Six former Pittsburgh Pirates born on this date, plus two trades of note.
The Trades
On this date in 2009, the Pirates traded Adam LaRoche to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for two minor leaguers, shortstop Argenis Diaz and pitcher Hunter Strickland. LaRoche played three years in Pittsburgh, hitting .265 with 58 homers and 213 RBIs in 375 games. The Pirates were getting two prospects for their starting first baseman, but neither worked out. Diaz played 22 games for the Pirates in 2010, hitting .242 in 33 at-bats, but never played in the majors again. Strickland missed most of 2010 and all of 2011 with elbow and shoulder problems, then was lost on waivers in 2013 before making the majors. He has pitched in the majors in since 2014, posting a 3.28 ERA in 375 appearances and 343 innings pitched through early July of 2022. LaRoche played just six games for Boston before they dealt him to the Atlanta Braves for first baseman Casey Kotchman.
On this date in 1988, the Pirates traded outfielder Darnell Coles to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for outfielder Glenn Wilson. Coles had been acquired by the Pirates from the Detroit Tigers during the previous August for veteran third baseman Jim Morrison. The 26-year-old Coles hit .230 with 11 homers and 60 RBIs in 108 games for the Pirates over his two partial seasons. He played eight years in the majors after the deal, spending time with seven different teams, never approaching the numbers he put up in 1986 with the Tigers (.273 average, 20 homers, 86 RBIs). Wilson was a 29-year-old outfielder, who was in his seventh season in the majors. He was hitting .250 with three homers in 78 games for the Mariners at the time of the deal. In 1985 for the Philadelphia Phillies, he drove in 102 runs and made the National League All-Star team. For the Pirates, he hit .274 with 11 homers and 64 RBIs in 147 games over the 1988-89 seasons before being traded to the Houston Astros in August 1989 for outfielder Billy Hatcher.
The Players
George Gibson, catcher for the 1905-1916 Pirates. He was born in Canada and his pro career began in 1903 at the age of 22, seeing brief time with Kingston of the Class-D Hudson River League (32 games) and Buffalo of the Class-A Eastern League (six games), which was the highest level of the minors at the time. Gibson moved on to Montreal of the Eastern League in 1904, where he hit just .204 with seven doubles and three triples in 80 games. The next season he was hitting .290 with six doubles and a triple through 41 games for Montreal when the Pirates acquired him on June 27th, beating out the New York Highlanders (Yankees) for his services. He joined the team two days later and he was in the lineup by July 2nd, catching Deacon Phillippe in his debut, though it was said that Gibson had a fairly bad hand injury at the time. Owner Barney Dreyfuss praised his defense, while acknowledging that he had almost no pro experience and he was a raw talent. Gibson played 46 games in his rookie season and batted .178 with six extra-base hits, 14 RBIs and a .536 OPS. He was there for his defense and he threw out 49% of runners attempting to steal.
Gibson received about half of the work behind the plate in 1906 and batted .178 again, this time with an OPS that was just .434 for the year in 81 games. He began to see extra work in 1907 due to his defense, and the offense improved slightly with more chances to bat. Gibson hit .220 with 18 extra-base hits, 35 RBIs and a .562 OPS in 113 games. He led all National League catchers with 109 games caught. His OPS was basically the same in 1908, though he played even more. In 143 games that year, he batted .228 with 37 runs, 19 doubles, 45 RBIs and a .557 OPS. Gibson was a workhorse during the 1909 season when catchers played with inferior equipment to today’s standards. He started 150 games, catching all but 66 of the team’s innings that year, including the World Series. Gibson set career highs in games, hits (135), doubles (25), triples (nine) and RBIs (52) that season, finishing with a career best 4.7 WAR. His .265 average and .686 OPS were the highest marks of his career to that point. He threw out 138 runners attempting to steal and led the league with a .983 fielding percentage.
