Skip to main content

Sunday School: History Lesson 42

Otto Knabe was the starting second baseman for the Phillies from 1907-1913. For seven seasons, Knabe teamed with shortstop Mickey Doolan as the team's double play combination. In an era where runs were at a premium, Knabe excelled at the art of preventing runners from advancing.

Knabe once spoke to a reporter about his playing days and the occasionally rough, aggressive style he and Doolan perfected. "Doolan and I didn't specialize in mayhem, but anything went if the umpire wasn't watching. The Cardinals and Phillies used to have some grand battles." In one game, Cards player-manager Roger Bresnahan had been spiked by Phils third baseman Hans Lobart and instructed his players to go after Lobert in retaliation. Knabe spoke of that game, "Ennis Oakes, a Cardinal outfielder, took it upon himself to avenge his manager. Oakes got to first base this day and shouted to Doolan and me, "I'm coming down!" We told him to come ahead and he did. As Mickey took the throw from the catcher, I jumped up and landed on my knees on Oakes as he was sliding in. The only place Doolan could find to tag Oakes was on the jaw and he must have knocked him unconscious because they had to carry Oakes off the field. He never did get around to third."

For what he offered in the field, Knabe, unfortunately, was never a great hitter. In seven seasons with the Phillies, Knabe was a .249 hitter with a .643 OPS. His best offensive season came in 1912, when he drove in 46 runs, stole 16 bases and posted a .282 batting average. His job never was to be a slugger. Instead his duty was to get on base in front of the bigger bats and score runs. For instance, in 1911, even though he batted a lowly .237, Knabe still drew 94 walks and scored 99 runs.

In 1914, Knabe jumped to the newly formed Federal League. Aged just 29 years, Knabe was named player-manager of his new club, the Terrapins. The team went 84-70 and finished in 3rd place.

After the Federal League folded two years later, Knabe returned to the National League, playing one more season, split between the Pirates and the Cubs.

After retiring from playing, Knabe managed in the minors. Knabe is the Phillies all-time team leader in sacrifice bunts with 216.

----------------------------------

Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE!

BallHype: hype it up!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Mike McGuire Living a Dream With Favorite Team

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Every young ballplayer grows up wishing he could play for his favorite team. Mike McGuire has an opportunity to do just that after signing with the Phillies organization in July. McGuire was a 43rd round draft pick taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 2008 amateur draft out of the University of Delaware. Early scouting reports liked McGuire's abilities, despite some arm trouble. He advanced as far as High A Level Kinston last season. While there, he posted an 0-3 record with a 5.46 ERA in 9 games, 8 of which were starts. The Indians weren't happy with McGuire's efforts this spring and released him. McGuire caught on with the Sussex Skyhawks of the independent Can-Am League, where he stayed in shape and pitched against other formerly affiliated minor leaguers. As a starter with the Skyhawks, McGuire went 3-4 with a 5.29 ERA in 8 outings. From there, just as all players in those independent leagues hope for, the 24-year-old McGuire got noticed. The Phillies wer...

Harry's Plaque Has Misprint

At the ballpark today for the first time since Harry Kalas was inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday, I noticed an error in the text on his plaque. Verbage on the plaque reads like this... Voice of Phillies baseball on radio and TV for 39 seasons. Teamed with Richie Ashburn from 1971 until 1997. Harry was on the air for all of Mike Schmidt's 548 home runs, five Phillies no-hitters, seven National League Championship Series, three World Series, the first and final games at Veterans Stadium and the Citizens Bank Park 2004 opener. Received the prestigious Ford C. Frick Award in 2002 for "Major Contributions to Baseball" and was inducted into the broadcasters' wing at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. His calls were legendary, especially his signature home run call, "Outta heeere." On October 29, 2008, he brought utmost joy to Phillies fans: "The 0-2 pitch, swing and miss , struck him out. The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 Worl...