Jack Clements

Infobox MLB retired
name=Jack Clements


position=Catcher
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=July 24, 1864
deathdate=death date and age|1941|5|23|1864|7|24
debutdate=April 22
debutyear=1884
debutteam=Philadelphia Keystones
finaldate=October 2
finalyear=1900
finalteam=Boston Beaneaters
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.286
stat2label=RBI
stat2value=687
stat3label=Hits
stat3value=1,226
teams= As Player
*Philadelphia Keystones (by|1884)
*Philadelphia Quakers/Phillies (by|1884-by|1897)
*St. Louis Browns (by|1898)
*Cleveland Spiders (by|1899)
*Boston Beaneaters (by|1900)As Manager
*Philadelphia Phillies (by|1890)
highlights=
*First player to catch 1,000 Major League games

John J. "Jack" Clements (July 24, 1864 – May 23, 1941) was a baseball player who played for 17 seasons in the Major Leagues. A catcher for nearly his entire career, despite being left-handed, Clements caught 1,073 games, almost four times as many as any other left-handed player in major league history [cite web|url=http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/catchleft2.htm|title=Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers - Left-Handed Throwing Catchers|last=Rosciam|first=Chuck|accessdate=2007-05-10] and was the last left-hander to catch on a regular basis. [cite web|url=http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/top-10-left-handed-catchers-for-2006|title=Top 10 Left-Handed Catchers for 2006|last=Walsh|first=John|accessdate=2007-05-05|date=2006-04-06 |publisher=The Hardball Times] He is credited with being the first catcher to wear a chest protector.cite book|last=James|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill James|title=The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract|publisher=Free Press|year=2001|isbn=0-684-80697-5|pages=p. 408]

Born in Philadelphia, Clements began his Major League career in 1884 in the Union Association.cite web|url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/clemeja01.shtml|title=Jack Clements statistics|accessdate=2007-05-05|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com] He played as a catcher/outfielder for the Philadelphia Keystones until the team folded in August. [cite web|url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/chronology/byyear.php?year=1884#August|title=The Chronology - 1884|last=Charlton|first=James|accessdate=2007-06-24|publisher=BaseballLibrary.com] Clements then went to the National League, signing with the Philadelphia Quakers to finish the year.

Clements spent the next 13 seasons with the Quakers (who became the Phillies in 1890), and became the team's regular catcher in 1888. He also served as a player-manager during part of the 1890 season when manager Harry Wright suffered temporary blindness.cite web|url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Jack_Clements_1864&page=chronology|title=Jack Clements from the Chronology|last=Charlton|first=James|accessdate=2007-05-05|publisher=BaseballLibrary.com] [cite web|url=http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/phi/history/managers.jsp|title=Phillies All-Time Managers|accessdate=2007-06-25|publisher=MLB Advanced Media, L.P.] During the 1890s, he established himself as one of the National League's top hitters, finishing among the top 4 in batting average on 3 occasions. Clements also hit for power, finishing second in the NL with 17 home runs in 1893 and finishing third in the NL with 13 in 1895. Also in 1895, he finished with a .394 batting average, the highest single-season average by a catcher in major league history. [cite web|url=http://stlcardinals.scout.com/2/577865.html|title=An MVP case for Ryan Howard|last=Shiffert|first=John|accessdate=2007-05-05|date=2006-10-10|publisher=Scout.com]

After the 1897 season, Clements was traded to the St. Louis Browns. He played one season for the Browns, during which he became the first player (of either handedness) to catch 1,000 games in his career.

Before the 1899 season, Clements was assigned to the Cleveland Spiders. The move took place after Spiders owners Frank and Stanley Robison purchased the Browns and re-distributed players among the two franchises. Clements appeared in only 4 games for the Spiders before being released.

He played his final Major League season in 1900, playing in 16 games for the Boston Beaneaters.

At the time of his retirement, he held the single-season and career records for home runs by a catcher. Both of his records were broken by Gabby Hartnett in the 1920s; the single-season record fell in 1925 while the career record fell in 1928. [cite web|url=http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,734,34,0|title=SABR-Zine - Record for Most Home Runs by a Catcher: Historic Overview|accessdate=2007-05-05|date=2004-05-10|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research] Clements is also the only 19th century baseball player of prominence to retire with more home runs than triples.

He died of an illness in Norristown, Pennsylvania in 1941, at age 76. [cite web|url=http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Clements.Jack.Obit.html|title=Jack Clements' obit|accessdate=2007-05-05|date=1941-05-24|publisher=New York Times] He is buried at Arlington Cemetery in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. [cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6792775|title=John J. "Jack" Clements (1864 - 1941) - Find A Grave Memorial|accessdate=2007-09-07|date=2002-09-20|publisher=Find A Grave.com]

In his Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranked Clements as the 58th greatest catcher in baseball history.

References

Persondata
NAME = Clements, John J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Clements, Jack
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Left-handed baseball catcher
DATE OF BIRTH = July 24, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH = May 23, 1941
PLACE OF DEATH = Norristown, Pennsylvania