When Hargrave hit .353 in 1926, he became the first full-time catcher to lead his
league in batting; only Ernie Lombardi ever matched the feat. It was the first time
that decade that Rogers Hornsby, who slumped to .317 that year, didn't win the crown.
Hargrave had only 326 at-bats, but at the time the percentage title qualification
was 100 games; Hargrave caught 93 games, but pinch-hitting appearances brought his
total to 105 games. The primitive state of catchers' protective gear made it fairly
common for first-string catchers to play fewer than 100 games. It wasn't until 1951
that the requirement was changed to 400 at-bats, but the statistical record book
Total Baseball doesn 't list him as the league leader in 1926.
Hargrave hit .300 six
straight years (1922-27). His best season was 1923, when he caught the most games
of his career (109) and reached personal highs in HR (10), RBI (78), runs (54), and
doubles (23) while batting .333. He had failed his first major league trial, hitting
.207 in parts of three seasons with the Cubs. He was the Reds' primary catcher in
the years he was a .300 hitter, and in 1924 he led NL receivers in double plays.
His last season was spent as a backup catcher for the Yankees. His younger brother
was Pinky Hargrave.
(JFC)
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»May 15, 1926: Behind Pete Donohue, the Reds whip the Giants, 11–6, and move into first place. Led by the National League's two top hitters—C Bubbles Hargrave at .353 and OF Cuckoo Christensen at .350—and the pitching of Pete Donohue, Carl Mays, and Eppa Rixey, they'll stay in 1st until mid-July.
»August 11, 1929:
A 3-run homer by Bubbles Hargrave and another run on a throwing error by Joe Cronin allows the Tigers to tie the A's, 8–8 in the 9th. Bengal OF Roy Johnson wins it in the 11th by stroking a 2-out inside the park homer, off Orwell.
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