, Runs and Sacrifice Hits
In addition to his prowess for drawing bases on balls and fielding, Bush's speed also made him a threat on the basepaths. His career total of 404 stolen bases places him 64th on the all-time list. Bush set the American League record for stolen bases by a rookie with 52, a record that was not broken for 73 years until (Kenny Lofton stole 66 bases as a rookie in 1992). Bush ranked in the Top 10 in stolen bases in the American League ten times from 1909-1919.
Despite mediocre batting averages (he hit .250 for his career), Bush's talent for drawing walks pushed him into the Top 10 in On Base Percentage four times. His 1909 On Base Percentage of .380 was third in the American League behind teammate Ty Cobb and Eddie Collins.
Bush's speed and ability to get on base also made him one of the top run scorers of his era. He led the American League in runs in 1917 with 112 and was among the league leaders in runs ten times (1909-1915 and 1917-1919). [8] During the decade from 1910 to 1919, Ty Cobb, Eddie Collins, and Tris Speaker were the only players to score more runs than Bush. His career high came in 1911, when he scored 126 runs, second only to Ty Cobb.
Bush was also a contact hitter with a talent for sacrifice hits. He collected 337 sacrifice hits in his career, ranking him 5th on the all time Major League leader list (behind Hall of Famers Eddie Collins and Willie Keeler). He led the league with a remarkable 52 sacrifice hits as a rookie in 1909 (4th highest single season total in major league history), and hit another 48 (7th highest single season total in MLB history) in 1920.
In a sixteen-season career, Bush had a .356 On Base Percentage, 6,286 assists, 4,119 putouts, 2,165 total bases, 1,280 runs, 1,158 bases on balls, and 404 stolen bases.
[edit] Dubbed Indiana's "Mr. Baseball"
Bush was elected to the Indiana Baseball hall of fame and was known as "Mr. Baseball" in Indianapolis. At baseball's 1963 winter meetings, major league executives named him "King of Baseball." [9]
[edit] See also
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 stolen bases
- 1909 Detroit Tigers season
- 1915 Detroit Tigers season
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record
- The Deadball Era
- Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame
