Bill Bergen
Encyclopedia
William Aloysius "Bill" Bergen (June 13, 1878- December 19, 1943) was a Major League Baseball
catcher
in the early 20th century. Bergen was born in North Brookfield, Massachusetts
on June 13, 1878. He played eleven seasons in the National League
, three with the Cincinnati Reds
and eight with the Brooklyn Dodgers
.
, during which he compiled a batting average
of .170, a record low for players with more than 2,500 plate appearances. Pitchers are traditionally the weakest-hitting player in the lineup, yet three hurlers with more than 2,500 plate appearances accrued higher career batting averages than Bergen: Pud Galvin
with .201, Bobby Mathews
with .203, and Cy Young
with .210. Among position players (non-pitchers), the next lowest career batting average is Billy Sullivan with .213 (a remarkable .043 differential). Bergen's career on-base percentage was .194—he is the only player with at least 500 at-bats who tallied an OBP under .200. He hit only two home run
s in his career. In 1909, Bergen hit .139, the lowest average in history for a player with the minimum number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
In 1909, Bergen set another record for futility with a span of 45 consecutive at-bats without a base hit, the longest streak ever by a position player (non-pitcher). The record stood until 2011 when it was broken by Eugenio Vélez
(who also, coincidentally, played for the Dodgers). From 1904 to 1911, Dodger pitchers as a group outhit Bergen, .169 to .162.
called him one of the best catchers in the game. His .989 fielding percentage
in 1909 set a record (since broken) for catchers. On August 23, 1909, he threw out six St. Louis Cardinals who attempted to steal bases
, a record that stands. His career percentage for throwing out base-stealers was a stellar 47.3%. Charles Faber, in his book Baseball Ratings, called Bergen the third-best defensive catcher in history, behind Gabby Hartnett
and Pop Snyder
, and ahead of Johnny Edwards and Roy Campanella
. Total Baseball
ranks Bergen the fifth-best defensive catcher of all-time.
Bergen tallied 100 assists as a catcher in nine seasons (in seven of which he caught less than 100 games). By comparison, the following Hall of Fame catchers reached 100 assists in a season the following number of times (despite in most cases playing far more games each season than Bergen) : Johnny Bench
(1); Yogi Berra
(0); Mickey Cochrane
(0); Ray Schalk
(10); Roger Bresnahan
(6); Roy Campanella
(0); Gary Carter
(4); Bill Dickey
(4); Carlton Fisk
(0); Gabby Hartnett
(2); Ernie Lombardi
(0); Rick Ferrell
(0); and Buck Ewing
(4).
Most of the teams for which Bergen played were not very good, which could partly explain his being retained on rosters year after year. The Dodgers had a losing record every year Bergen was on the team, including a dismal 48-104 record in 1905. After he was released from the big leagues, Bergen played in the minor leagues until 1914. He coached and managed in minor league ball until 1920, at which point he retired from the game. He died on December 19, 1943 of heart disease
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
in the early 20th century. Bergen was born in North Brookfield, Massachusetts
North Brookfield, Massachusetts
North Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,680 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place North Brookfield, please see the article North Brookfield , Massachusetts.- History :North Brookfield...
on June 13, 1878. He played eleven seasons in the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
, three with the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and eight with the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
.
At the plate
Bergen was a fine defensive catcher whose dubious claim to fame was his offensive ineptitude. No one played in the major leagues as long as Bill Bergen and hit so poorly. Bergen had 3,228 career at-batsAt bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
, during which he compiled a batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
of .170, a record low for players with more than 2,500 plate appearances. Pitchers are traditionally the weakest-hitting player in the lineup, yet three hurlers with more than 2,500 plate appearances accrued higher career batting averages than Bergen: Pud Galvin
Pud Galvin
James Francis Galvin , nicknamed "Pud", "Gentle Jeems", and "The Little Steam Engine", was an American National Association and Major League Baseball pitcher. He was Major League Baseball's first 300-game winner...
with .201, Bobby Mathews
Bobby Mathews
Robert T. Mathews was an American right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher for twenty years beginning in the late 1860s. He is credited as being one of the inventors of the spitball pitch, which was rediscovered or reintroduced to the major leagues after he died. He is also credited with the...
with .203, and Cy Young
Cy Young
Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. During his 22-year baseball career , he pitched for five different teams. Young was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937...
with .210. Among position players (non-pitchers), the next lowest career batting average is Billy Sullivan with .213 (a remarkable .043 differential). Bergen's career on-base percentage was .194—he is the only player with at least 500 at-bats who tallied an OBP under .200. He hit only two home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in his career. In 1909, Bergen hit .139, the lowest average in history for a player with the minimum number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.
