Ervin Thomas Beck (July 19, 1878 – December 23, 1916), nicknamed "Dutch", was an American

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

. He played three seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 1899 to 1902 for the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

, Cleveland Blues,

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

."Erve Beck Statistics and History"
Accessed June 8, 2017.

Career

Ervin Thomas Beck was born on July 19, 1878, in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

. He made his first professional baseball appearance at the age of 16, when he signed with the Adrian Reformers of the

Michigan State League The Michigan State League was a minor league baseball league that operated in various seasons between 1889 and 1941. The league franchises were based exclusively in Michigan, with the league forming on six different occasions. Twenty two different ...

. From 1896 into the 1899 minor league baseball seasons, he played for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

of the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

, hitting 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and a .298 batting average in 1898. During his time with the Mud Hens, he was considered to be one of the top players at his position in the Interstate League. In August 1897, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

(NL), offered Toledo $1,500 for the rights for Beck as well as their

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, Bade Meyers. In August 1899, Beck was sold by the Mud Hens to the

of the

, and made his major league debut on September 19. Superbas

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Ted Sullivan initially offered Toledo $200 for Beck's rights, but eventually agreed to $1000. In total, Beck played in eight games for the Superbas, six as a

and two as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

, and collected just four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

in 24

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s for a .167

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. For the 1900 season, he returned to the Mud Hens and played a full season, achieving career-high totals in every major hitting category, highlighted by his .360 batting average and 71 doubles. Following the season, his rights were retained by Cincinnati of the NL but he instead chose to play for the Cleveland Blues of the newly-major American League. On April 25, 1901, Beck hit the first major league home run in American League history. On November 27, 1901, it was reported that Beck had signed with the

of the NL before the 1902 season; a one-year contract for $3,000 to play second base. After his strong performance in 1901, the move was made to strengthen the Reds offense among their

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

s. In 1904, Beck played for the Portland Browns of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. In 208 games for the Browns, he collected 217 hits and had a .273 batting average. After the season, he was rumored to be a part of a trade with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

, but it never materialized. He did change teams during the off-season, signing a contract with the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

of the

Southern Association The Southern Association (SA) was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class B (1902-19 ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Erve Major League Baseball second basemen Brooklyn Superbas players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Blues (1901) players Detroit Tigers players Adrian Reformers players Adrian Demons players Augusta Tourists players Nashville Vols players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Portland Browns players Shreveport Giants players Toledo Mud Hens players Baseball players from Toledo, Ohio 1878 births 1916 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen