Elmer Flick

Infobox MLB retired
name=Elmer Flick
position=Outfielder


bgcolor1=#dcdcdc
bgcolor2=#dcdcdc
textcolor1=black
textcolor2=black
birthdate=birth date|1876|1|11
city-state|Bedford|Ohio
deathdate=death date and age|1971|1|9|1876|1|11
city-state|Bedford|Ohio
bats=Left
throws=Right
debutdate=May 2
debutyear=1898
debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies
finaldate=July 4
finalyear=1910
finalteam=Cleveland Naps
stat1label=Batting average
stat2label=Stolen bases
stat3label=Runs scored
stat1value=.313
stat2value=330
stat3value=950
teams=
* Philadelphia Phillies (by|1898-by|1900)
* Philadelphia Athletics (by|1901)
* Cleveland Bronchos/Naps (by|1901-by|1910)
highlights=
* National League RBI Champion - 1900
* American League Stolen Base Champion - 1904 & 1906
* American League Batting Champion - 1905
hofdate=by|1963
hofmethod=Veteran's Committee

Elmer Harrison Flick (January 11, 1876 - January 9, 1971) was an American player in Major League Baseball from by|1898 until by|1910. He was an outfielder known predominantly for his solid batting and speed.

Born in Bedford, Ohio, Flick joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 1898, filling in for the injured Sam Thompson, and proved himself a capable big leaguer, batting .302 with 8 home runs, 13 triples and 81 RBIs. After the 1901 season, Flick was one of many star National League players who jumped to the fledgling American League, playing for the crosstown Philadelphia Athletics; but the Phillies obtained an injunction from the state Supreme Court prohibiting any player under contract with the Phillies from playing for another team. As a recourse, Flick and teammate Nap Lajoie signed instead with the Cleveland Naps, as the Pennsylvania injunction could not be enforced in Ohio; the two players often traveled separately from their teammates for the next year, never setting foot in Pennsylvania in order to avoid a subpoena. (While teammates with the Phillies, the pair had once engaged in a fistfight in which Lajoie's hand was broken.) Flick would spend the remainder of his career in Cleveland, and the contract dispute would be resolved when the leagues made peace in September 1903 with the National Agreement [http://www.roadsidephotos.com/baseball/1903NatAgree.htm] .

Flick was the AL batting champion in by|1905 with a .308 average; in Major League history, only Carl Yastrzemski won a batting title with a lower mark (.301 in 1968). Flick also led the league in slugging percentage in 1905, one of his several productive seasons. He batted over .300 eight times in his career and finished with a .313 average, leading the league in RBIs once (with 110 in by|1900), stolen bases twice (by|1904 and by|1906) and triples three times (1905-07). His value was such that after the 1907 season, the Naps turned down a trade with the Detroit Tigers which would have exchanged Flick for the 21-year-old Ty Cobb; however, Flick would soon develop stomach problems which would limit him to 99 games over the next three years. After never before hitting under .296, he batted .254 from 1908-10; he played two more seasons in the minor leagues before retiring. Despite his talent, Flick was never able to propel his team to a league championship.

Flick was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in by|1963. He died in Bedford at age 94.

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
* List of Major League Baseball batting champions
* List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
* List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
* List of Major League Baseball triples champions

External links

* [http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/flick_elmer.htm Baseball Hall of Fame]