In 1910, Gibson led the league in games caught for a fourth straight time, while also leading in caught stealing and fielding percentage for a second straight year. He batted .259 with 22 doubles, six triples, 44 RBIs and a career high 53 runs scored. Gibson’s defense was so good behind the plate that he received mild MVP support during the 1911 season (17th place finish) when he batted .209 in 100 games, with a .541 OPS that was 140 points lower than the previous season. The hitting improved in each of the next three years, though his time was limited due to injuries and solid catching partners. Gibson had a .240 average, 19 extra-base hits, 35 RBIs and a .616 OPS in 95 games in 1912. He led the league with a .990 fielding percentage, which was a Major League record at the time. He had a .280 average and a .689 OPS in 48 games in 1913, missing nearly two full months after he crashed into the stands while chasing a pop up on April 20th. He was healthy for 1914 and hit a career high .285 in 102 games, putting up a career best .713 OPS. Gibson played 120 games during the 1915 season, hitting .251 with 28 runs, 22 extra-base hits, 30 RBIs and a .649 OPS. He was batting just .202 through 33 games played in 1916 before the Pirates placed him on waivers in August, where he was picked up by the New York Giants.
Gibson didn’t report to New York until the 1917 season and saw limited time there. He ended up playing 39 games and getting 93 plate appearances for the 1917-18 Giants before his big league career ended. He was a player-manager for Toronto of the Double-A International League in 1919, though he saw limited field work. Gibson would go on to manage seven seasons in the majors, including two separate stints with the Pirates. He was at the head of the club during the 1920-22 seasons and the 1932-34 seasons, posting a 401-330 record. He led the club to a second place finish in 1921, 1932 and 1933. He also briefly managed the 1925 Chicago Cubs. He wasn’t much of a hitter during his career, but his defense was great and he had a strong arm. Gibson led all catchers in fielding three times and he threw out 47.5% of runners during his career. In 1,174 games in Pittsburgh, he had a .238 average, with 294 runs, 138 doubles, 49 triples, 15 homers and 341 RBIs. He was the Pirates leader in games caught for just over 90 years before being surpassed by Jason Kendall.
We had two articles here related to Gibson, the first being a talk with Martin Healy Jr., co-author of a book on Gibson. The second article was also from Healy and it dealt with a memorabilia item related to Gibson. As a side note, Healy passed away not too long after contributing that second article, so we feel honored to have had his work submitted here.
Ryan Vogelsong, pitcher for the 2001, 2003-06 and 2016 Pirates. He was a fifth round draft pick in 1998 of the San Francisco Giants out of Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. He was the first of two MLB players to be drafted out of that school. Vogelsong had ten starts in short-season ball with Salem-Keizer of the Northwest League during that 1998 season, posting a 6-1, 1.77 record in 56 innings, with 66 strikeouts. He was skipped to High-A to finish the year and had a 7.58 ERA in four starts with San Jose of the California League. The 1999 season was split between San Jose and Double-A Shreveport of the Texas League, with success at the lower level (2.45 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 69.1 innings) and rough times in the upper level (7.31 ERA in 28.1 innings). He spent all of 2000 in Shreveport, going 6-10, 4.23 in 155.1 innings over 27 starts, picking up 147 strikeouts. He finished the year in the majors with six innings of shutout ball over four relief appearances.
In 2001, Vogelsong split his time between Triple-A and the majors with both the Giants and the Pirates. The Pirates acquired him on July 30, 2001, along with outfielder Armando Rios, in exchange for Jason Schmidt and John Vander Wal. At the time of the deal, Vogelsong had pitched 13 games in relief for the Giants, with a 5.65 ERA in 28.2 innings. He had never pitched in relief in the minors, so when the Pirates got him, they sent him to Nashville of the Pacific Coast League, putting him back in the starter role. Vogelsong made two September starts for the Pirates in 2001, failing to get past the third inning in each game. Worse than the two losses he picked up was the fact he needed elbow surgery that would cost him half of the following season, with the other half spent rehabbing in the minors. He had a 5-6, 3.21 record in 89.2 innings over 16 starts at Triple-A in 2001, and he went 0-5, 6.75 in 34.2 innings in the majors. His 2002 rehab was 12 starts split between Lynchburg of the High-A Carolina League (four starts) and Altoona of the Double-A Eastern League. He went 2-6, 6.22 in 59.1 innings.
