Matthew Martin "Matty" McIntyre (June 12, 1880 – April 2, 1920) was an

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 c ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

who played ten seasons with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakl ...

(1901),

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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1904–10), and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1911–12). Matty McIntyre

Born in Stonington, Connecticut, and raised in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and f ...

, he helped the Tigers win the American League Pennant three times, from 1907 to 1909. He led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

in singles (131), times on base (258), and runs (105) in . In 1,072 career games, McIntyre batted .269 with 562 runs, 1,066 hits, 140 doubles, 69 triples, 4 home runs, 319 RBI, 120 stolen bases, 439 walks, 1,356 total bases, and 87 sacrifice hits. His best season was 1908, when he helped lead the Tigers to the World Series and was the second best hitter in the American League (behind teammate

Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the la ...

). In 1908, McIntyre was first in the American League in several categories: plate appearances (672), times on base (258), runs (105), and singles (131). In 1908, he was also among the leaders in almost every other offensive category: No. 2 in on-base percentage (.392), fifth in batting average (.295), fifth in slugging percentage (.385), fourth in OPS (.775), third in hits (168), 4th in total bases (218), 9th in doubles (24), fifth in triples (13), third in bases on balls (83), 3rd in runs created, and 7th in extra base hits (37). Despite his impressive performance on the field, McIntyre may be best remembered as the leader of the "anti-Cobb" clique on the Tigers during Cobb's early years. McIntyre joined the Tigers in 1904 and was a 26-year-old starter when 18-year-old Cobb joined the team in 1905. Early in Cobb's rookie season, Cobb went after a flyball that was clearly in McIntyre's left field territory. By cutting in front, Cobb caused McIntyre to drop the ball, infuriating McIntyre. McIntyre was a Connecticut Yankee who had little in common with the taciturn kid from Georgia. McIntyre and his cohorts led a prolonged hazing campaign, locking Cobb out of an empty washroom, flicking food at Cobb, and nailing his shoes to the clubhouse floor. Cobb's legendary temper only added fuel to the fire, and the McIntyre-Cobb feud continued until McIntyre was sold to the White Sox after the 1910 season. (Cobb's feud with McIntyre is documented in Al Stump's 1994 book, "Cobb: The Life and Times of the Meanest Man Who Ever Played Baseball.") McIntyre died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in w ...

in 1920 in

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Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. He was 39.

References

External links

Photo dated 1912 from Library of Congress collection showing McIntyre in Chicago uniform
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Matty 1880 births 1920 deaths Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Connecticut Philadelphia Athletics players Detroit Tigers players Chicago White Sox players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Minor league baseball managers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Newark Sailors players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Providence Grays (minor league) players Lincoln Tigers players Mobile Sea Gulls players 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Michigan

See also

References

External links