by jpgavin » Thu Jan 15, 2009 9:21 pm
[quote:f35679c3c5="rosenthm"] I, for one, will proably be starting a nickel catcher and my starting 3rd baseman will be Dave Brain...who in the world is Dave Brain? [/quote:f35679c3c5]
Dave Brain was a third baseman and shortstop who had pretty good power for a few years.
Starting out in 5 games in 1901 with the Chicago White Sox, he hit .350 and then came back in 1903 as a regular shortstop with the St. Louis Cardinals where he was fourth in the league in triples with 15. The next year was a big year as he was 7th in the league in doubles, sixth in triples, and second in the league in home runs.
In 1905 he slumped early on and was traded part-way through the season to the Pittsburgh Pirates where Honus Wagner was shortstop, so Brain moved to third base, apparently putting Tommy Leach into the outfield. Brain was only in Pittsburgh for 1/2 year, though, as he was traded after the season to the Boston Beaneaters with a couple other players for Vic Willis. Willis had had a few off-years, but he was to be very successful during the next four years in Pittsburgh, though.
Even though Brain didn't play up to his ability in 1905, he still became famous for hitting three triples in a game in May and then doing it again in August. He is the only National League player to hit three triples in a game twice in a season.
Brain was 7th in the league in home runs the next year with Boston. His .250 batting average may not seem like much, but it was the dead ball era and the team as a whole hit .226. He slugged .333 while the team slugged .281. However, in a game in June 1907, he made a record 5 errors at third base. In 1907, he had an even better year, hitting .279 for a team that hit .243. He slugged .420 on a team that slugged .309. His slugging percentage was 5th in the league, he led the league in home runs with 10, and his 24 doubles were 5th in the league. It was pretty good for a third baseman, since in those days players who played third usually didn't hit much.
Courtesy of BaseballReference.com :wink: