Arthur Joseph "Tillie" Shafer (March 22, 1889 – January 10, 1962) was an American professional
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 appeared in the
major leagues as an
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 ...
with the
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
between 1909 and 1913.
Career
While attending
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private university, private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university' ...
, Shafer was one of the most accomplished college athletes on the west coast, winning numerous track and field medals, in addition for playing baseball for the then-Missionites of Santa Clara. He was once timed at 3.2 seconds running from the batter's box to first base.
However, his time in major league baseball wasn't very happy for him. A young, shy man from a wealthy family, Shafer was hassled from the moment he first entered the Giants' clubhouse as a rookie. Outfielder
Cy Seymour gave him the feminine nickname "Tillie", which stuck. Throughout his tenure in New York, Shafer was branded as a "momma's boy" and razzed by his teammates.
["Tillie Shafer"](_blank)
''bioproj.sabr.org''. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
After two seasons of mostly sitting on the bench, Shafer took 1911 off, having arrived back home after sailing to Japan to instruct a university baseball team. He then studied at
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. He returned the following season, and in 1913, he was a regular in the Giants' starting line-up for the first time. He got to play in the
1912 World Series
The 1912 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1912 season. The ninth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion Boston Red Sox and the National League champion New York Giants. The R ...
. In the after-events of the decisive Game 8, teammates ragged on
Fred Snodgrass
Frederick Carlisle Snodgrass (October 19, 1887 – April 5, 1974) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball from to . He is best known for dropping a key fly ball in the 1912 World Series.
New York Giants Early years
Snodgrass w ...
for a dropped fly ball that had Shafer leap to his defense for heated confrontations. Shafer decided to retire for a time before returning in 1913. He closed his career with the
1913 World Series
The 1913 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1913 in baseball, 1913 season. The tenth edition of the World Series, it matched the American League (AL) champion 1913 Philadelphia Athletics season, Philadelphia ...
.
In 283 games over four seasons, Shafer posted a .273
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 ...
(212-for-776) with 138
runs, 5
home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...
, 84
RBIs
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 ...
, 60
stolen bases
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...
and 105
bases on balls
A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk,
occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...
.
On December 16, 1913, Shafer announced his retirement. He cited the need to get to work on the holdings of his father along with his dislike of the New York life in baseball, stating as such: "I have satisfied every ambition in a baseball way. Now I want to forget I was ever in it. It is an episode in my life that I am trying hard to forget." McGraw kept asking him to return to the team for a number of years, and Shafer was not formally released until 1926. He admitted later in life, "I shouldn’t have broken and run that way. I’ve been sorry ever since.”
See also
*
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shafer, Tillie
1889 births
1962 deaths
Major League Baseball infielders
New York Giants (baseball) players
Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players
Baseball players from Los Angeles