Jesse Burkett - Master of the Inside the Park HR

 I'm still waiting on that card I spent a C-note on to arrive.  I ended up dropping an email to the seller on Friday.  Alas, he doesn't actually own a computer and the email was answered by his son and business partner.  My message was passed on to Bill, so I'll keep an eye on the mail. If it doesn't arrive by Thursday, I'll give him a call and, if he hasn't sent it, I'll ask him to bring it to the mini-show up at Al's on Saturday.

In the mean time,I'll bring you another interesting story from baseball's history, using 2011 Tristar Obak as the launching-off point.

Jesse Burkett, a member of the baseball Hall of Fame, played major league baseball between 1890 and 1905 and still holds the MLB record for career inside the park home runs with 55.  Second on the list is Ty Cobb with 51.  Possessing a disagreeable personality, he was nicknamed "Crab." He continued as a player manager in the minor leagues putting in playing time from 1906 through 1913, as well as limited appearances in 1916 and 1919 (at the age of 50!)  His 1906 season may well be one of the more interesting seasons in baseball history. As a player for the Worcester Busters, he lead the B level New England League in hitting with an average of .344.  As the team manager, he lead the Busters to the first of four consecutive league championships.  What made it most interesting, though, was that he was the owner of the team at the time.  All and all, he appeared as a professional player in 28 different seasons.

Other Inside the Park Home Runs of Note:

1. The most inside the park home runs hit in one season is 12 by Sam Crawford for the Cincinnati Reds in 1901.
2. The most hit in one game is 3 by Tom McCreery of the Louisville Colonels on July 12, 1897.
3. Since 1950, only two players have hit 2 inside the park home runs in a game: Dick Allen of the Chicago White Sox on July 31, 1972 and Greg Gagne of the Minnesota Twins on October 4, 1986.
4. On July 25, 1956 Roberto Clemente hit the only walk-off inside the park grand slam in MLB history.