Gid Gardner, baseball player, 1879-1888

Gid Gardner

Born: 5/6/1859 in Boston, MA, USA

Died: 8/1/1914 in Cambridge, MA, USA

MLB Debut: 1879-08-23 | Final Game: 1888-05-29

Bats: R | Throws: RWeight: 165 lbs

Full name: Franklin Washington Gardner

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Biography

Gid Gardner was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1859, whose career spanned from 1879 until his final game on May 29, 1888. He played during a transformative period in baseball, as the sport was evolving from its early days into a more organized and competitive structure. Gardner's career record stood at 2-12, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.9, reflecting the challenges faced by pitchers in the late 19th century when offensive strategies were changing and hitters began to dominate the game. Throughout his career, Gardner recorded a total of 33 strikeouts, showcasing moments of individual brilliance on the mound despite his overall win-loss record. Although he did not accumulate any saves, his contributions to his teams during the early years of professional baseball were significant in their own right. Gid Gardner's experience in the game during its formative years helped set the stage for future generations of pitchers, highlighting the essential role of the mound in the sport's strategy and development.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
2 12 15 13 12 0 0 113.0 142 49 5 28 33 3.90 0

Career ERA 3.90 vs. league average 3.00 across their career seasons — 30.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1879 TRN NL 0 2 2 2 2 0 0 14.0 27 9 0 3 5.79 2.50 (-132%) 65.2
1880 CL2 NL 1 8 9 9 9 0 0 77.0 80 22 20 21 2.57 2.37 (-8%) -1430.6
1883 BL2 AA 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 7.0 9 4 1 2 5.14 — 0.0
1884 CHU UA 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 6.0 10 4 1 4 6.00 — 0.0
1885 BL2 AA 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 16 10 6 3 10.00 3.03 (-230%) 0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
199 765 113 178 33 18 4 30 7 69 16 0.233 0.298 0.339 0.636 433.0

Career AVG .233 vs. league average .250 across their career seasons — 6.9% below league average.

Career OBP .298 vs. league average .292 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .339 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS 0.636 vs. league average 0.627 across their career seasons — near 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
1879 TRN NL 2 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.167 — — — — 0.0
1880 CL2 NL 10 32 0 6 1 1 0 4 0 2 4 0.188 — — — — 0.0
1883 BL2 AA 42 161 28 44 10 3 1 0 0 18 0 0.273 .257 (+6%) .285 (+21%) .345 (+13%) .631 (+17%) 480.6
1884 BL2 AA 41 173 32 37 6 8 2 0 0 14 0 0.214 .243 (-12%) .278 (+1%) .327 (+15%) .606 (+8%) 188.3
1884 CHU UA 38 149 22 38 10 2 0 0 0 10 0 0.255 .243 (+5%) .278 (+8%) .327 (+7%) .606 (+7%) 188.3
1884 BLU UA 1 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.250 — — — — 188.3
1885 BL2 AA 44 170 22 37 5 4 0 17 0 12 0 0.218 .244 (-11%) .287 (-6%) .325 (-10%) .613 (-8%) -206.6
1887 IN3 NL 18 63 8 11 1 0 1 8 7 12 11 0.175 .270 (-36%) .331 (-8%) .373 (-36%) .705 (-23%) -195.3
1888 WS8 NL 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1888 PHI NL 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0.667 — — — — 0.0
1888 WS8 NL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 3 0 17 3 0 3
2B 53 0 142 171 41 18
3B 11 0 14 15 3 2
OF 121 0 179 21 34 0
P 15 0 4 25 10 0
SS 2 0 5 6 4 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1879 TRN P 2 0 1 2 4 0
1880 CL2 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1880 CL2 P 9 0 0 17 3 0
1883 BL2 2B 4 0 8 13 5 0
1883 BL2 3B 3 0 4 5 2 0
1883 BL2 OF 35 0 62 5 13 0
1883 BL2 P 2 0 0 2 2 0
1884 BL2 1B 2 0 13 2 0 2
1884 BL2 OF 40 0 62 12 12 0
1884 CHU 2B 1 0 4 3 1 1
1884 CHU 3B 8 0 10 10 1 2
1884 CHU OF 29 0 32 2 5 0
1884 CHU P 1 0 1 3 0 0
1884 BLU SS 1 0 3 2 2 1
1885 BL2 1B 1 0 4 1 0 1
1885 BL2 2B 39 0 113 132 30 16
1885 BL2 OF 5 0 10 1 4 0
1885 BL2 P 1 0 2 1 1 0
1887 IN3 2B 7 0 13 22 5 1
1887 IN3 OF 11 0 13 1 0 0
1888 WS8 SS 1 0 2 4 2 1
1888 PHI 2B 1 0 2 1 0 0
1888 WS8 2B 1 0 2 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 15
First Base 3
Second Base 53
Third Base 11
Shortstop 2
Left Field 16
Center Field 36
Right Field 69