Vogelsong began the 2003 season in Nashville as a starter, while getting recalled by the Pirates three separate times during the season. He made 26 minor league starts that year, going 12-8, 4.29 with 146 strikeouts in 149 innings. For Pittsburgh, he went 2-2, 6.55 in 22 innings over six games (five starts). In 2004, Vogelsong made the Pirates out of Spring Training and would make 26 starts, as well as five relief appearances. He went 6-13, 6.50, throwing a total of 133 innings. By the next season, he was throwing strictly out of the bullpen, making 44 appearances, with a 4.43 ERA in 81.1 innings. He resumed the role the next year but after limited success, posting a 6.39 ERA in 38 innings over 20 appearances, he went sent to Triple-A Indianapolis of the International League, then released at the end of the season. Vogelsong pitched three years in Japan (2007-09) with limited success in a swing-man role. He then returned to the states in 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies organization, spending time with Lehigh Valley of the International League. He also spent part of that season in Triple-A (Salt Lake of the Pacific Coast League) with the Los Angeles Angels. He combined to go 3-8, 4.81 with 110 strikeouts in 95.1 over 14 starts and 19 relief appearances. He played in Venezuela over the 2011-12 winter, where he had a lot of success, posting a 2.25 ERA in 11 starts.
In January of 2011, Vogelsong re-signed with the Giants and made an incredible turnaround, winning 27 games over his first two seasons, while making the 2011 National League All-Star team. He went 13-7, 2.71 in 179.2 innings in 2011, earning an 11th place finish in the Cy Young race. In 2012, he helped the Giants to a World Series victory by going 14-9, 3.37 in 189.2 innings, with a career high 158 strikeouts. He went 3-0 in four playoff starts and allowed just three runs in 24.2 innings. He missed part of the 2013 season with a broken hand and struggled when he did pitch, going 4-6, 5.73 in 103.2 innings over 19 starts. The Giants won the World Series again in 2014 and Vogelsong went 8-13, 4.00 in 32 starts, with 151 strikeouts in 184.2 innings. His postseason success from two years earlier didn’t carry over, but San Francisco still won their third title in five seasons. He allowed nine earned runs in 12.1 innings during the playoffs. In 2015, he went 9-11, 4.67 in 135.1 innings over 22 starts and 11 relief appearance. He was let go via free agency and signed with the Pirates for the 2016 season. In what would be his last year in the majors, he went 3-7, 4.81 in 82.1 innings over 14 starts and ten relief appearances, while missing time after getting hit in the face while batting. For the Pirates, he went 13-26, 5.73 in 127 games (47 as a starter) and 362.2 innings pitched. He was 48-49, 3.93 in 827.1 innings with the Giants. He finished with a 61-75, 4.48 record in 179 starts and 110 relief appearances, with 900 strikeouts in 1,190 innings. He threw two complete games in his career and one shutout, which was actually a six-inning game shortened due to rain.
Denny Gonzalez, infielder for the 1984-85 and 1987-88 Pirates. He was originally signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1981 out of the Dominican Republic just prior to his 18th birthday. The Pirates brought him to the Gulf Coast League that year and he hit .346 in 50 games, with 32 runs, ten extra-base hits and nearly double the amount of walks (29) as strikeouts (15). He moved quickly in the system, playing the 1982 season between Double-A Buffalo of the Eastern League and Triple-A Portland of the Pacific Coast League, hitting .257 in 119 games, with 51 runs, 22 extra-base hits, 47 walks and a .683 OPS, showing better results at the lower level. Gonzalez mostly played second base in his first two seasons. He was still there in 1983, but saw more time at shortstop that year. He played the entire season with Hawaii of the Pacific Coast League, where he hit .269 with 76 runs, 35 extra-base hits, 32 steals and 54 walks in 125 games. He was even better in Hawaii in 1984, hitting .300 with 22 doubles, seven triples, 15 homers and 40 stolen bases in 113 games. He had an .896 OPS that year that was 140 points higher than the previous season. That success led to him joining the Pirates for 26 games at the end of the year. He batted .183 with no homers and a .491 OPS in that first trial, while seeing time at three different positions.
The 1985 season was very similar to the previous year for Gonzalez. He was playing in Hawaii until joining the Pirates in August. He had an .853 OPS in 106 games in Triple-A that year, and he batted .226/.299/.355 with four homers in 35 games for the Pirates. The next year saw Gonzalez back in Hawaii for the entire year, and he slumped all season, finishing with a .222 average and a .639 OPS in 109 games. Gonzalez spent four seasons in the majors for the Pirates, although none of them were full seasons. He made just one Opening Day roster (1987), but that ended up being the year he played the least amount of games for Pittsburgh. He played just five games that season, and he failed to collect a hit. The rest of the year was spent with Vancouver of the PCL, where he hit .262 in 113 games, with 62 runs, 20 doubles, 13 homers, 57 RBIs, 19 steals and 71 walks. Gonzalez batted .188 in 24 games with the Pirates in 1988, while spending the rest of the year with Buffalo of the Triple-A American Association, as the Pirates switched affiliates for the second straight season. All told, he played 90 games for the Pirates, hitting an even .200 with four homers and 17 RBIs. With Pittsburgh, he played 34 games at third base, 25 at shortstop, 16 in left field and ten at second base.
