Jake Daubert

Infobox MLB retired|
name=Jake Daubert


position=First base
birthdate =birth date|1884|4|7
city-state|Shamokin|Pennsylvania
deathdate =death date and age|1924|10|9|1884|4|7
city-state|Cincinnati|Ohio
number=n/a
bats=Left
throws=Left
debutdate=April 14
debutyear=by|1910
debutteam=Brooklyn Superbas
finaldate=September 20
finalyear=by|1924
finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
statyear=Career
statyear=Career
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.303
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=2326
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=722
teams=
* Brooklyn Superbas/Dodgers/Robins (by|1910-by|1918)
* Cincinnati Reds (by|1919-by|1924)
highlights=
* National League Most Valuable Player
* 1913 & 1914 National League Batting Title
* Led NL in Triples in 1918 (15) and 1922 (22)
* 2nd All-Time in Sacrifice Hits (392)
* Named to "The Baseball Magazine" All-American team 7 times.
* Dodgers All-Time Leader in Sacrifice Hits (237)
* Holds Dodgers single season record for most Sacrifice Hits (39 in 1915)
* Holds Reds single season record for most Sacrifice Hits (39 in 1919)

Jacob Ellsworth Daubert (April 7 1884 - October 9 1924) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Superbas [The team also went by the nicknames Dodgers and Robins during Daubert's time with Brooklyn.] and Cincinnati Reds. His career lasted from 1910 until his death in 1924.

Daubert was recognized throughout his career for his performances on the field. He won the by|1913 and by|1914 batting titles, as well as the 1913 Chalmers Award. Between by|1911 and by|1919, "The Baseball Magazine" named him to their All-American team seven times. [Deadball Era Resources. [http://world.std.com/~pgw/Deadball/all.america.html "The Baseball Magazine All American Teams"] . Retrieved 2006-11-09.]

Early life

Daubert was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania to Jacob and Sarah Daubert. The lack of child labor laws enabled Daubert to go to work early in his life. In 1895, at the age of eleven, the young Daubert joined his father and two brothers at work in the local coal mines.cite web| title = Jake Daubert | work = TheDeadballEra.com | first=Jim | last=Sandoval | url=http://www.thedeadballera.com/NiceGuys_Daubert_Jake.htm | accessdate = 2006-11-09 ]

In by|1906, Daubert left his job at the mines and signed a contract with a baseball team in Lykens, Pennsylvania.cite web| title = Jake Daubert | work = TheBaseballPage.com | url=http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/daubeja01.php | accessdate = 2007-04-07 ] He was originally a pitcher on the team before he converted to first base.. At the end of the 1906 season, Daubert left Pennsylvania and traveled west to Ohio. There, he spent the by|1907 season on teams in Kane, Pennsylvania and Marion, Ohio.

Baseball career

In 1908, Daubert was signed by the Cleveland Indians. However, Daubert never played for Cleveland as they released him shortly thereafter. He left Cleveland and signed with the Nashville club of the Southern Association. He spent the remainder of the season with Nashville.

Daubert returned to Ohio for the start of the by|1909 season. After playing the first part of the season with Toledo of the American Association, Daubert went back to Tennessee and joined the Memphis club. Like Nashville, Memphis' team played in the Southern Association. While playing for Memphis, Larry Sutton, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, observed his play. Shortly there after, the Dodgers purchased Daubert's contract and brought him to Brooklyn for the by|1910 season.

While Daubert hit just .264 in 1910, he hit over .300 in each of the next six seasons. On May 6, 1910, Daubert recorded 21 putouts in a single game, one short of the major league record. [SABR [http://nyc.sabr.org/newsletters/Summer%202001.pdf] ] In by|1911 and by|1912, Daubert placed ninth and eighth in the Chalmers Award voting. [The Chalmers Award was Major League Baseball's first iteration of the Most Valuable Player Award.] [baseball-reference|id=d/daubeja01] The following year, he won the award. In 1916 he batted .316 and Brooklyn won their first NL pennant; but he hit only .176 in the 1916 World Series and Brooklyn lost the series to the Boston Red Sox.

