Gavvy Cravath
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Image:Gavvy Cravath Baseball Card.jpg
Clifford Carlton "Gavvy" Cravath (March 23, 1881 - May 23, 1963), also nicknamed "Cactus", was a right fielder and right-handed batter in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1908), Chicago White Sox (1909), Washington Senators (1909) and Philadelphia Phillies (1912-1920).
Cravath was the first baseball player from the San Diego area to play in the major leagues. He was born in Escondido, California. He is regarded as one of the first great sluggers in the game. In 1915, Cravath hit 24 home runs, setting a single season record that stood until Babe Ruth broke it by hitting 29 homers in 1919.
Cravath was a career .287 hitter with 119 home runs and 719 RBI in 1220 games. After retiring, he became the Justice of Peace in Laguna Beach, California, where he died at age of 82.
Cravath played during a time of independent minor leagues, when not all great players moved quickly to the majors. Cravath entered professional baseball in 1903 with the Los Angeles Angels (PCL) of the Pacific Coast League. During 5 seasons with the team, he helped them win two pennants. He hit .274, .270, .259, .270, and .303, with 7, 13, 9, 6, and 10 home runs, and with 51, 50, 32, 39, and 45 doubles. He led the league in doubles twice (1906 and 1907) and had two third place finishes. Although he never led the PCL in home runs, he was second 3 times, third place once, and fourth place once during his 5 years there.
While playing in California, Cravath reportedly picked up his nickname of "Gavvy" by hitting a ball that killed a seagull ("gaviota" in Spanish) in flight. The reporters spelled the nickname "Gavvy" to emphasize that it rhymes with "savvy," but Cravath himself spelled it "Gavy."
At the end of 1907 Cravath was sold to the Boston Red Sox, where he would be a 27-year old rookie. Cravath's lack of speed compared unfavorably to Tris Speaker and other swift outfielders of the time. Cravath once said, "They call me wooden shoes and piano legs and a few other pet names. I do not claim to be the fastest man in the world, but I can get around the bases with a fair wind and all sails set. And so long as I am busting the old apple on the seam, I am not worrying a great deal about my legs." Cravath was hitting .256 with 11 triples in 277 at-bats when he was sold to the Chicago White Sox in August 1907. After a slow start in Chicago in 1908, he was traded to the Washington Senators, who promptly moved him to the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association.
In Minneapolis Cravath learned to hit to the opposite field to take advantage of the short (279 feet) right-field line at Nicollet Park. That ability would also serve him well with the Phillies, who had a similar short right-field porch at the Baker Bowl. The 1910-11 Minneapolis Millers were one of the great minor league teams of all time, and Cravath was their biggest star. In 1910 he led the league in average with .326, in hits with 200, in home runs with 14, doubles with 41, and triples with 13. In 1911 he again led the league in the same categories except for triples, with an average of .363, 221 hits, 53 doubles, 13 triples, and 29 home runs.
The rules of the time did not make it easy for Cravath to move back to the majors. Reportedly, it took a clerical error—the Millers inadertently left out the word "not" in a telegram—to get Cravath back to the major leagues. In his second chance with the Philadelphia Phillies at age 31, he proved he was there to stay by hitting .284 with 11 home runs and 70 RBI. He was also a more than adequate outfielder, leading the league with 26 assists.
1913 was Cravath's greatest major league season, leading the National League in hits with 179, home runs with 19, RBI with 128, total bases with 298, slugging with .568, and OPS with .974; he also placed second in average with .341. He placed second in the voting for the MLB Most Valuable Player award behind Jake Daubert, though many historians think Cravath should have won. In 1915 Cravath hit 24 home runs, setting a 20th-century record, while leading the Phillies to their first pennant. He also led the league in runs with 89, RBI with 115, total bases with 266, walks with 86, on-base percentage with .393, slugging with .510, and OPS with .902.
In 1919 the 38-year-old Cravath had his last great season, winning his sixth home run title with 12 homers in just 214 at-bats. In last place midway through the season, the Phillies fired manager Jack Coombs and Cravath took his place. Invited to return as player-manager the following season, the Phillies improved to 62-91, but ended up in last place again. Cravath was released, and was player-manager for the Salt Lake City Bees of the Pacific Coast League in 1921. He played his final professional games in 1922 with the Minneapolis Millers. He then returned to California, where he was elected magistrate judge in September 1927.
Highlights
- 6-time led league in home runs (1913-15, 1917-19)
- 4-time led league in extra base hits (1913, 1915, 1917-18)
- Twice led league in RBI (1913, 1915)
- Twice led league in slugging average (1913, 1915)
- Twice led league in total bases (1913, 1915)
- Twice led league in on base percentage (1915-16)
- Led league in hits (1913)
- Led league in runs (1915)
References
- Swank, Bill. Gavy Cravath. In Society for American Baseball Research, Deadball Era Committee; Simon, Tom (Ed.) (2004). Deadball Stars of the National League, pp. 221–224. Brassey's. ISBN 1574888609.