Gonzalez was dealt to the Cleveland Indians in November of 1988 along with a player to be named later, for a player to be named later. The rest of the deal turned out to be Felix Fermin going to the Indians, while Jay Bell returned to the Pirates. Gonzalez went to the minors for the Indians, coming up for eight September games, which would be the last Major League games of his career. He went 5-for-17 with a double and a .686 OPS in his final big league season. He was done in the majors, but he was far from finished as a player. He played until 1998, spending time in the minors with the New York Mets (1990), Cincinnati Reds (1990-92) and Boston Red Sox (1992), while also seeing time in Japan (1991-92) and China (1996), before playing out his career in Mexico (1993-95 and 1997-98). He then went on to become a trainer down in the Dominican. We posted an in depth article on Gonzalez here in our Obscure Pittsburgh Pirates feature.
R C Stevens, first baseman for the 1958-60 Pirates. He was a big (6’5″, 220 lbs) first baseman who the Pirates signed in 1952 out of high school in Georgia. He debuted in Class-D ball with Batavia of the PONY League, where he hit .256 with 23 extra-base hits in 110 games. The next year saw him move up to Class-C, playing for St Jean of the Provincial League, where he batted .313 with 97 runs, 43 extra-base hits, 77 RBIs and 82 walks in 121 games. He began showing big power numbers in 1954 as a 19-year-old in the Class-B Carolina League, where he hit 31 doubles and 25 homers. He also had 106 runs, 115 RBIs and 100 walks, posting a .920 OPS in 140 games for Burlington-Graham. Pittsburgh moved Stevens up the next year to the much tougher competition in the Pacific Coast League (considered to be one step below the majors), where he struggled during his first season in Hollywood with a .241 average, 22 extra-base hits, a .693 OPS and poor BB/SO numbers in 116 games. He came back with 70 runs, 15 doubles, 27 homers, 72 RBIs and 62 walks during the following year for Hollywood, adding 162 points to his OPS.
Stevens split the 1957 season between Hollywood and the Pirates Triple-A team (Columbus) in the International League, batting a combined .256 with 61 runs, 25 doubles, 19 homers, 68 RBIs, 81 walks and an .829 OPS in 135 games. He made the Pirates Opening Day roster in 1958 as a backup at first base, getting into 59 games throughout the year, which also included a trip to the minors in July for two months, where he had an .832 OPS in 64 games for Salt Lake City of the PCL. Stevens started 19 games for the 1958 Pirates, hitting .267 with seven homers, 18 RBIs and an .875 OPS in 90 at-bats. He would see limited time in each of the next two seasons in the majors, playing a combined 12 games, while spending most of those two years with Salt Lake City. He had solid stats in the minors in 1959, putting up a team-leading .827 OPS in 103 games. His big league time was limited to three games, and he went 2-for-7 with a homer. Stevens then had 37 homers and 109 RBIs for Salt Lake City in 1960. His .882 OPS that season was third best on the team.
The Pirates were in a pennant race in 1960 and Stevens didn’t join the club until September. He batted just three times (going 0-for-3) and was used as a defensive replacement at first base seven times for the tin-gloved Dick Stuart. The Pirates dealt Stevens to the Washington Senators on December 16, 1960 as part of a package to acquire pitcher Bobby Shantz. Stevens played one year with the expansion Senators in their first year, hitting .129/.217/.145 in 33 games. He returned to the minors in the middle of the 1961 season and stayed there until his retirement after the 1963 season. He finished out 1961 with Toronto of the International League, hitting .243 in 67 games, with ten doubles, 12 homers and 32 RBIs. He remained in Toronto in 1962, though his season was limited to 23 games due to service in the Army. He returned to Toronto for a time in 1963, then finished off his pro career with Quad Cities of the Class-A Midwest League. Stevens hit .210 with 21 runs, four doubles, eight homers and 21 RBIs in 176 plate appearances over 104 big league games. In 12 minor league seasons, he hit 191 homers. The “R C” for his name is actually his full name. Neither letter stands for anything.
