Sleeper Sullivan, baseball player, 1881-1884

Sleeper Sullivan

Born: 1859 in Ireland

Died: 10/13/1909 in St. Louis, MO, USA

MLB Debut: 1881-05-03 | Final Game: 1884-05-29

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'7" | Weight: 175 lbs

Full name: Thomas Jefferson Sullivan

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Biography

Sleeper Sullivan was a professional baseball player born in 1859, who played in the early years of Major League Baseball from 1881 until 1884. Primarily serving as a position player, Sullivan participated in a total of 96 games during his career. He recorded 63 hits, contributing to a batting average of .184, and he amassed 15 runs batted in. Notably, Sullivan did not hit any home runs or steal any bases throughout his time in the league, reflecting the different playing style and strategies of the era, which was still developing in terms of offensive power and base running. Sullivan's career unfolded during a formative period in baseball history, a time when the game was moving away from the deadball era's emphasis on contact hitting and strategic play. While his individual statistics may not stand out in the annals of baseball history, his participation during this transitional phase contributed to the evolution of the game. As the sport grew and transformed in the years following his retirement on May 29, 1884, players like Sullivan helped lay the groundwork for the modern game that would eventually emerge.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
96 342 39 63 7 4 0 15 0 4 21 0.184 0.194 0.228 0.422 -1447.1

Career AVG .184 vs. league average .249 across their career seasons — 26.1% below league average.

Career OBP .194 vs. league average .281 across their career seasons — 31.2% below league average.

Career SLG .228 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 31.6% below league average.

Career OPS 0.422 vs. league average 0.615 across their career seasons — 31.4% below 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
1881 BFN NL 35 121 13 23 4 0 0 15 0 1 21 0.190 .260 (-27%) .290 (-32%) .338 (-34%) .628 (-33%) -597.2
1882 SL4 AA 51 188 24 34 3 3 0 0 0 3 0 0.181 .248 (-27%) .275 (-30%) .329 (-31%) .605 (-30%) -849.9
1883 SL4 AA 8 27 2 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.222 — — — — 0.0
1883 LS2 AA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1884 SLU UA 1 4 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
C 90 0 379 90 82 6
OF 7 0 6 3 4 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1881 BFN C 31 0 108 31 24 1
1881 BFN OF 5 0 3 2 3 0
1882 SL4 C 51 0 232 46 53 4
1883 SL4 C 6 0 35 11 3 1
1883 SL4 OF 2 0 3 1 1 0
1883 LS2 C 1 0 1 1 1 0
1884 SLU C 1 0 3 1 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Catcher 90
Center Field 3
Right Field 5