Rogers Hornsby

Rogers Hornsby played 23 major league seasons, batted .358, and won seven National League batting titles, including six in a row from 1920 to 1925. In 1924, he batted .424, the highest single-season average in the modern era. Over the five-year stretch from 1921 to 1925, he averaged .402, a sustained level of hitting that no player before or since has matched. He played second base, managed six different teams, won two MVP awards, and led the St. Louis Cardinals to their first World Series championship in 1926. He was also brutally honest, compulsively devoted to gambling on horses, and so difficult to work with that he was traded or fired by every organization that employed him.

Winters, Texas

Hornsby was born in Winters, Texas, and grew up in Fort Worth. He was a thin, right-handed hitter who stood five feet eleven inches tall and weighed about 175 pounds. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1915, at age 19, and spent his first two seasons developing. He batted .246 in 18 games as a late-season call-up and showed little of the hitter he would become.

By 1920, the transformation was complete. Hornsby had developed a stance unlike any other in the game. He stood deep in the batter's box, far from the plate, and strode into the pitch with a level, compact swing that drove the ball to all fields. He refused to watch movies or read newspapers during the season, claiming it would damage his eyesight. Whether or not this was superstition, his eyes and his swing produced results that no one could argue with.

Six Consecutive Batting Titles

Hornsby won the National League batting title every year from 1920 to 1925. The averages were staggering. He hit .370 in 1920, .397 in 1921, .401 in 1922, .384 in 1923, .424 in 1924, and .403 in 1925. He led the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage in most of those seasons as well. His .424 in 1924 remains the highest single-season batting average in the modern era. George Sisler hit .420 in 1922, and Ty Cobb hit .420 in 1911, but no one in the 20th or 21st century has matched Hornsby's 1924 figure.

In 1922, he hit .401 with 42 home runs, 152 RBI, and a .722 slugging percentage. In 1925, he hit .403 with 39 home runs and 143 RBI. He won the National League MVP award in 1925 and again in 1929. Over the five-year span from 1921 to 1925, he averaged .402 with an on-base percentage near .475 and a slugging percentage near .690, the greatest sustained offensive performance in the modern game.

The 1926 Cardinals

Hornsby became player-manager of the Cardinals in 1925, replacing Branch Rickey. In 1926, he led the team to its first pennant and then defeated the New York Yankees in a seven-game World Series. Grover Cleveland Alexander struck out Tony Lazzeri in Game 7 to preserve the Cardinals' lead, and Babe Ruth was thrown out attempting to steal second to end the Series. It was the defining moment of the franchise's early history.

Despite the championship, Hornsby clashed with Cardinals owner Sam Breadon over his contract and his gambling habits. Breadon traded him to the New York Giants after the season, sending the reigning World Series-winning manager to a rival club. The trade stunned the baseball world. Hornsby spent one season with the Giants, batting .361 in 1927, before being traded to the Boston Braves. He hit .387 with the Braves in 1928 and was traded again, this time to the Chicago Cubs.

Chicago and Decline

With the Cubs, Hornsby hit .380 in 1929 and helped the team win the National League pennant, though they lost the World Series to Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics. He was named manager of the Cubs during the 1930 season, replacing Joe McCarthy. He managed through 1932, when he was fired and replaced by Charlie Grimm.

Hornsby's gambling was a persistent problem throughout his career. He bet heavily on horse races, owed money to teammates and associates, and made no effort to hide his habit. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis investigated him on multiple occasions but never banned him, in part because horse racing was legal and in part because Hornsby cooperated with inquiries.

He returned to the Cardinals briefly in 1933 before joining the St. Louis Browns, where he served as a player-manager through 1937. His batting average declined as he aged, but he still hit .325 in 1933 at age 37.

After Baseball

Hornsby managed in the minor leagues and returned to the majors as manager of the Browns in 1952 and the Cincinnati Reds later that same year. He was fired from both jobs. His honesty, which some admired and others found intolerable, cost him repeatedly. He told reporters what he thought of players, owners, and anyone else who asked, and his assessments were rarely diplomatic.

He died on January 5, 1963, in Chicago, at age 66. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1942, receiving 182 of 233 votes (78.1 percent).

His .358 career average ranks among the highest in major league history, trailing Ty Cobb's .366. His .424 in 1924 remains the modern-era record. His five-year run from 1921 to 1925, when he averaged .402, has no parallel in the sport. He was the greatest right-handed hitter the game has produced, and he spent much of his life ensuring that as few people as possible enjoyed being around him.