Sam Mertes

Born: 8/6/1872 in San Francisco, CA, USA

Died: 3/11/1945 in Villa Grande, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1896-06-30 | Final Game: 1906-09-15

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 185 lbs

Full name: Samuel Blair Mertes

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Biography

Samuel Mertes, born in 1872, was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1896 until 1906. Over the course of his career, Mertes showcased his skills primarily as a pitcher, finishing with a record of 1-0 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 1.93. Although his career was relatively short, his performance on the mound during this early era of baseball highlighted his ability to effectively manage games, even if he did not achieve a high volume of strikeouts or saves. Mertes played during a time when baseball was transitioning from the deadball era, characterized by low scoring and strategic play, to a more modern style of the game. His contributions, albeit limited in statistical achievement, reflected the competitive spirit of the league during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. With a unique place in baseball history, Mertes remains a notable figure for his role in the evolution of pitching in the sport.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
1	0	1	1	0	0	0	4.7	6	1	0	0	0	1.93	0

Career ERA 1.93 vs. league average 3.17 across their career seasons — 39.2% better 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
1902	CHW	AL	1	0	1	1	0	0	0	4.7	6	1	0	0	1.93	—	-

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1190	4405	695	1227	188	108	40	721	396	422	378	0.279	0.346	0.398	0.744	9683.1

Career AVG .279 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — +5.4% above league average.

Career OBP .346 vs. league average .322 across their career seasons — +7.3% above league average.

Career SLG .398 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +15.5% above league average.

Career OPS 0.744 vs. league average 0.667 across their career seasons — +11.5% 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
1896	PHI	NL	37	143	20	34	4	4	0	14	19	8	10	0.238	.290 (-18%)	.354 (-19%)	.387 (-17%)	.741 (-18%)	-484.0
1898	CHC	NL	83	269	45	80	4	8	1	47	27	34	28	0.297	.270 (+10%)	.333 (+16%)	.347 (+10%)	.680 (+13%)	747.8
1899	CHC	NL	117	426	83	127	13	16	9	81	45	33	35	0.298	.282 (+6%)	.343 (+1%)	.366 (+27%)	.710 (+15%)	1040.2
1900	CHC	NL	127	481	72	142	25	4	7	60	38	42	26	0.295	.279 (+6%)	.338 (+5%)	.366 (+11%)	.705 (+8%)	780.6
1901	CHW	AL	137	545	94	151	16	17	5	98	46	52	34	0.277	.271 (+2%)	.326 (+6%)	.359 (+10%)	.686 (+8%)	892.7
1902	CHW	AL	129	497	60	140	23	7	1	79	46	37	43	0.282	.266 (+6%)	.321 (+4%)	.343 (+5%)	.665 (+5%)	410.5
1903	NY1	NL	138	517	100	145	32	14	7	104	45	61	45	0.280	.261 (+7%)	.316 (+14%)	.345 (+26%)	.662 (+20%)	2019.9
1904	NY1	NL	148	532	83	147	28	11	4	78	47	54	48	0.276	.246 (+12%)	.300 (+15%)	.321 (+22%)	.622 (+19%)	1848.8
1905	NY1	NL	150	551	81	154	27	17	5	108	52	56	51	0.279	.248 (+13%)	.307 (+14%)	.322 (+29%)	.629 (+22%)	2174.3
1906	NY1	NL	71	253	37	60	9	6	1	33	21	29	32	0.237	.247 (-4%)	.307 (+5%)	.315 (+5%)	.622 (+5%)	246.3
1906	STL	NL	53	191	20	47	7	4	0	19	10	16	26	0.246	.247 (-1%)	.307 (-1%)	.315 (+3%)	.622 (+1%)	246.3

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
5	17	2	3	1	0	0	2	2	5	0.176

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1905	WS	NY1	5	17	2	3	1	0	0	2	2	5	0.176

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	40	0	384	22	13	21
2B	138	0	349	419	54	61
3B	1	0	4	1	1	0
C	3	0	3	1	1	0
OF	974	422	1737	140	123	28
P	1	0	0	0	0	0
SS	29	1	55	64	10	10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1896	PHI	2B	1	0	0	0	0	0
1896	PHI	OF	35	0	85	3	9	0
1896	PHI	SS	1	0	1	2	0	1
1898	CHN	1B	2	0	1	0	0	0
1898	CHN	2B	4	0	11	17	5	6
1898	CHN	OF	60	0	97	13	15	6
1898	CHN	SS	14	0	19	23	7	4
1899	CHN	1B	3	0	24	4	2	4
1899	CHN	OF	108	0	197	20	18	4
1899	CHN	SS	1	0	2	3	1	1
1900	CHN	1B	33	0	340	17	10	16
1900	CHN	OF	88	0	180	13	16	4
1900	CHN	SS	7	0	12	19	2	2
1901	CHA	2B	132	0	337	396	47	54
1901	CHA	OF	5	0	20	0	0	0
1902	CHA	1B	1	0	10	1	0	1
1902	CHA	2B	1	0	1	6	2	1
1902	CHA	3B	1	0	4	1	1	0
1902	CHA	C	2	0	3	0	1	0
1902	CHA	OF	120	0	223	26	21	5
1902	CHA	P	1	0	0	0	0	0
1902	CHA	SS	5	0	17	15	0	2
1903	NY1	1B	1	0	9	0	1	0
1903	NY1	C	1	0	0	1	0	0
1903	NY1	OF	137	0	265	24	8	5
1904	NY1	OF	147	147	244	17	12	1
1904	NY1	SS	1	1	4	2	0	0
1905	NY1	OF	150	150	230	10	10	3
1906	NY1	OF	71	72	119	10	4	0
1906	SLN	OF	53	53	77	4	10	0