[Highlander]

Tris Speaker- So in 1903, we learned earlier that the Brooklyn Superbas drafted Ty Cobb. Well, in 1905, they had the #1 pick again and took Tris Speaker! Speaker played his first season in 1906 and played with the Superbas (and Cobb) for his whole career until he retired at age 40 in 1928. What a pair in the OF! Seems like they should have won a few more World Series with those two in the lineup.

Here's what Tris did in his career-

Games Played- 3216 (9th)
At Bats- 11218 (17th)
Hits- 3561 (11th)
Batting Average- .317 (31st)
OPS- .859 (79th)
Runs- 1791 (29th)
Doubles- 700 (6th)
Triples- 217 (8th)
Home Runs- 117
RBI- 1777 (25th)
Stolen Bases- 604 (26th)
WAR- 139.6 (5th)

He and Cobb were pretty close in many categories and Tris actually beat out Ty in WAR. From 1911-1914, Speaker rattled off a streak of 100+ RBI seasons with a high of 116 in 1911....probably driving in Cobb, since it was his .428 season! He led the league all 4 years. He wouldn't drive in 100 runs again until his age 37 season in 1925. After an injury-riddled 1924, everyone thought Tris might be on the decline, but he had one of his best seasons, hitting .382/.480/.579 (highest BA of his career, but it didn't lead the league!), 38 doubles, 4 triples, a career high 18 HR, 100 R and 110 RBI. His best overall year was probably 1914 when he led the league in BA, OBP, SLG and (of course) OPS, along with WAR and RBI. His numbers were .335/.447/.469, 33 doubles, 15 triples, 3 HR, 96 R, 104 RBI, and 59 SB with 10.3 WAR.

Tris won 2 championships with Cobb and the Dodgers. He also won 5 Gold Gloves, 14 Silver Sluggers, the 1906 Rookie of the Year, 19 All-Star selections and 4 MVP awards. He was elected to the HOF in 1934 with 98.5% of the vote.