Germany Schaefer

Born: 2/4/1876 in Chicago, IL, USA

Died: 5/16/1919 in Saranac Lake, NY, USA

MLB Debut: 1901-10-05 | Final Game: 1918-04-25

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: William Herman Schaefer

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Biography

Germany Schaefer, born in 1876, was a notable position player in Major League Baseball who played from 1901 to 1918. Over the course of his career, he participated in 1,150 games, where he showcased his skills as a versatile infielder and outfielder. Schaefer recorded a total of 972 hits, contributing to a career batting average of .257. Known for his speed on the basepaths, he amassed 201 stolen bases and drove in 309 runs, establishing himself as a key contributor to his teams. Schaefer's playing style embodied the competitive spirit of early 20th-century baseball, an era characterized by its focus on speed and strategic play rather than the power hitting that would later define the game. With a career that spanned the years leading up to and including World War I, he played for several teams, including the Detroit Tigers and the Washington Senators. His legacy remains significant, not only for his on-field achievements but also for his embodiment of the evolving role of players in baseball during a transformative period in the sport's history.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1150	3784	496	972	117	48	9	309	201	333	499	0.257	0.319	0.320	0.639	368.9

Career AVG .257 vs. league average .254 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .319 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .320 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS 0.639 vs. league average 0.650 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
1901	CHC	NL	2	5	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	2	1	0.600	—	—	—	—	0.0
1902	CHC	NL	81	291	32	57	2	3	0	14	12	19	47	0.196	.266 (-27%)	.321 (-22%)	.343 (-35%)	.665 (-29%)	-1436.9
1905	DET	AL	153	554	64	135	17	9	2	47	19	45	91	0.244	.248 (-2%)	.307 (-2%)	.322 (-2%)	.629 (-2%)	-195.9
1906	DET	AL	124	446	48	106	14	3	2	43	31	32	57	0.238	.247 (-4%)	.307 (-6%)	.315 (-6%)	.622 (-6%)	-479.4
1907	DET	AL	109	372	44	96	12	3	1	32	21	30	34	0.258	.245 (+5%)	.304 (+3%)	.308 (+2%)	.613 (+2%)	153.7
1908	DET	AL	153	584	96	151	20	10	3	52	40	37	75	0.259	.240 (+7%)	.298 (+2%)	.306 (+12%)	.605 (+7%)	561.5
1909	DET	AL	87	280	26	70	12	0	0	22	12	14	48	0.250	.244 (+2%)	.306 (-7%)	.312 (-6%)	.618 (-7%)	-343.1
1909	WSN	AL	37	128	13	31	5	1	1	4	2	6	13	0.242	.244 (-1%)	.306 (-8%)	.312 (+3%)	.618 (-3%)	-343.1
1910	WSN	AL	74	229	27	63	6	5	0	14	17	25	44	0.275	.249 (+10%)	.317 (+11%)	.326 (+6%)	.644 (+8%)	347.8
1911	WSN	AL	125	440	74	147	14	7	0	45	22	57	42	0.334	.266 (+25%)	.336 (+22%)	.356 (+11%)	.693 (+17%)	1649.7
1912	WSN	AL	60	166	21	41	7	3	0	19	11	23	19	0.247	.268 (-8%)	.335 (+2%)	.358 (-9%)	.694 (-4%)	-69.3
1913	WSN	AL	54	100	17	32	1	1	0	7	6	15	12	0.320	.259 (+23%)	.325 (+29%)	.345 (+1%)	.670 (+15%)	342.3
1914	WSN	AL	30	29	6	7	1	0	0	2	4	3	5	0.241	—	—	—	—	0.0
1915	NEW	FL	59	154	26	33	5	3	0	8	3	25	11	0.214	.250 (-14%)	.318 (+3%)	.332 (-14%)	.651 (-6%)	-78.2
1916	NYY	AL	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1918	CLE	AL	1	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
0	0	2	0	0	0	0	1.0	3	2	1	0	0	18.00	0

Career ERA 18.00 vs. league average 3.21 across their career seasons — 460.2% 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
1912	WSN	AL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.7	1	0	0	0	0.00	—	-
1913	WSN	AL	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0.3	2	2	0	0	54.00	—	-

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
10	37	1	5	0	0	0	0	1	7	0.135

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1908	WS	DET	5	16	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	4	0.125
1907	WS	DET	5	21	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0.143

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	145	0	1364	81	29	71
2B	588	549	1419	1623	147	189
3B	133	46	186	276	54	16
OF	78	25	81	13	6	2
P	2	0	0	1	0	0
SS	97	90	226	333	49	38

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1901	CHN	2B	1	0	3	2	0	1
1901	CHN	3B	1	0	3	2	0	0
1902	CHN	1B	3	0	35	1	1	2
1902	CHN	3B	75	0	103	152	40	11
1902	CHN	OF	2	0	4	1	0	1
1902	CHN	SS	1	0	1	2	2	0
1905	DET	2B	151	151	403	389	37	35
1905	DET	SS	3	2	7	5	0	0
1906	DET	2B	114	112	348	328	37	42
1906	DET	SS	7	7	20	24	6	3
1907	DET	2B	74	76	188	206	16	23
1907	DET	3B	14	14	21	32	3	0
1907	DET	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1907	DET	SS	18	15	36	48	4	0
1908	DET	2B	58	60	122	160	15	22
1908	DET	3B	29	27	35	65	5	1
1908	DET	SS	68	66	162	254	37	35
1909	DET	2B	86	84	180	273	16	26
1909	DET	OF	1	1	1	0	0	0
1909	WS1	2B	32	32	52	91	9	16
1909	WS1	3B	1	1	2	2	1	0
1910	WS1	2B	35	34	60	104	8	15
1910	WS1	3B	2	4	1	5	0	0
1910	WS1	OF	26	24	29	4	3	1
1911	WS1	1B	108	0	1038	71	23	57
1911	WS1	OF	7	0	10	0	0	0
1912	WS1	1B	15	0	125	2	2	5
1912	WS1	2B	15	0	30	24	4	2
1912	WS1	OF	19	0	14	4	2	0
1912	WS1	P	1	0	0	0	0	0
1913	WS1	1B	6	0	57	1	2	1
1913	WS1	2B	16	0	26	37	5	5
1913	WS1	3B	2	0	2	1	0	0
1913	WS1	OF	1	0	3	0	0	0
1913	WS1	P	1	0	0	1	0	0
1914	WS1	2B	3	0	3	1	0	0
1914	WS1	OF	3	0	3	1	0	0
1915	NEW	1B	13	0	109	6	1	6
1915	NEW	2B	2	0	1	5	0	2
1915	NEW	3B	9	0	19	17	5	4
1915	NEW	OF	17	0	17	3	1	0
1916	NYA	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1918	CLE	2B	1	0	3	3	0	0