Samuel Blair Mertes (August 6, 1872 – March 11, 1945) was an American professional baseball player. He was an outfielder over parts of 10 seasons (1896–1906) with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Orphans, Chicago White Sox, New York Giants, and St. Louis Cardinals. Mertes led the National League in doubles and RBIs in 1903 while playing for New York. He was born in San Francisco, California, and died in Villa Grande, California, at the age of 72.
In 10 seasons, Mertes batted .279 (1227-4405) with 40 home runs and 721 RBI. He stole 396 bases in his career. Mertes' on-base percentage was .346 and his slugging percentage was .398. He had 100+ RBI seasons in 1903 and 1905.
Harpo Marx considered Mertes his favorite player, claiming he was the only member of the Giants he could see from his limited view outside the stadium on Coogan's Bluff.[1]
He was a Freemason and a member of Richmond Lodge No. 375, F.&A.M., in San Francisco. After being traded to St. Louis, he said that he had trouble getting along with his teammates on the New York Giants because he was a Mason and many of them were Irish Catholics.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
References
- ^ Marx, Harpo (1961). Harp Speaks. Bernard Geis Associates. pp. 39–40.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Rice, Stephen V. "Sam Mertes". SABR. Retrieved October 19, 2017.
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