Smead Jolley
Encyclopedia
Smead Powell Jolley was an outfielder
in Major League baseball
for four seasons during the 1930s.
Jolley was raised in Arkansas. He was an impressive hitter, with a .305 lifetime batting average
and considerable power. However, Jolley was a famously poor fielder, and in an era before the designated hitter
, when all starting players had to play a defensive position, Jolley's glove was too great a liability to sustain an MLB career.
In addition, offensive statistics were very high in Major League Baseball around 1930. Had Smead Jolley played in the early 1960s, it is not likely that he could have duplicated his statistics of 1930-1932.
As an outfielder, Jolley made 44 errors
in 788 career chances, for a .944 fielding percentage
, low for an outfielder. Jolley once committed three errors on one play. First, he let a ground ball roll through his legs; trying to play the ball off the wall, he let it roll through his legs; and finally he overthrew the cut-off man for error #3.
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
in Major League baseball
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...
for four seasons during the 1930s.
Jolley was raised in Arkansas. He was an impressive hitter, with a .305 lifetime 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 :...
and considerable power. However, Jolley was a famously poor fielder, and in an era before the designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
, when all starting players had to play a defensive position, Jolley's glove was too great a liability to sustain an MLB career.
In addition, offensive statistics were very high in Major League Baseball around 1930. Had Smead Jolley played in the early 1960s, it is not likely that he could have duplicated his statistics of 1930-1932.
As an outfielder, Jolley made 44 errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
in 788 career chances, for a .944 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...
, low for an outfielder. Jolley once committed three errors on one play. First, he let a ground ball roll through his legs; trying to play the ball off the wall, he let it roll through his legs; and finally he overthrew the cut-off man for error #3.