Fred Merkle

Born: 12/20/1888 in Watertown, WI, USA

Died: 3/2/1956 in Daytona Beach, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1907-09-21 | Final Game: 1926-09-26

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'1" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Carl Frederick Rudolf Merkle

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Biography

Fred Merkle, born in 1888, was a prominent position player in Major League Baseball whose career spanned from 1907 to 1926. He played a total of 1,638 games, recording 1,580 hits, 61 home runs, and 733 RBIs, while maintaining a batting average of .273. Known for his speed on the bases, Merkle also stole 272 bases throughout his career, showcasing his versatility and athleticism. Merkle's playing style was characterized by aggressive base running and a keen eye at the plate, contributing to his significant impact on the game during the early 20th century. He is perhaps best remembered for the infamous "Merkle's Boner" incident in 1908, which became a pivotal moment in baseball history and highlighted the importance of base running awareness. As a player who competed during a transitional period in baseball, Merkle's achievements and challenges reflected the evolving nature of the sport, and his legacy continues to be a subject of interest among baseball historians.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1638	5782	720	1580	290	82	61	733	272	454	645	0.273	0.331	0.383	0.714	8019.8

Career AVG .273 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +5.3% above league average.

Career OBP .331 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .383 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +11.3% above league average.

Career OPS 0.714 vs. league average 0.668 across their career seasons — +6.9% 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
1907	NY1	NL	15	47	0	12	1	0	0	5	0	1	7	0.255	—	—	—	—	0.0
1908	NY1	NL	38	41	6	11	2	1	1	7	0	4	9	0.268	—	—	—	—	0.0
1909	NY1	NL	79	236	15	45	9	1	0	20	8	16	46	0.191	.244 (-22%)	.306 (-20%)	.312 (-24%)	.618 (-22%)	-861.6
1910	NY1	NL	144	506	75	148	35	14	4	70	23	44	59	0.292	.249 (+17%)	.317 (+11%)	.326 (+35%)	.644 (+23%)	1982.9
1911	NY1	NL	149	541	80	153	24	10	12	84	49	43	60	0.283	.266 (+6%)	.336 (+2%)	.356 (+21%)	.693 (+12%)	1104.0
1912	NY1	NL	129	479	82	148	22	6	11	84	37	42	70	0.309	.268 (+15%)	.335 (+11%)	.358 (+25%)	.694 (+19%)	1749.9
1913	NY1	NL	153	563	78	147	30	13	3	69	35	41	60	0.261	.259 (+1%)	.325 (-3%)	.345 (+9%)	.670 (+3%)	144.7
1914	NY1	NL	146	512	71	132	25	7	7	63	23	52	80	0.258	.255 (+1%)	.322 (+2%)	.339 (+11%)	.661 (+6%)	559.5
1915	NY1	NL	140	505	52	151	25	3	4	62	20	36	39	0.299	.250 (+19%)	.318 (+9%)	.332 (+16%)	.651 (+12%)	1132.0
1916	NY1	NL	112	401	45	95	19	3	7	44	17	33	46	0.237	.248 (-5%)	.314 (-2%)	.326 (+8%)	.640 (+3%)	194.3
1916	BRO	NL	23	69	6	16	1	0	0	2	2	7	4	0.232	.248 (-7%)	.314 (-1%)	.326 (-25%)	.640 (-13%)	194.3
1917	BRO	NL	2	8	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.125	—	—	—	—	0.0
1917	CHC	NL	146	549	65	146	30	9	3	57	13	42	60	0.266	.248 (+7%)	.312 (+3%)	.323 (+14%)	.635 (+9%)	0.0
1918	CHC	NL	129	482	55	143	25	5	3	65	21	35	36	0.297	.255 (+16%)	.318 (+10%)	.326 (+19%)	.645 (+14%)	1205.2
1919	CHC	NL	133	498	52	133	20	6	3	62	20	33	35	0.267	.262 (+2%)	.322 (-2%)	.347 (avg)	.670 (-1%)	-143.7
1920	CHC	NL	92	330	33	94	20	4	3	38	3	24	32	0.285	.271 (+5%)	.331 (+1%)	.363 (+9%)	.694 (+5%)	269.3
1925	NYY	AL	7	13	4	5	1	0	0	1	1	1	1	0.385	—	—	—	—	0.0
1926	NYY	AL	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
27	88	10	21	3	1	1	9	9	18	0.239

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1918	WS	CHN	6	18	1	5	0	0	0	1	4	3	0.278
1916	WS	BRO	3	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	0.250
1913	WS	NY1	4	13	3	3	0	0	1	3	1	2	0.231
1912	WS	NY1	8	33	5	9	2	1	0	3	0	7	0.273
1911	WS	NY1	6	20	1	3	1	0	0	1	2	6	0.150

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	1547	219	15419	847	252	839
2B	3	2	3	5	0	1
3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
OF	46	1	91	8	2	2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1907	NY1	1B	15	14	122	7	7	4
1908	NY1	1B	11	1	60	1	0	2
1908	NY1	2B	1	1	2	2	0	1
1908	NY1	3B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1908	NY1	OF	5	1	3	0	0	0
1909	NY1	1B	70	61	625	27	16	29
1909	NY1	2B	1	1	1	3	0	0
1910	NY1	1B	144	143	1390	84	29	87
1911	NY1	1B	148	0	1375	117	22	73
1912	NY1	1B	129	0	1229	72	27	77
1913	NY1	1B	153	0	1463	76	22	86
1914	NY1	1B	146	0	1463	88	16	80
1915	NY1	1B	110	0	1123	53	13	62
1915	NY1	OF	30	0	68	5	2	1
1916	NY1	1B	112	0	1183	58	20	61
1916	BRO	1B	15	0	126	4	1	3
1916	BRO	OF	4	0	5	1	0	0
1917	BRO	1B	2	0	23	1	0	1
1917	CHN	1B	140	0	1415	66	26	84
1917	CHN	OF	6	0	15	2	0	1
1918	CHN	1B	129	0	1388	82	15	69
1919	CHN	1B	132	0	1494	56	23	66
1919	CHN	2B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1920	CHN	1B	85	0	906	54	15	52
1920	CHN	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1925	NYA	1B	5	0	28	1	0	3
1926	NYA	1B	1	0	6	0	0	0