Babe Herman

For the American boxer, seeBabe Herman (boxer).

Babe Herman
Herman, circa 1929
Right fielder
Born:June 26, 1903 Buffalo, New York,U.S.
Died:November 27, 1987(1987-11-27)(aged 84) Glendale, California,U.S.
Batted:Left Threw:Left
MLB debut
April 14, 1926, for the Brooklyn Robins
Last MLB appearance
September 16, 1945, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
MLB statistics
Batting average	.324
Home runs	181
Runs batted in	997
Teams
Brooklyn Robins(1926–1931) Cincinnati Reds(1932) Chicago Cubs(1933–1934) Pittsburgh Pirates(1935) Cincinnati Reds(1935–1936) Detroit Tigers(1937) Brooklyn Dodgers(1945)

Floyd Caves "Babe" Herman(June 26, 1903 – November 27, 1987) was an American professionalbaseballplayer andscout.He played inMajor League Baseball(MLB) as aright fielderbetween1926and1945,most prominently as a member of theBrooklyn Dodgerswho were known as the Robins at that time. After his most productive years with the Robins, he ended his playing career playing for theCincinnati Reds,Chicago Cubs,Pittsburgh Piratesand theDetroit Tigers.

Herman was one of the most impressive power hitters of the late 1920s and early 1930s, accumulating a career batting average of.324 and a number of Dodger franchise season records still in effect.At the time of his retirement in 1945, his.532 careerslugging percentageranked fourth amongNational League(NL) hitters with at least 5,000at bats.His.393batting average,.678 slugging percentage, 241hitsand 416total basesproduced during the1930season remain Dodgers franchise records, with his 143runsbeing the post-1900 team record; he also set team records (since broken) that year with 35home runsand 130runs batted in.He alsohit for the cyclea record three times during his career.

Along with his hitting ability, Herman was one of baseball’s most colorful characters whose occasionalbaserunningmishaps and defensive lapses infuriated, and later endeared him to Brooklyn fans.His reputation went beyond the playing field with his penchant formalapropisms.After his playing career, he served as a scout for the Pirates, Phillies, Mets, Yankees and Giants organizations.

Career

Born inBuffalo, New Yorkand raised inGlendale, California,Herman signed with a minor league team inEdmonton,Alberta at age 18, and spent five years playing for six different teams, including tours in the farm systems of theBoston Red SoxandDetroit Tigers.In a 1922 spring training game, he was used as a pinch hitter forTy Cobb;but the Tigers, with no outfield vacancies, returned him to the minors, where he hit.416. He was signed for Brooklyn in 1925 by ascoutwho said of him, "He's kind of funny in the field, but when I see a guy go 6-for-6, I've got to go for him." Herman made his major league debut as afirst basemanwith theBrooklyn Robinsin 1926, hitting.319 as a rookie; he finished fourth in the National League indoubles(35), and seventh in home runs (11) and slugging (.500). In 1928, he placed fifth in the National League with a.340 batting mark.

Herman enjoyed an outstanding year in 1929, setting team records with a.381 batting average and a.612 slugging average (breaking club marks of.379 byWillie Keelerand.588 byJack Fournier) while collecting 217 hits, 105 runs and 113runs batted in(RBIs); but the National League was in the middle of an offensive explosion, and he finished behindLefty O'Doul(.398) for the batting title and was only seventh in the league in slugging. He had two doubles and twotripleson June 5, and came in eighth in the 1929MVPvoting. He followed up with his most spectacular year by improving his own batting and slugging records, with his.393 batting average again placing second in the league behindBill Terry,who hit.401 – as of 2021, the last.400 season in the NL. Herman was also third in the National League in slugging, behindHack WilsonandChuck Klein;the league as a whole batted.303 in 1930, and while Herman's 241 hits were only third in the National League behind Terry and Klein, it was then the fifth-highest total ever in the league. Herman broke Fournier's 1924 club record of 27 home runs and tied his 1925 total of 130 RBIs.Gil Hodgesbroke his team record of 40 home runs in 1951, andRoy Campanellaposted 142 runs batted in during 1953;Duke Sniderwas the first left-handed Dodger to break Herman's home run and runs batted in records. There was no MVP award given in 1930.

