Guy Jackson Hecker (April 3, 1856 – December 3, 1938) was an American professional baseball

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

and

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 ...

. He played 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 ...

from 1882 to 1890, primarily for the Louisville Eclipse/Colonels. In 1884, he won the American Association (AA) pitching triple crown.

Early life

Hecker was born in

Youngsville, Pennsylvania Youngsville is a borough in Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,731 at the 2020 census. Geography Youngsville is located at (41.853460, -79.318614). According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a ...

, in 1856. His family moved to Oil City, Pennsylvania, when he was a child.''Nineteenth Century Stars'' (1989), p. 59. In 1877, Hecker started his professional baseball career with the Springfield Champion City of the League Alliance. He was listed at 6'0" tall and 190 pounds, and he batted and threw right-handed."Guy Hecker Minor Leagues Statistics"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 22, 2024. After that season, Hecker moved back to Oil City, got married, and played for local teams through 1881.

Louisville

In 1882, Hecker joined the Louisville team of the new AA as a first baseman and backup pitcher to Tony Mullane. During his career, Hecker was known for his sharp baseball mind and leadership skills. He was friends and roommates with his teammate Pete Browning, an eccentric slugger. On September 19, 1882, Hecker became the second AA pitcher to throw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

; his teammate Mullane had thrown one a week earlier.Bailey, Bob
"Guy Hecker"
sabr.org. Retrieved August 22, 2024. Hecker finished the season with a 6–6 win–loss record, a 1.30

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), and 33

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s."Guy Hecker"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 22, 2024. In 1883, Mullane left the team, and Hecker became Louisville's primary pitcher. That season, Hecker went 28–23 with a 3.34 ERA and 164 strikeouts. Hecker was a power pitcher early in his major league career, with his key pitch being a "hard overhand drop curve." He was also a good hitter who sometimes played as a first baseman or

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

when not pitching. Hecker had the best season of his career in 1884, winning the pitching version of the triple crown. He went 52–20 and led the AA with 670.2

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, 72

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s, 52 wins, a 1.80 ERA, 385 strikeouts, and a 171 ERA+. His 52 wins are tied for the fourth-most during a single season in major league history. In 1885, Hecker went 30–23 with a 2.18 ERA and 209 strikeouts. In 1886, Hecker suffered from an arm injury. He became a finesse pitcher and spent more time at first base for the rest of his career afterward. He also developed a rivalry with Louisville's new top pitcher, Toad Ramsey, which threatened to split the team. Despite all that, Hecker went 26–23 that season with a 2.87 ERA and 133 strikeouts. He had his best season as a hitter, leading the AA with a .341

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 ...

and posting a 161 OPS+. During the second game of a doubleheader against Baltimore on August 15, 1886, Hecker went six-for-seven at the plate, hitting three

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 scoring seven runs. He is the only major league player to ever score seven runs in a game, and he is the only pitcher with six hits in a nine-inning game. A new rule change in 1887 limited pitcher movement on the mound to one forward step. This forced Hecker to abandon his usual "running start" delivery and hurt his performance. He finished the season with a record of 18–12, a 4.16 ERA, and 58 strikeouts. In 1888, Hecker went 8–17 with a 3.39 ERA and 63 strikeouts. In 1889, Hecker went 5–13 with a 5.59 ERA and 33 strikeouts. Louisville released him on September 17 of that year.

Pittsburgh

In 1890, Hecker joined the Pittsburgh Alleghenys 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 ...

as a player-manager. As a pitcher, Hecker went 2–9 with a 5.11 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Pittsburgh had a record of 23–113 and finished in last place. During Hecker's major league career, he appeared in 336 games as a pitcher, 322 as a first baseman, and 75 as an outfielder. As a pitcher, he went 175–146 with a 2.93 ERA, 1110 strikeouts, and a 113 ERA+. As a hitter, he had a .282 batting average, 19 home runs, 278

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

, and a 117 OPS+. In the 2001 book '' The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'',

Bill James George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books about baseball history and statistics. His a ...

ranked Hecker as the seventh-best pitcher/hitter combination in baseball history.

Later life

In 1891, Hecker was a player-manager for Fort Wayne of the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for six seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, 1886–1887, and 1891. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by t ...

. In 1892, Hecker was a player-manager for the Jacksonville Lunatics of the Illinois-Iowa League. During the next few years, Hecker settled in Oil City, managed local teams, and was involved in the oil business. Later in life, he and his wife ran a grocery store in

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in Wayne County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at the ...

.Newby, Tim (2024). ''The Original Louisville Slugger'', p. 203. Hecker died in Wooster in 1938, at age 82, and was buried at Wooster Cemetery.

References

External links