Sheldon Lejeune, center fielder for the 1915 Pirates. He was a strong minor league hitter, with speed and a big arm, whose success never carried over to the majors. Lejeune batted .328 or higher in five of six seasons from 1910-1915, and he also did it with a bit of power, hitting as many as 25 homers in a season. In fact, during that 1912 season in Grand Rapids of the Central League when he hit 25 homers, the rest of his teammates combined for 15 homers. His Major League time was brief though, getting in six games for Brooklyn in 1911 and 18 games for the 1915 Pirates. His minor league career began in 1905 at 19 years old, and in 1907 with Missoula of the Mountain State League (no stats available), then played semi-pro ball in the Chicago area in 1906. In 1907, he went to Spring Training with the Chicago White Sox, but ended up spending the majority of the season with Springfield of the Class-B Central League, where he hit .270 with 70 runs in 112 games. He also saw brief time with Milwaukee of the Class-A American Association, which was the highest level of the minors at the time.
In 1908, Lejeune played for Dubuque in the Class-B Three-I League, where he hit .262 in 124 games, with 51 runs scored and 18 stolen bases (only available stats). In 1909, he moved on to Aberdeen of the Class-B Northwestern League, batting .246 in 152 games, with 20 doubles, 13 triples and 11 homers. Lejeune played the 1910 season with Evansville of the Central League, hitting .328 in 128 games, with 24 doubles, nine triples and 18 homers. After four straight seasons in Class-B, he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1911 and played six games over one week. He was actually injured during Spring Training in an auto accident and didn’t debut until May 10th. By May 19th, he was released to Chattanooga of the Class-A Southern Association. During his brief time in Brooklyn, Lejeune hit .158 with two steals. With Chattanooga that year, he batted .227 with 23 extra-base hits in 107 games. He dropped back down to Class-B in 1912 with Grand Rapids of the Central League. He hit .361 that season in 126 games, with 32 doubles, eight triples and 25 homers. In 1913, he batted .346 in 120 games, with 89 runs, 29 doubles, seven triples, eight homers, 49 steals and a .905 OPS.
The Pirates purchased Lejeune’s contract on September 10, 1914 from Sioux City of the Class-A Western League, but he didn’t join Pittsburgh until the following spring. Sioux City was managed by the younger brother of Fred Clarke, the Pirates manager at the time. Josh Clarke recommended his outfielder to the Pirates. Lejeune was batting .382 at the time that they acquired him, though his average was down to .361 by the end of the minor league season. He finished that 1914 season with 124 runs, 40 doubles, 14 triples, 11 homers, 50 steals and 102 walks in 151 games. For the 1915 Pirates, Lejeune batted just .169 with two RBIs and four stolen bases. He recorded four outfield assists during his brief time, playing all 18 of his games with Pittsburgh as the center fielder. When the Pirates started the season slow, Lejeune was sent to the bench, and soon was back in the minors, where he would end his playing days the next season. He played his final game for the Pirates on May 3rd and the next day he was released back to Sioux City. He put up big stats again in the minors in 1915, hitting .355 in 104 games, with 36 doubles, six triples and 14 homers. In his final season of pro ball in 1916, he batted .297 in 123 games for Sioux City, with 39 doubles, 11 triples and seven homers.
Lejeune’s big league exploits weren’t much to talk about, but he was well known at the time for one thing. He had the longest official recorded throw of a baseball at the time. In 1910, he threw a ball over 426 feet in the air during a yearly event held in Cincinnati, breaking the old record by at least ten feet. The official record was 400 feet set in 1872, but many “unofficial” throws had been made between 400 and 416, including one by Honus Wagner in 1898. Two years before his record breaking throw, he missed tying the record by one foot during the Cincinnati event.
