Guy Hecker
Guy Hecker | |
---|---|
1888 baseball card of Hecker | |
Pitcher / First baseman | |
Born: (1856-04-03)April 3, 1856 Youngsville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Died: December 3, 1938(1938-12-03) (aged 82) Wooster, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
May 2, 1882, for the Louisville Eclipse | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 30, 1890, for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys | |
MLB statistics | |
Win–loss record | 175–146 |
Earned run average | 2.93 |
Strikeouts | 1,110 |
Batting average | .282 |
Home Runs | 19 |
Runs batted in | 278 |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Guy Jackson Hecker (April 3, 1856 – December 3, 1938) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was born in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. His debut game took place on May 2, 1882. His final game took place on September 30, 1890. During his career he played for the Louisville Eclipse/Colonels and Pittsburgh Alleghenys. Hecker is considered by some baseball historians to be the best combination pitcher and hitter to play in the 19th century. He remains as one of the only two pitchers in major League history to hit three home runs in one game, alongside Jim Tobin, and the only pitcher to win a batting title. In addition, he is the only pitcher in baseball history to get six hits in a nine-inning game.
Hecker was the second pitcher ever in the American Association to pitch a no-hitter. He did this as a rookie with Louisville on September 19, 1882. He narrowly missed becoming the first pitcher in the AA by a week, as his teammate Tony Mullane threw one. He also set a WHIP record of 0.77, which remained the MLB record until 2000, when it was broken by Pedro Martínez' mark of 0.74; yet Hecker's mark remains the rookie record. In 1884, Hecker won the pitching version of the triple crown by compiling 52 wins, a 1.85 earned run average, and 385 strikeouts. In 1886, he won the batting title by hitting .341 for the season. He finished his career in 1890 by managing and playing for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys.
Hecker died in Wooster, Ohio, and was buried at Wooster Cemetery.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball player-managers
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Article on Hecker
- Guy Hecker at Find a Grave
Achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | No-hitter pitcher September 19, 1882 | Succeeded by |
- v
- t
- e
- Grover Cleveland Alexander
- Shane Bieber
- Tommy Bond
- Steve Carlton
- John Clarkson
- Roger Clemens
- Bob Feller
- Lefty Gomez
- Dwight Gooden
- Lefty Grove
- Guy Hecker
- Randy Johnson
- Walter Johnson
- Tim Keefe
- Clayton Kershaw
- Sandy Koufax
- Pedro Martínez
- Christy Mathewson
- Hal Newhouser
- Jake Peavy
- Charles Radbourn
- Amos Rusie
- Johan Santana
- Dazzy Vance
- Hippo Vaughn
- Justin Verlander
- Rube Waddell
- Bucky Walters
- Cy Young