finalyear death_date debutyear statvalue finalteam birth_date hofdate death_place finaldate hofvote image statlabel debutteam name throws birth_place debutdate bats position article_title
1928 8 december 1958 1907 .345 3,515 117 792 1,529 philadelphia athletics 4 april 1888 1937 lake whitney , texas august 30 82.1 % -lrb- second ballot -rrb- tris_speaker . jpg batting average hits home runs doubles runs batted in boston americans tris speaker left hubbard , texas september 14 left center fielder / manager tris speaker

tris speaker

tristram e. speaker -lrb- april 4 , 1888 -- december 8 , 1958 -rrb- , nicknamed `` the grey eagle '' , was an american baseball player .
considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of major league baseball -lrb- mlb -rrb- , he compiled a career batting average of .345 -lrb- sixth all-time -rrb- .
his 792 career doubles represent an mlb career record .
his 3,514 hits are fifth in all-time hits list .
defensively , speaker holds career records for assists , double plays , and unassisted double plays by an outfielder .
his fielding glove was known as the place `` where triples go to die . ''
after playing in the minor leagues in texas and arkansas , speaker debuted with the boston red sox in 1907 .
he became the regular center fielder by 1909 and led the red sox to world series championships in 1912 and 1915 .
in 1915 , speaker 's batting average dropped to .322 from .338 the previous season ; he was traded to the cleveland indians when he refused to take a pay cut .
as player-manager for cleveland , he led the team to its first world series title .
in ten of his eleven seasons with cleveland , he finished with a batting average greater than .350 .
speaker resigned as cleveland 's manager in 1926 after he and ty cobb faced game fixing allegations ; both men were later cleared .
during his managerial stint in cleveland , speaker introduced the platoon system in the major leagues .
speaker played with the washington senators in 1927 and the philadelphia athletics in 1928 , then became a minor league manager and part owner .
he later held several roles for the cleveland indians .
late in life , speaker led a short-lived indoor baseball league , ran a wholesale liquor business , worked in sales and chaired cleveland 's boxing commission .
he was inducted into the baseball hall of fame in 1937 .
he was named to the `` sporting news '' 100 greatest baseball players -lrb- 1999 -rrb- and to the major league baseball all-century team .