Jack Glasscock, shortstop for the 1893-94 Pirates. He was a star shortstop, who had a 17-year career in the majors that saw him hit .290 with over 2,000 hits to his credit. Glasscock began his pro career during the first year that minor league call existed (1877) and within two years he was in the majors. At 19 years old in 1877, he played for Wheeling, Champion City and Buffalo in the League Alliance. During the 1878 season, he spent the year with Pittsburgh of the International Association (no minor league stats are available for him). He was a strong hitter, fast base runner and an even better defensive player, leading the league in fielding six times during his career, with five more second place finishes. It took Glasscock a few years to establish himself at the plate. As a rookie in 1879, he had a .209 average, 31 runs, 29 RBIs and a .479 OPS in 80 games for the Cleveland Blues. He hit .243 with 37 runs, 16 extra-base hits, 27 RBIs and a .556 OPS in 77 games in 1880. He then improved to a .602 OPS in a league leading 85 games in 1881. That year he hit .257 with 49 runs, nine doubles, five triples and 33 RBIs. The next year he batted .291 in 84 games, with 66 runs scored, 104 hits, 27 doubles, nine triples, four homers and 46 RBIs. Those four homers were the first four of his career
In his final full season in Cleveland in 1883, Glasscock hit .287 in 96 games, with 110 hits, 67 runs scored, 19 doubles, six triples and 46 RBIs. He split the 1884 season between Cleveland and a jump to Cincinnati of the Union Association. The latter league existed for just one season and the competition was considered to be low. However, it’s still rated as a Major League and Glasscock hit .419 in 38 games, with 48 runs scored. He was batting .249/.311/.303 in 72 games before the jump. He returned to the National League in 1885 with the St Louis Maroons and hit .280 in 111 games, with 66 runs scored, 22 extra-base hits (18 doubles) and 40 RBIs. He would end up with exactly 40 RBIs in each of the next two seasons as well. In 1886, he put up a .325 average in 121 games and scored 96 runs for St Louis, which was a career best to that point. He had 29 doubles, seven triples and three homers as well. Stolen base numbers are available for the first time in his career during that season and he had 38 steals that year.
Glasscock moved with most of his teammates to the Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1887. He hit .294 that year in 122 games, with 91 runs scored, 25 extra-base hits and a career high 62 stolen bases. He had a 41:8 BB/SO ratio that year, the first of two times he finished with that same mark in each category. His production dropped in 1888, with a .269 average, 63 runs, 48 steals and a .631 OPS in 113 games, but his best two seasons were right around the corner. In 134 games in 1889, he hit .352 with a league leading 204 hits, to go along with career highs of 40 doubles and 128 runs scored. He also stole 57 bases. His .857 OPS that year was a career best. With the Player’s League coming into existence in 1890, Glasscock led the National League with a .336 average in 1890. He also led with 172 hits, while picking up 32 doubles, 66 RBIs, 54 stolen bases, 91 runs scored and an extremely impressive 41:8 BB/SO ratio, matching his 1887 mark. His offense dropped off dramatically in 1891, with a .241 average, 46 runs, 18 extra-base hits, 55 RBIs and 29 steals in 97 games. He lost 211 points in his OPS that year. In 1892, he joined the St Louis Browns and hit .267 in 139 games, with 35 extra-base hits, 72 RBIs, 26 steals and 83 runs scored.
When Pittsburgh acquired him in 1893 in a trade for infielder Frank Shugart and cash, Glassock was batting .287/.382/.345 in 48 games for the Browns. He joined the Pirates on July 4, 1893 just in time for a holiday doubleheader. The Pittsburgh crowd that day at Exposition Park was very excited to get the star shortstop and gave him a thunderous applause. Glasscock earned that reception all season, finishing with a .341 average over his 66 games with the team, driving in 74 runs, to go along with 49 runs, 19 extra-base hits and 16 steals. His 100 RBIs that season were a career high, as were his 12 triples. The 36-year-old shortstop began to show his age the next season, batting .281/.350/.361 over 87 games, in a season that was at the top of the list for offense in baseball. The Pirates had a star filled lineup that year, one that hit .312 as a team. Glasscock was released on August 21, 1894 after a second hand/finger injury of the season left him unable to play, and he wasn’t expected to return before the year was over. He played one more year in the majors, batting .276 in 43 games split between Louisville and Washington in 1895, then hung around minor league ball for another six seasons before finally retiring at 43 years old. Two of those minor league seasons were spent as a player/manager for Fort Wayne of the Interstate League.
Glasscock hit .290 in 1,737 games, with 1,164 runs, 313 doubles, 98 triples, 27 homers and 827 RBIs. His available stolen base stats show that he had 372 steals in ten seasons. Some of his peers considered him to be the best shortstop of his time, and he rates highly all-time as well, with 61.6 career WAR. His 22.3 WAR on defense ranks 36th all-time.
