100 Greatest Phillies: 69 – George Wood
Posted by Tim Malcolm, Sat, January 17, 2009 02:00 PM | Comments: 3
100 Greatest Phillies, Posts
George Wood
Outfielder
1886-1889
Career w/Phillies: .261 AVG / 29 HR / 217 RBI / 65 SB
So you’re asking yourself “How does a guy with 29 home runs and a .261 average reach No. 69 on this list?” Well, my friend, George Wood was actually one of the top hitters of his day. As a Phillie, he was one of the better line drive hitters in baseball, even striking the top 10 in home runs one season. In his best season of 1887, he recorded 19 triples, good for fifth in the National League. Also a strong base stealer, Wood was a complete hitter. And get this: In 1888 he led the National League in saves. He had two.
Comment: Remind yourself that the very early days of baseball weren’t big hitting days, and you’ll realize that Wood was a very good player. He was an above-average hitter for three of his four seasons with the Phils; moreover, he pulled the city trifecta, playing for the Phillies, Athletics and short-lived Quakers (who became the A’s, of course).
Posts: 0 Posts about Top Ten Ways or Things as of January 17, 2009 | The Lessnau Lounge
[...] their sockets and dance contently about the coffee table top. I have conversed with many, closely 100 Greatest Phillies: 69 – George Wood – philliesnation.com 01/17/2009 George Wood Outfielder 1886-1889 Career w/Phillies: … [...]
Posted: 02:56 PM on January 17, 2009
Posts: 0 Joe
Ok, all that is great. He still doesn’t belong here on the list, ahead of Jim Konstanty and Tony Taylor.
Posted: 06:24 PM on January 17, 2009
Posts: 0 Monktavian
Was baseball really baseball back then — the ball, the gloves, the bats ??? I understand that fistfights were an integral part of the game. Maybe George Wood was a really tough dude and kicked major ass and that stat is unaccounted for in today’s stats. Also, I understand that Ty Cobb was a throwback to that era, with his brash and tough behavior and actually would have been a whimp if he played in the 1880′s.
Posted: 07:58 PM on January 17, 2009