Daubert hit .261 in by|1917, but the following year he hit .308 and led the NL in triples. When the season was cut short due to World War I and the influenza epidemic, major league owners prorated player salaries. Daubert, who had been among the founding members of the Players' Fraternity, sued for the balance of his salary. Eventually, Jake recovered most of the $2,150 he was due. After the dispute started, Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets traded him to Cincinnati for outfielder Tommy Griffith. Once in Cincinnati, Daubert served as the Reds' captain for the remainder of his career.

In by|1919, although he hit only .276, Daubert was second in the league in runs scored and third in triples. The Reds won their first pennant since the inaugural season of the American Association in 1882. In the 1919 World Series, noted for the Black Sox Scandal, he batted .241. In the 9-1 Game 1 victory, he had three hits including a triple, and he had two hits and scored twice in the final 10-5 victory in Game 8.

Daubert hit over .300 in the next three seasons. In by|1922, Daubert hit for a .336 average, led the NL in triples and had a career-high 12 home runs. By 1923, at age 39, he was the oldest regular position player in the major leagues,cite web |url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NL_1923.shtml |title=1923 National League Statistics and Awards |accessdate=2007-04-18 |format= |work=Baseball-Reference.com] and he hit .292 that season.

Daubert also excelled in sacrifice hits. His career total of 392 sacrifice hits is second in MLB history, behind Hall of Famer, Eddie Collins. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/SH_career.shtml Career Leaders & Records for Sac. Hits - Baseball-Reference.com ] at www.baseball-reference.com]

In his career, he had 56 home runs, 1117 runs, 722 runs batted in, 250 doubles and 251 stolen bases. When he left Brooklyn for Cincinnati, Daubert held the Brooklyn franchise record for games played at first base (1206). The record was broken by Gil Hodges in by|1956.

Daubert's life outside baseball & death

While Daubert was in Brooklyn, he was nominated for city Alderman. He also spent time as a businessman and invested in several business ventures. His holdings included a pool hall, a cigar business, a semi-pro baseball team, a moving picture business, and a coal washery. His most profitable business was reportedly the coal washer, which was located in his hometown.

Daubert left the Reds late in the by|1924 season after falling ill during a road trip to New York. cite web| title = The Obit for Jake Daubert | work = TheDeadBallEra.com | url=http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Daubert.Jake.Obit.html | accessdate = 2006-11-10 ] Against his doctor's advice, he returned to play in the team's final home game of the season. On October 2, he had an appendectomy performed by Dr. Harry H. Hines, the Reds' team doctor. Complications from the operation arose, and a blood transfusion did not improve his health. He died one week after the operation in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the doctor citing "exhaustion, resulting in indigestion, [as] the immediate cause of death". He was interred at the Charles Baber Cemetery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. [cite web| title = Jake Daubert | work = Retrosheet.org | url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Pdaubj101.htm | accessdate = 2006-11-10 ] Daubert was survived by his wife Gertrude, his son George, and his daughter Louisa.

During his career, Daubert compiled a .303 lifetime batting average. At the time of his death, he ranked among the major league career leaders in games (4th, 2001), putouts (4th, 19,634), assists (5th, 1128), total chances (4th, 20,943) and double plays (3rd, 1199) at first base; he was also among the NL's leaders in hits (7th, 2326), triples (9th, 165), at bats (9th, 7673), games played (10th, 2014) and total bases (10th, 3074). Daubert currently holds the NL record for most sacrifice hits (392). He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in by|1966 [cite web| title = Reds Hall of Famers | work = Cincinnati.Reds.MLB.com | url=http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/ballpark/museum/hofers.jsp#daubert | accessdate = 2007-04-17 ] and the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame in 1990. [cite web| title = Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame Inductees | work = Ebbets-Field.com | url=http://www.ebbets-field.com/MartyAdler/HallofFame.htm | accessdate = 2007-04-17 ]

ee also

* List of major league players with 2,000 hits
* List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
* List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
* List of Major League Baseball batting champions
* List of Major League Baseball triples champions

Notes

References

* "Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia" (2000). Kingston, NY: Total/Sports Illustrated. ISBN 1-892129-34-5.

External links

*baseball-reference|id=d/daubeja01
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/Daubert_Jake.stm BaseballLibrary.com] - biography and career highlights
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6427 FindAGrave.com]
* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Daubert.Jake.Obit.html TheDeadBallEra.com] - Obituaries and articles detailing with the complications of his operation.