Doc Cramer

Doc Cramer Stats & Facts

Doc Cramer

Position: Centerfielder
Bats: Left  •  Throws: Right
6-2, 185lb (188cm, 83kg)
Born: July 22, 1905 in Beach Haven, NJ us
Died: September 9, 1990 in Manahawkin, NJ
Buried: Greenwood Cemetery, Cedar Run, NJ
High School: Atlantic City HS (Atlantic City, NJ)
Debut: September 18, 1929 (6,963rd in major league history)
vs. SLB 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: May 12, 1948
vs. WSH 0 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Roger Maxwell Cramer
Nicknames: Flit
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1929

Rick Ferrell
Doc Cramer
Earl Averill
Bobo Newsom
Larry French
Chief Hogsett
Dale Alexander
Lyn Lary
Eric McNair

 

 

All-Time Teammate Team

Mickey Cochrane
Hank Greenberg
Bobby Doerr
Jimmy Dykes
Joe Cronin
Ted Williams
Dom DiMaggio
Al Simmons
 
Lefty Grove
George Earnshaw
Wes Ferrell
Tommy Bridges
Hal Newhouser
Jack Quinn
 
Bucky Harris

 

Notable Events and Chronology

 

Biography

An agile, swift centerfielder, Cramer led the AL in putouts in 1936 and 1938. He was considered to be one of the best judges of fly balls in the ML, and also owned an excellent arm. Offensively, he was a leadoff hitter who specialized in singles, topping the AL five times and tying for the lead in total hits (200) in 1940. Twice, he collected six hits in a game. In his career, he had 2,705 hits. He led the league in at-bats in seven different seasons, the ML record. At age 40, he was a hitting star for the Tigers in the 1945 WS, batting .379, scoring seven runs, and batting in four. Later, as a White Sox coach, he was credited with developing Nellie Fox as a hitter.
Cramer was a semi-pro pitcher when discovered by Cy Perkins and signed by the Athletics. Sent to Martinsburg of the Blue Ridge League in 1929, he was locked in a close race with Joe Vosmik for the league batting title. On the final day of the season, he pitched against Vosmik’s team and walked his rival four times. Cramer’s .404 won the title.

Cramer tied a ML record by going 6-for-6 in a nine-inning game, and is the only American Leaguer to do it twice (6/20/32 and 7/13/35). Towards the end of his career, he was frequently used as a pinch-hitter, and led the AL with nine pinch hits in 1947. Sent up six times for Birdie Tebbetts, Cramer came through four times, and when the Tigers traded Tebbetts to Boston, Cramer complained, “It’s like tearing up my meal ticket. A game is not official until the announcement goes out ‘Cramer for Tebbetts’.”

Cramer gained medical knowledge before playing pro ball by observing a local doctor, and was therefore dubbed “Doc.” Philadelphia sportswriter Jimmy Isaminger began calling him “Flit”, after the insecticide, because the outfielder was death to fly balls.@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts

Likable Doc Cramer was a valuable leadoff hitter for the A’s, Red Sox, Senators and Tigers in the 1930s and 1940s. He was a very good defensive outfielder, with a strong arm, and he led the American League in putouts twice. Cramer batted .300 eight times and his 2,705 hits are among the most for players who are not in the Hall of Fame.

Quotes From Doc Cramer

Lose a one-to-nothing game and you didn’t want to get into the clubhouse with Grove and Cochrane. You’d be ducking stools and gloves and bats, and whatever else would fly.

Teams Doc Cramer Played For

Philadelphia Athletics (1929-1935)
Boston Red Sox (1936-1940)
Washington Senators (1941)
Detroit Tigers (1942-1948)

Best Season: 1935
Cramer was one of the few good players Connie Mack had left on the A’s. Age 29, Cramer batted .332 with 214 hits, 96 runs scored, 37 doubles, 70 RBI, and a .373 OBP. He led the AL in at-bats, one of seven times he did so. Cramer was named to the All-Star team.

Factoids
Doc Cramer was a young Ernie Harwell’s favorite player.

Most Hits, 1933-1945
Doc Cramer… 2,397
Joe Medwick… 2,360
Bob Johnson… 2,051
Stan Hack… 1,994
Mel Ott… 1,976

Where He Played
Cramer was one of the premier defensive center fielders of his era.

Major League Debut
September 18, 1929 … Cramer had the misfortune of coming up to the Philadelphia Athletics at a time when they had three studs in the outfield: Al Simmons, Bing Miller, and Mule Haas. It wasn’t until 1933, when Doc was nearly 28 years old, that Connie Mack inserted him into the everyday lineup. Cramer was a better defensive player than Miller and Haas and was almost certainly better with the stick than the aging Miller in 1931-1932, but he was wasted on the bench.

Nicknames
Flit

 

“Flit” was a popular insecticide in the 1920s and 1930s. Cramer earned the name because he was “death to flies.” The nickname “Doc” (Cramer’s given first name was Roger), reportedly stemmed from his knowledge of medicine and medical procedures.

 

Similar Players
Charlie Jamieson

 

Related Players
Cramer tutored young Nellie Fox while he was a coach with the White Sox, from 1951 to 1953. Fox credited Cramer with making him a major league hitter… The Washington Senators traded Gee Walker to the Red Sox for Cramer, on December 12, 1940… On August 11, 1942, Cramer broke up Cleveland pitcher Al Milnar’s no-hit bid, singling with two out in the top-of-the-ninth.

Post-Season Appearances
1931 World Series
1945 World Series

 

Post-Season Notes
Cramer was a fantastic performer in the Fall Classic, batting .387 (12-for-31) in nine games, with seven runs scored and six RBI.

Feats
Cramer set a major league record with two six-hit games. The first came on June 20, 1932 and the second was on July 13, 1935. This record has been tied, but never broken.

 

Hitting Streaks
22 games (1932)
20 games (1936)

All-Star Selections
1935 AL
1937 AL
1938 AL
1939 AL
1940 AL

Replaced
Mule Haas, a solid but unspectacular outfielder. Manager Connie Mack finally handed Cramer the center field job midway through the 1932 season.

Replaced By
Still a productive player at the age of 39 in 1945, Cramer lost his starting center field job during spring traning of ’46 to phenom Hoot Evers. Evers got hurt during the season and Doc still got in a couple hundred at-bats, hitting nearly .300, but his career as a starter was over. Evers never lived up to his promise, however.

Best Strength as a Player
His range in center field. Cramer was a sound fundamental player ho could do everything well, except hit for power.

Largest Weakness as a Player
His home run ratio is one of the lowest in baseball history for players with more than 5,000 at-bats.

 

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