Percival Wheritt "Perry" Werden (July 21, 1865 – January 9, 1934) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He was a

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 ...

for the St. Louis Maroons (1884),

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

(1888), Toledo Maumees (1890),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(1891), St. Louis Browns (1892–1893) and

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

(1897).

Career

Werden played as a

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, ...

in 1884 where he had a 12–1 win–loss record (leading the Union Association in winning percentage at .923), 16 games, 16 games started, 12 complete games, 1 shutout, innings pitched, 113 hits allowed, 61 runs allowed, 31 earned runs allowed, 1 home run allowed, 22 walks allowed, 51 strikeouts and a 1.97 ERA. During this season, he helped the Maroons win the first and only Union Association pennant. An arm injury moved Werden to first base and in 7 seasons he played in 693 games, 2,740 at bats, 444 runs, 773 hits, 109 doubles, 87 triples, 26 home runs, 439 RBI, 150 stolen bases, 281 walks, .282 batting average, .359 on-base percentage, .414 slugging percentage, 1,134 total bases and 5 sacrifice hits. Werden had a remarkable minor league career. For the Minneapolis Millers of the Western League in 1894, he hit .417 with 42 home runs. The next season, he improved in both categories, hitting .428 with 45 home runs. These were astounding home run totals for the time (helped by the short outfield fence distance at their home field): for example, Sam Thompson led the National League in home runs with 18 in 1895. No one would hit more than 29 until Babe Ruth hit 54 in 1920. Werden retired with a career .341 batting average with five home run titles in the minor leagues. He died in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

at the age of 68, and was buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Werden, Perry 1865 births 1934 deaths Baseball players from St. Louis Major League Baseball first basemen Washington Nationals (1886–1889) players Baltimore Orioles (AA) players St. Louis Maroons players Toledo Maumees players St. Louis Browns (NL) players Louisville Colonels players Memphis Reds players Lincoln Tree Planters players Des Moines Hawkeyes players Topeka Golden Giants players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Toledo Black Pirates players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players St. Paul Saints (Western League) players Memphis Egyptians players Fargo (minor league baseball) players Hattiesburg Tar Heels players Vicksburg Hill Billies players Indianapolis Indians players Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen

Career

See also

Sources