Adventures With Seraphim

Baseball lore is pretty clear on who are the home run kings of the major leagues…

Babe Ruth
Roger Maris
Hank Aaron
Willie Mays
Mark McGuire
Barry Bonds

… just to name a few.

But back when the league was young, in fact before Babe Ruth, in the dead ball era there were some others…

Home Run Baker, Frank Shulte, Napoleon Lajoie.. but amazingly, they didn’t hold a candle to Gavvy Cravath.

Gavvy “Cactus” Cravath, born Clifford in 1881 earned his nickname in the early 1900s when he reportedly hit a ball so hard that it killed a seagull in flight. Mexican fans shouted “Gaviota.” The English nickname “Gavvy” thereafter took hold.

From 1913 to 1920 he led the national league in home runs six times, finishing with 119 in his major league career. He also hit 114 dingers in the minors.

But this star is not in the hall of fame, probably due to the home run friendly parks he played in, such as the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. 92 of his 119 homers were hit there.

It’s a good thing he hit so many home runs because he was slow. So slow, if fact, that “his head sure was full of larceny, but his feet were honest”, wrote sportswriter Bugs Baer.

He was also known as “wooden shoes” and “Piano Legs” by his teammates.

Before his home run reign of terror on the majors, Cravath played in Minneapols for the Millers at Nicollet Park. There, the right field line was 279 feet, which Cravath took advantage of, learning to hit to the opposite field.

In 1913 while playing for Philadelphia he placed second in voting for the Chalmers Award (Most Valuable Player) behind Jake Daubert, largely for the same reason he’s not in the Hall of Fame (playing in the Baker Bowl).

His best season was in 1915 when he hit 24 home runs (19 of which were hit at home) and lead the Phillies to their first pennant.

Gavvy’s last season was in 1920, when he was the player-manager for the Phillies. But in 1921 he became the player-manager for the Salt Lake City Bees and played his final professional games in 1922, returning to the Minneapolis Millers.

For a career, Gavvy batted .287, hit 119 home runs and batted in 719 runners. His 6 home run title record was eventually tied by Mel Ott and broken by Ralph Kiner in 1952.

Of course, Babe Ruth broke his 20th century record of 119 homers in 1921.

After baseball, Cravath returned to California and became a magistrate judge in 1927 and died in 1963. He was post-humously inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions in 1985