Fred Clarke, baseball player, 1894-1915

Fred Clarke

⭐ Hall of Fame 1945

Born: 10/3/1872 in Winterset, IA, USA

Died: 8/14/1960 in Winfield, KS, USA

MLB Debut: 1894-06-30 | Final Game: 1915-09-23

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 165 lbs

Full name: Fred Clifford Clarke

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Biography

Fred Clarke was a celebrated professional baseball player, born in 1872, whose illustrious career spanned from 1894 until his retirement in 1915. As a prominent figure in the early 20th century, he played primarily as a position player, showcasing an exceptional combination of hitting prowess and speed. Over the course of 2,246 games, Clarke amassed 2,678 hits, achieving a remarkable batting average of .312. He contributed significantly to his teams with 67 home runs and 1,015 runs batted in (RBIs), while also demonstrating his agility on the base paths with 509 stolen bases. Clarke's impact on the game was further solidified when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945, recognizing his contributions during an era characterized by a transition from the Deadball Era to a more offensively inclined game. His ability to combine power with speed made him a critical asset to his teams, and his legacy endures as one of the greats of baseball history. Clarke's career remains a testament to the skill and dedication required to excel in the sport during a time of significant evolution in the game.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2246 8584 1622 2678 361 220 67 1015 509 875 511 0.312 0.386 0.429 0.814 34692.1

Career AVG .312 vs. league average .262 across their career seasons — +19.1% above league average.

Career OBP .386 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +18.9% above league average.

Career SLG .429 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +24.6% above league average.

Career OPS 0.814 vs. league average 0.668 across their career seasons — +21.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1894 LS3 NL 76 314 55 86 11 7 7 48 26 26 27 0.274 .309 (-11%) .379 (-11%) .435 (-3%) .814 (-7%) -510.9
1895 LS3 NL 132 550 96 191 21 5 4 82 40 34 24 0.347 .296 (+17%) .361 (+9%) .399 (+6%) .761 (+8%) 1000.2
1896 LS3 NL 131 517 96 168 15 18 9 79 34 43 34 0.325 .290 (+12%) .354 (+11%) .387 (+23%) .741 (+17%) 1819.7
1897 LS3 NL 130 526 122 205 30 13 6 67 59 45 26 0.390 .291 (+34%) .354 (+30%) .387 (+37%) .741 (+34%) 3935.9
1898 LS3 NL 149 599 116 184 23 12 3 47 40 48 21 0.307 .270 (+14%) .333 (+12%) .347 (+15%) .680 (+14%) 1653.1
1899 LS3 NL 149 606 122 206 23 9 5 70 49 49 18 0.340 .282 (+20%) .343 (+18%) .366 (+18%) .710 (+18%) 2348.2
1900 PIT NL 106 399 84 110 15 12 3 32 21 51 20 0.276 .279 (-1%) .338 (+9%) .366 (+8%) .705 (+8%) 720.9
1901 PIT NL 129 527 118 171 24 15 6 60 23 51 44 0.324 .271 (+19%) .326 (+21%) .359 (+28%) .686 (+25%) 2607.4
1902 PIT NL 113 459 103 145 27 14 2 53 29 51 38 0.316 .266 (+18%) .321 (+25%) .343 (+31%) .665 (+28%) 2488.6
1903 PIT NL 104 427 88 150 32 15 5 70 21 41 27 0.351 .261 (+34%) .316 (+31%) .345 (+54%) .662 (+43%) 3247.9
1904 PIT NL 72 278 51 85 7 11 0 25 11 22 25 0.306 .246 (+24%) .300 (+22%) .321 (+28%) .622 (+25%) 1115.7
1905 PIT NL 141 525 95 157 18 15 2 51 24 55 41 0.299 .248 (+21%) .307 (+20%) .322 (+25%) .629 (+22%) 2174.4
1906 PIT NL 118 417 69 129 14 13 1 39 18 40 25 0.309 .247 (+25%) .307 (+21%) .315 (+31%) .622 (+26%) 1855.5
1907 PIT NL 148 501 97 145 18 13 2 59 37 68 32 0.289 .245 (+18%) .304 (+26%) .308 (+26%) .613 (+26%) 2584.2
1908 PIT NL 151 551 83 146 18 15 2 53 24 65 23 0.265 .240 (+10%) .298 (+17%) .306 (+18%) .605 (+18%) 1861.5
1909 PIT NL 152 550 97 158 16 11 3 68 31 80 36 0.287 .244 (+18%) .306 (+25%) .312 (+19%) .618 (+22%) 2560.2
1910 PIT NL 123 429 57 113 23 9 2 63 12 53 23 0.263 .249 (+5%) .317 (+10%) .326 (+14%) .644 (+12%) 998.3
1911 PIT NL 110 392 73 127 25 13 5 49 10 53 27 0.324 .266 (+22%) .336 (+21%) .356 (+38%) .693 (+30%) 2231.2
1913 PIT NL 9 13 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.077 — — — — 0.0
1914 PIT NL 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1915 PIT NL 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.500 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 53 10 13 2 1 2 9 6 8 0.245

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1909 WS PIT 7 19 7 4 0 0 2 7 5 3 0.211
1903 WS PIT 8 34 3 9 2 1 0 2 1 5 0.265

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
OF 2193 878 4795 254 256 42
SS 6 0 17 12 10 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1894 LS3 OF 76 0 163 15 23 2
1895 LS3 OF 132 0 344 20 49 4
1896 LS3 OF 131 0 277 18 30 2
1897 LS3 OF 129 0 285 18 24 0
1898 LS3 OF 149 0 344 19 23 3
1899 LS3 OF 145 0 328 20 13 2
1899 LS3 SS 3 0 13 9 7 0
1900 PIT OF 104 0 263 8 16 2
1901 PIT 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1901 PIT OF 127 0 282 13 9 0
1901 PIT SS 1 0 1 2 3 1
1902 PIT OF 113 0 215 13 10 2
1903 PIT OF 101 0 168 10 7 3
1903 PIT SS 2 0 3 1 0 0
1904 PIT OF 70 70 135 4 3 2
1905 PIT OF 137 136 270 16 7 4
1906 PIT OF 110 109 209 15 6 3
1907 PIT OF 144 143 298 15 4 2
1908 PIT OF 151 151 350 15 10 2
1909 PIT OF 152 152 362 17 5 2
1910 PIT OF 118 117 284 10 10 4
1911 PIT OF 101 0 216 8 7 3
1913 PIT OF 2 0 2 0 0 0
1915 PIT OF 1 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Third Base 1
Shortstop 6
Left Field 2187
Center Field 4
Right Field 6

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1911 Baseball Magazine All-Star LF
1911 Baseball Magazine All-Star LF
1909 Baseball Magazine All-Star LF
1909 Baseball Magazine All-Star LF
1908 Baseball Magazine All-Star LF
1908 Baseball Magazine All-Star LF