In 1909, Bergen set another record for futility with a span of 45 consecutive at-bats without a base hit, the longest streak ever by a position player (non-pitcher). The record stood until 2011 when it was broken by Eugenio Vélez
Eugenio Vélez
Eugenio Vélez Vancomper is a Dominican professional baseball infielder and outfielder who is a free agent.-Toronto Blue Jays :...
(who also, coincidentally, played for the Dodgers). From 1904 to 1911, Dodger pitchers as a group outhit Bergen, .169 to .162.
Behind the plate
Despite his lack of batting skills, Bergen remained an active major leaguer for so long because he played in an era when pitching dominated and he was a first-rate defensive catcher. He ranks ninth on the all-time list for assists by a catcher with 1,444, despite never being a full-time player. In 1908, The Sporting NewsThe Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
called him one of the best catchers in the game. His .989 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
in 1909 set a record (since broken) for catchers. On August 23, 1909, he threw out six St. Louis Cardinals who attempted to steal bases
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
, a record that stands. His career percentage for throwing out base-stealers was a stellar 47.3%. Charles Faber, in his book Baseball Ratings, called Bergen the third-best defensive catcher in history, behind Gabby Hartnett
Gabby Hartnett
Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played almost his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs. Until the career of Johnny Bench, Hartnett was considered the greatest catcher in the history of the National League...
and Pop Snyder
Pop Snyder
Charles N. "Pop" Snyder was an American catcher, manager, and umpire in Major League Baseball. His 18 season playing career began in 1873 for the Washington Blue Legs of the National Association, and ended with the 1891 Washington Statesmen...
, and ahead of Johnny Edwards and Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
. Total Baseball
Total Baseball
Total Baseball is a baseball encyclopedia first compiled by John Thorn and Pete Palmer in 1989. The latest edition, published in 2004, is its eighth...
ranks Bergen the fifth-best defensive catcher of all-time.
Bergen tallied 100 assists as a catcher in nine seasons (in seven of which he caught less than 100 games). By comparison, the following Hall of Fame catchers reached 100 assists in a season the following number of times (despite in most cases playing far more games each season than Bergen) : Johnny Bench
Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...
(1); Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra
Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former American Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager. He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
(0); Mickey Cochrane
Mickey Cochrane
Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...
(0); Ray Schalk
Ray Schalk
Raymond William Schalk was a professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox for the majority of his career. Known for his fine handling of pitchers and outstanding defensive ability, Schalk was considered the...
(10); Roger Bresnahan
Roger Bresnahan
Roger Philip Bresnahan , nicknamed "The Duke of Tralee" for his Irish roots, was an American player in Major League Baseball who starred primarily as a catcher and a player-manager...
(6); Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
(0); Gary Carter
Gary Carter
Gary Edmund Carter , nicknamed "Kid" and "Kid Carter", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 19-year baseball career, mostly with the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets, Carter established himself as one of the premier catchers in the National League, winning three Gold...
(4); Bill Dickey
Bill Dickey
William Malcolm Dickey was a Major League Baseball catcher and manager.He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the New York Yankees . During Dickey's playing career, the Yankees went to the World Series nine times, winning eight championships...
(4); Carlton Fisk
Carlton Fisk
Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...
(0); Gabby Hartnett
Gabby Hartnett
Charles Leo "Gabby" Hartnett was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played almost his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Chicago Cubs. Until the career of Johnny Bench, Hartnett was considered the greatest catcher in the history of the National League...
(2); Ernie Lombardi
Ernie Lombardi
Ernesto Natali "Ernie" Lombardi , was a Major League Baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Robins, the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Braves and the New York Giants during a Hall of Fame career that spanned 17 years, from 1931 to 1947. He had several nicknames, including "Schnozz", "Lumbago", "Bocci",...
(0); Rick Ferrell
Rick Ferrell
Richard Benjamin Ferrell was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and executive. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. Ferrell was regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball during the...
(0); and Buck Ewing
Buck Ewing
William "Buck" Ewing was a Major League Baseball player and manager, and is widely regarded as the best catcher of his era and is often argued to be the best player of the 19th century...
(4).
Most of the teams for which Bergen played were not very good, which could partly explain his being retained on rosters year after year. The Dodgers had a losing record every year Bergen was on the team, including a dismal 48-104 record in 1905. After he was released from the big leagues, Bergen played in the minor leagues until 1914. He coached and managed in minor league ball until 1920, at which point he retired from the game. He died on December 19, 1943 of heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
.
Personal
His brother was Marty Bergen, a big-league catcher for the Boston Beaneaters, who suffered from severe mental illness. Marty Bergen brutally murdered his family and committed suicide in 1900.External links
- Pepper, Al. Mendoza's Heroes: Fifty Batters Below .200.
- Webpage dedicated to Bergen
- Bill Bergen at Find a GraveFind A GraveFind a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...