George Stone (outfielder)

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#6d7380
bgcolor2=#60a0a0
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=George Stone

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birthdate=birth date|1877|9|3|mf=y
city-state|Lost Nation|Iowa
deathdate=death date and age|1945|1|3|1877|9|3
city-state|Clinton|Iowa
position=Left Fielder
bats=Left
throws=Left
debutdate= April 20
debutyear= 1903
debutteam= Boston Americans
finaldate=October 9
finalyear=1910
finalteam=St. Louis Browns
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.301
stat2label=HR
stat2value=23
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=268
teams= Boston Americans (1903)

St. Louis Browns (1905-1910)
highlights=;Notable achievements
* Led the AL in at bats (635), plate appearances (694), hits (189), total bases (261), and runs created (90) in 1905
* Led the AL in batting average (.358), on-base percentage (.417), slugging percentage (.501), OPS (.918), total bases (291), runs created (120), and times on base (267) in 1906
* Led the AL in times on base (256) in 1907
* Led the AL in singles (131) in 1908
* Shares Orioles single-season record for triples (20 in 1906)

George Robert Stone, nicknamed Silent George, (September 3, 1877, Lost Nation, Iowa -January 3, 1945) was a left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1903) and St. Louis Browns (1905-10). Stone batted and threw left handed. He was the 1906 American League batting champion.

Baseball career

Stone was a late starter. It wasn't until he was 26 that he interrupted his employment as a banker in Coleridge, Nebraska, to take a shot at pro ball with Omaha of the Western League.

Stone had a unique batting style, for his day. He would crouch over the plate with the bat resting snugly on his shoulder and remain motionless. He was a line-drive hitter, and was fast. He was generally a fine defensive outfielder.

The Red Sox let him go to Milwaukee in 1903 after he pinch-hit twice for them without connecting. In Milwaukee he led the American Association with a .405 average. Stone had a series at Toledo that was talked about for a long time. He reached base 17 times in a row -- 15 on hits, two on walks. Manager Joe Cantillon liked him for reasons beyond his hitting and his speed on the bases. "He was a fine man to handle," said Cantillon. "He was in bed every night by 10 o'clock."

As to his fielding, it was written: "He wasn't noted for his fielding ability, but he sure could slam the pellet on the nose."

In December 1904 he was traded by the Boston Americans with cash to the St. Louis Browns for Jesse Burkett.

In a seven-season career, Stone posted a .301 batting average with 23 home runs and 268 RBI in 848 games played.

Stone had another fling at baseball, but as an owner; he bought a controlling interest in the Lincoln Tigers of the Western League in 1916.

Stone died in Clinton, Iowa, at the age of 57.

In 1970 he was inducted into The Des Moines Register's Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

In an article in 1976 in Esquire magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Stone was the right fielder on Stein's Jewish team.

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball batting champions

External links

* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/S/Stone_George.stm Baseball Library]
*
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/George_Stone_%28stonege01%29 BR Bullpen profile]
* [http://www.deadball.com/stone.htm "Legends of the Game: George Stone"]
* cite book
title=Great Jews in Sports
author=Robert Slater, Jonathan David Publishers Inc
year=2004
publisher=Jonathan David Company, Inc.
isbn=0824604539
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=GWE_lEPfHpIC&pg=PA272&lpg=PA272&dq=%22george+stone%22+baseball&source=web&ots=LHLk27rWg9&sig=-UXVPw52nCgjLGWBKNE5jhDiWgU
* [http://desmoinesregister.com/sports/extras/hall/stone.html "Lost Nation's Stone into "Hall" - Iowan's Batting Feat: Beat Cobb," 4/5/70]
* [http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,2148,3,158 "An Additional Game-Played Found for George Stone of the St. Louis Browns," SABR Baseball Records Committee Newsletter, 2/13/07]