Jerry Denny
{{Short description|American baseball player (1859–1927)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Jerry Denny
|image=Jerry Denny 1889.jpg
|caption=1889 baseball card of Denny
|position=Third baseman
|bats=Right
|throws=Both
|birth_date={{birth date|1859|3|16}}
|birth_place=New York City, U.S.
|death_date={{death date and age|1927|8|16|1859|3|16}}
|death_place=Houston, Texas, U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=May 2
|debutyear=1881
|debutteam=Providence Grays
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=July 10
|finalyear=1894
|finalteam=Louisville Colonels
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=Batting average
|stat1value=.260
|stat2label=Hits
|stat2value=1,286
|stat3label=Runs batted in
|stat3value=667
|teams=
- Providence Grays ({{baseball year|1881}}–{{baseball year|1885}})
- St. Louis Maroons ({{baseball year|1886}})
- Indianapolis Hoosiers ({{baseball year|1887}}–{{baseball year|1889}})
- New York Giants ({{baseball year|1890}}–{{baseball year|1891}})
- Cleveland Spiders ({{baseball year|1891}})
- Philadelphia Phillies ({{baseball year|1891}})
- Louisville Colonels ({{baseball year|1893}}–{{baseball year|1894}})
|highlights=
- National League pennant: 1884
}}
Jeremiah Dennis Denny (born Jeremiah Dennis Eldridge; March 16, 1859 – August 16, 1927){{cite news|title=Old Giant Player Dies; Jerry Denny, Star Who Never Used a Glove, Passes Away at 71|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 17, 1927|page=17 (sports)|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/08/17/96665610.html?pageNumber=17}} was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the Providence Grays (1881–1885), St. Louis Maroons (1886), Indianapolis Hoosiers (1888–1889), New York Giants (1890–1891), Cleveland Spiders (1891), Philadelphia Phillies (1891), and Louisville Colonels (1893–1894). He also played 86 games at shortstop in six seasons.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/d/dennyje01.shtml#all_appearances Baseball-Reference.com, fielding appearances by season for Jerry Denny]
After leaving the major leagues, Denny continued playing minor league baseball until 1902. He was the last major league position player (non-pitcher) to play his entire career on the diamond without wearing a fielding glove.
Name
Eldridge attended St. Mary's College, Phoenix, Arizona, in the late 1870s, and wanted to play semi-professional baseball during the summer months, when he wasn't playing for the college as an amateur.{{cite book|last=Zingg|first=Paul|title=Harry Hooper: An American Baseball Life|date=2004|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=United States|isbn=978-0-252-07170-6|pages=312}} He used the pseudonym "Jerry Denny" to hide his professional play from the college.
Professional achievements
Denny holds the major league record for most chances by a third baseman in a single game, handling 16 chances during an 18-inning match on August 17, 1882.{{cite book|last1=Overfield|first1=Joseph|title=Nineteenth Century Stars|date=2015|publisher=SABR Inc|location=United States|isbn=9781933599298|pages=300}}{{Cite web|url=http://baseball-almanac.com/rb_3bch.shtml|title = Chance Records for Third Basemen}}
In 1884, Denny helped the National League champion Grays defeat the New York Metropolitans of the American Association in the major leagues' first post-season championship match-up. That season, he was the Grays' leader in home runs (six, and one in the championship series) and runs batted in (59), and second in extra-base hits (37).
Denny's career totals are 1,237 games, 4,946 at bats, 714 runs, 1,286 hits, 238 doubles, 76 triples, 74 home runs, 667 RBI, 130 stolen bases, 173 walks, and a batting average of .260.
"Denny was a rarity among power-hitters in that he drew very few walks, a factor that led to his offensive value being overrated throughout his career," wrote baseball historian Craig Wright, who explained: "[Denny's] batting averages were very normal for a position player of his era, but he walked so little that when he retired he had the second worst on-base percentage (.287) among major leaguers with 5000 plate appearances."Wright, Craig R., "Jerry Denny," Pages from Baseball's Past (subscription newsletter), August 2, 2021
Unconventional fielding technique
At the time Denny began his professional career, fielding gloves had not yet become standard equipment, other than padded mitts for catchers and first basemen. Fielding gloves gradually gained acceptance between 1885 and the mid-1890s, but Denny refused to adapt. He was one of the few ambidextrous major league players; although he threw primarily with his right arm, he could also toss with his left. This gave him a defensive advantage at his customary field position—in ranging to his left on a ground ball, if he saw a play at second base, instead of having to transfer the ball to his right hand while pivoting and repositioning his body (as third basemen would customarily do), Denny could dispatch the ball to second with his left hand. This skill contributed to his refusal to wear a glove in the field, long after most players considered gloves essential.
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
{{Baseballstats|br=d/dennyje01|brm=denny-001jer}}
- {{findagrave|18073}}
{{1884 Providence Grays}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Denny, Jerry}}
Category:19th-century baseball players
Category:19th-century American sportsmen
Category:Major League Baseball third basemen
Category:Cleveland Spiders players
Category:Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players
Category:Louisville Colonels players
Category:New York Giants (baseball) players
Category:Philadelphia Phillies players
Category:Providence Grays players
Category:St. Louis Maroons players
Category:Minor league baseball managers
Category:San Francisco Eagles players
Category:San Francisco Mutuals players
Category:San Francisco Star players
Category:San Francisco Athletics players
Category:San Jose Dukes players
Category:Augusta Electricians players
Category:Bridgeport Orators players
Category:Waterbury Pirates players
Category:Derby Lushers players
Category:Norwich Witches players