page_title: Oscar Stanage
section_title: Detroit Tigers
hierarchical_section_title: Oscar Stanage / Professional baseball / Detroit Tigers
caption_attribution_description: Baseball card of Major League Baseball player Oscar Stanage
context_page_description: Oscar Harland Stanage was an American baseball catcher. He played professional baseball for 24 years from 1903 to 1926, including 13 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers.
  A native of Tulare, California, he began his baseball career with the Stockton Millers. He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1906 and promptly traded to the Reds for whom he had only one plate appearance before returning to the minor leagues. In August 1908, Stanage was purchased by the Tigers and remained with them from 1909 to 1920. He appeared in 1,096 major league games, 1,074 as a catcher, and compiled a .236 batting average and .284 on-base percentage. In 1911, he set an American League record with 212 assists as a catcher, a record that still stands. He led the American League in assists by a catcher three times and threw out 830 base runners in the 1910s, more than any other American League catcher. He ranks among the all-time career leaders at catcher with 1,381 assists, 931 runners caught stealing, and 1,297 stolen bases allowed.
context_section_description: On August 6, 1908, the Tigers purchased Stanage from Newark subject to the caveat that he would remain with Newark until the end of the season. In the spring of 1909, Stanage immediately impressed observers with his strong arm. He shared the catcher position with Boss Schmidt; Schmidt appeared in 81 games as catcher and Stanage in 77. Stanage compiled a .262 batting average in 252 at bats with six triples and 21 RBIs. The Tigers won the American League pennant, and in the 1909 World Series, Stanage appeared in two games and had a single, a sacrifice hit, two RBIs, and two strikeouts in five at bats.
  Stanage and Schmidt continued to share catching duty for the Tigers in 1910 with Stanage appearing in 84 and Schmidt 66 games behind the plate. However, Stanage's batting average dropped 55 points from .262 in 1909 to .207 in 1910.
  In 1911, Stanage became the Tigers' regular catcher and compiled a career high .264 batting average with 27 extra base hits and 51 RBIs.  He also led the American League's catchers with 141 defensive games at catcher, 599 putouts, 212 assists, 41 errors, 178 stolen bases allowed, and 156 base runners caught stealing. His 212 assists in 1911 set an American League record that remains more than 100 years later. However, his 41 errors was an American League record and the most by a major league catcher in the 20th century. Interviewed in 1962, Stanage took pride in his 1911 assists record, saying, "That tells the story. If my infielders hadn't dropped so many of my throws, I'd have had a lot more assists and a lot less errors."
  Stanage also led the American League in assists by a catcher in 1912 (168) and 1914 (190).  Stanage had over 100 assists at the catcher position for seven straight years from 1910 to 1916.  He collected 1,045 assists in 738 games over that seven-year stretch, an average of 1.42 assists per game.  His career average of 1.29 assists per game is the fifth best in major league history, behind Duke Farrell, Red Dooin, Johnny Kling, and Bill Killefer. Known to have a strong arm, Stanage also threw out 830 base runners in the 1910s, more than any other American League catcher.  Stanage also led the league with 14 double plays and 17 passed balls in 1912 and 30 errors in 1914.
  Known as a student of the game, Stanage was the only catcher who prevented Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics from stealing signs. Mack's Athletics had become notorious for stealing the opposing team's signs in 1911. Sports writer Norman E. Brown wrote that Stanage's greatest strength was his ability to handle pitchers: "Stanage's steadiness and ability in handling uncertain pitchers was probably his greatest asset. He is 'wise' in the ways of pitching, sizes up a hurler's weakness quickly and is a great aid in ironing out of the rough spots of a young hurler's delivery."
  In January 1917, Stanage was expelled from the Baseball Players Fraternity, an early players union, for signing a contract with the Tigers for the 1917 prior to receiving authorization from the union. Stanage said at the time that he was pleased with the salary offered by the Tigers and that he quit the union "because I couldn't see what good it was doing me."
  Stanage was a weak hitter, batting for a .234 average in 14 years.  He ranks second all time behind Billy Sullivan for having the lowest slugging percentage by a catcher in a major league season with a .233 slugging percentage in 1914. Because of his weak hitting, the Tigers were always looking for a better-hitting catcher, trying Jack Onslow, Red McKee, Del Baker, Tubby Spencer and Archie Yelle.  Eddie Ainsmith finally won the job in 1919, but Stanage regained the starting role in 1920. Over the course of his career, Stanage appeared in 1,075 games as a catcher for the Tigers – second in club history to Bill Freehan's 1,581 games and ahead of Lance Parrish's 1,039 games at the position.
caption: Stanage in 1911
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