Baseball Trailblazers by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

.484.

Many baseball players were drafted to fight in World War I in 1918, but Hornsby was given a draft deferment because he was supporting his family. During the offseason, Miller Huggins, unhappy with the Cardinals' management, left the team to manage the New York Yankees. He was replaced by Jack Hendricks, who had managed the Indianapolis Indians to a pennant in the American Association the previous year. Hornsby lacked confidence in Hendricks's ability to run the Cardinals, and the two men developed animosity towards each other as a result of Hornsby's growing egotism and fondness for former manager Huggins. Under Hendricks, Hornsby's batting average dipped to .281. He had problems off the field too. On June 17, Hornsby hit St. Louis resident Frank G. Rowe with his Buick when Rowe stepped out in front of traffic to cross an intersection. Rowe sued Hornsby for

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$15,000, but Hornsby eventually settled for a smaller, undisclosed amount, and the case was dismissed. He was still among the league leaders in triples and slugging percentage in 1918, but after the season ended with the Cardinals in last place, he announced that he would never play under Hendricks again. Partially due to Hornsby's complaints, Hendricks was fired after the season and replaced by Branch Rickey, then president of the Cardinals.

In 1919, after the Cardinals acquired shortstop Doc Lavan, Rickey tried converting Hornsby into a second baseman in spring training. Hornsby played third base for most of the year. His batting average was low at the beginning of the season but improved by June. At season's end, his average of .318 was second highest in the league, and he also finished second in total bases and runs batted in.

"Hornsby is the greatest hitter I've ever had to face. I've tried to fool him every way possible, but it just cannot be done. Personally, I don't think a more skillful man ever stepped up to the plate." - Grover Cleveland Alexander on Rogers Hornsby.

In 1920, Rickey moved Hornsby to second base, where he remained for the rest of his career. He started the year with a 14 game

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hitting streak. On June 4, he had two triples and two RBIs as the Cardinals defeated the Chicago Cubs 5–1, a game that ended future Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander's 11 game winning streak. Hornsby finished the season with the first of seven batting titles by hitting .370, and he also led the league in on base percentage - .431, slugging percentage - .559, hits -

218, total bases - 329, doubles - 44, and RBIs – 94.

Hornsby hit with increased power during the 1921 season. He hit

.397, and his 21 home runs were second in the league, more than twice his total in any previous season. He also led the league in on base percentage, slugging percentage, runs scored, RBIs, doubles, and triples. The Cardinals held a special day in Hornsby's honor on September 30 before a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they presented Hornsby with multiple awards before the game, including a baseball autographed by President of the United States Warren G. Harding. The Cardinals beat the Pirates 12–4 that day as Hornsby hit a home run and had two doubles.

By the 1922 season, Hornsby was considered a big star, having led the league in batting average, hits, doubles, and runs batted in multiple times. As a result, he sought a three year contract for $25,000 per season. After negotiating with Cardinals management, he settled for a three year, $18,500

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contract, which made him the highest paid player in league history to that point. On August 5, Hornsby set a new NL record when he hit his 28th home run of the season off of Jimmy Ring of the Philadelphia Phillies. From August 13 through September 19, he had a 33 game hitting streak. Hornsby set National League records in 1922 with 42 home runs, 250 hits and a .722 slugging percentage. His .401 batting average was the highest in the National League since 1897. He won the first of his two Triple Crowns that year, and he led the league in RBIs - 152, on base percentage - .459, doubles - 46, and runs scored - 141. His 450

total bases in 1922 remain the National League single season record. On defense, Hornsby led all second basemen in putouts, double plays, and fielding percentage.

On May 8, 1923, Hornsby suffered an injury to his left knee in a game against the Phillies when he turned to make a throw. He returned 10 days later, but the injury lingered, and he was removed from a game against the Pirates on May 26 to be examined by Robert Hyland, the Cardinals' physician. Hyland had Hornsby's knee placed in a cast for two weeks, after which he returned to the Cardinals. During a game in August, Hornsby was on third base late in the game and threw up his hands in disgust in response to a sign flashed by Rickey. He had given the current batter the take sign, and Hornsby felt the batter should have

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hit the ball. After the game, he and Rickey fought in the clubhouse, but teammates quickly broke it up. Hornsby missed several games late in the year with injuries that the Cardinals and Hyland did not believe to be serious. As a result he was fined $500 and suspended for the last five games of the year.

However, Hornsby still won his fourth consecutive NL batting title with a batting average of .384. He also repeated as the leader in on base percentage - .459, and slugging percentage -