Herman was an outstanding hitter, but a markedly below-average fielder who led the National League inerrorsin 1927 as a first baseman and in each of the next two years playing in right field.Fresco Thompson,a 1931 teammate, observed: "He wore a glove for one reason: because it was a league custom." Herman developed a self-deprecating attitude about his shortcomings; when informed by a local bank that someone had been impersonating him and cashing bad checks, he said, "Hit him a few flyballs. If he catches any, it ain't me." His style of play, along with that of the entire team, led to Brooklyn being dubbed "The Daffiness Boys", with sportswriterFrank Grahamnoting, "They were not normally of a clownish nature, and some of them were very good ballplayers, indeed, but they were overcome by the atmosphere in which they found themselves as soon as they had put on Brooklyn uniforms."

In the seventh inning of a game on August 15, 1926, against theBoston BravesatEbbets Field,Herman tried to stretch a double off the right-field wall into a triple with one out and the bases loaded.Chick Fewster,who had been on first base, advanced to third base – which was already occupied byDazzy Vance,who had started on second base but became caught in a rundown between third and home and was dashing back to third. All three men ended up on third base, with Herman not having watched the play in front of him. The Braves third baseman,Eddie Taylor,tagged all three just to be sure of getting as many outs as possible. The slow-footed Vance had been a major contributor to the situation, but according to the rules, because he was the lead runner and not forced to advance, he was entitled to third base, so umpireBeans Reardoncalled Herman and Fewster out. Thus, Herman "doubled into adouble play,"althoughHank DeBerryalso scored the game's winning run on the play before the daffiness started.Herman later complained that no one remembered that he drove in the winning run on the play. The incident led to the popular joke:

• "The Dodgers have three men on base!"
• "Oh, yeah?Which base?"

1933 Goudey Baseball Card of Babe Herman of the Chicago Cubs

On two occasions in 1930 – May 30 and September 15 – Herman stopped to watch a home run while running the bases and was passed by the hitter, in each case causing the home run to count only as a single. And on September 20 of the following year, he was thrown out trying tosteal a baseagainst theSt. Louis Cardinals,even though the opposing catcher was 48-year-old Cardinals managerGabby Street,appearing in his first game (as an emergency substitute) since 1912. Pitcher Vance dubbed him "the Headless Horseman ofEbbets Field"for his various mistakes.

In 1931, Herman's batting average fell to.313, and although he led the National League with 77extra base hits,was third in total bases, and hit for the cycle on both May 18 and July 24, he was traded to theCincinnati Redsbefore the 1932 season. He bounced back with a solid year, leading the National League with 19 triples and tyingSam Crawford's 1901 Reds' team record for left-handed hitters of 16 home runs, which was broken in 1936 byIval Goodmanwith 17. Herman played for theChicago Cubsin 1933–34, batting.304 in the latter season. On July 20, 1933, he hit three home runs, and on September 30 he hit for the cycle for the third time, a feat only he andBob Meuselaccomplished in the 20th century. (In 2015,Adrián Beltréalso hit for the cycle a third time). After a brief stint with thePittsburgh Piratesin 1935, Herman was traded back to the Reds, staying with them through 1936. On July 10, 1935, he hit the first home run ever in a major league night game. He played briefly for the Tigers in 1937, hitting.300 in 17 games, and then returned to the minor leagues. Nine years later in 1945, Herman was re-signed by Brooklyn at age 42 and played his 37 final big league games with the team. He received a strong ovation from the Ebbets Field crowd in his first turn at bat and tripped over the first base after hitting a single. After retiring, he worked as a scout for several teams until 1964. Herman ended his major league career with a.324 batting average, 1,818 hits, 181 home runs, 997 RBIs, 882 runs, 399 doubles, 110 triples, and 94 stolen bases in 1552 games. Herman hit better than.300 in eight full major league seasons.

His son was a mathematics teacher atHerbert Hoover High School,the cross-town rival of Babe's high schoolGlendale High School,from the late 1960s through the early 1980s.

Herman was among the subjects interviewed for the 1966 bookThe Glory of Their Times.He died inGlendale, Californiaat age 84 following a bout withpneumoniaand a series ofstrokes.He is interred there in theForest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
• List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
• List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle

Further reading

• Erion, Greg."Babe Herman".SABR.
• Ritter, Lawrence S. (1992).Lost ballparks: a celebration of baseball's legendary fields.New York: Viking Studio Books.ISBN978-0-670-83811-0.
• Pietrusza, David; Silverman, Matthew; Gershman, Michael (2000).Baseball: the biographical encyclopedia.Kingston (N.Y.): Total sports illustrated.ISBN978-1-892129-34-5.

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromBaseball Reference,orBaseball Reference (Minors),orRetrosheet

• Babe Hermanat The Baseball Page viaWayback Machine