Kid Elberfeld

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Kid Elberfeld bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Kid Elberfeld : biography

April 13, 1875 – January 13, 1944

Norman Arthur "Kid" Elberfeld (April 13, 1875 – January 13, 1944) was a professional baseball player. Elberfeld played shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies (1898), Cincinnati Reds (1899), Detroit Tigers (1901–1903), New York Highlanders (1903–1909), Washington Senators (1910–1911), and Brooklyn Robins (1914). Elberfled also managed the New York Highlanders for the last half of the 1908 season.

Elberfeld was given the nickname "The Tabasco Kid" at www.baseball-almanac.com because of his fiery temper. He was known for his ferocious verbal, and sometimes physical, assaults on umpires. On one occasion, while in the minors, Elberfeld threw a lump of mud into the umpire’s open mouth. at www.deadball.com Later in his career, Elberfeld assaulted umpire Silk O’Loughlin and had to be forcibly removed by police; Elberfeld was suspended for just 8 games. at www.baseballlibrary.com Although records were not kept, it was said that Elberfeld was thrown out of more games than any other player of his era.

Washington Senators and Brooklyn Robins: 1910-1914

In December 1909, Elberfeld was sold to the Washington Senators for $5,000. He played two seasons for the Senators before being released. He signed with Montgomery in the Southern League where he befriended a young Casey Stengel. According to Stengel biographer, Maury Allen, in his 1979 book, "’You Could Look It Up: The Life of Casey Stengel’," Elberfeld was generous with his time and his wisdom. The grizzled veteran and the 22-year-old youngster sat together on trains, roomed together in hotels, dined together in restaurants, shared thoughts on the bench, and talked for hours about baseball. On September 15, 1912, Stengel was called up to Brooklyn. Elberfeld threw a farewell party for Stengel, ordering him to buy a new suit ("You gotta dress like a big leaguer before they believe you are one," Elberfeld said) for $22.00, and a new suitcase for $17.50. After a long night of drinking, Elberfeld walked with Stengel to the train station, and advised Stengel: "Keep your ears open and your mouth shut up there." While good advice for most players, Stengel didn’t follow it and became known as much for his mouth as his baseball talent.

Elberfeld returned briefly to the Major Leagues in 1914, where he played with the Brooklyn Robins.

Player profile

Aside from his temper, Elberfeld became known as one of the best shortstops in the early years of the 20th Century. He was known as a tough competitor who challenged baserunners to slash him out of their way. They sometimes did precisely that. On May 1, 1908, Elberfeld was severely spiked in the foot by Bob Ganley‚ essentially ending his season. Elberfeld batted only 56 times in 1908. During Ty Cobb’s rookie season, he had a basepath meeting with the Tabasco Kid. Cobb slid head first into second base, only to have Elberfeld dig his knee into the back of Cobb’s neck, grinding his face in the dirt. According to a Cobb biographer, that was the last time Cobb slid headfirst into a base. at wso.williams.edu Shortly before his death, Elberfeld was quoted as saying "Ty found out my feet were harder than his head. Then he started coming in spikes first. I had to protect myself." at www.beckett.com Elberfeld’s legs were badly scarred from years of highly flying spikes, and he reportedly poured raw whisky into spike wounds to cauterize them. at www.baseballlibrary.com

Further showing his toughness as a ballplayer, Elberfeld was not afraid of being hit by a pitch. He led the American League in being hit by a pitch in 1903 and 1911 and was among the league leaders in the category nine times. In 1911, he was hit by a pitch 25 times, setting an American League record that was not broken until 1986 when Don Baylor was hit by a pitch 35 times. In his career, Elberfeld was hit by a pitch 165 times—13th most in the history of Major League Baseball.

Despite 458 errors at the shortstop position, Elberfeld had great range in his early years. In 1901, Elberfeld made 332 putouts and had a range factor rating of 6.14—87 points higher than the league average for shortstops. He also had a career best 459 assists at shortstop the following season with the Tigers. He once collected 12 assists in a single game in 1901. As injuries and age slowed him down, Elberfeld’s range was more limited later in his career.