Batting average .271 Role Baseball athlete Name Max Bishop | Runs batted in 379 Home runs 41 | |
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Died February 24, 1962, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, United States | ||
Red Sox and Nationals Tour the Naval Academy
Max Frederick Bishop (September 5, 1899 – February 24, 1962) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1924 through 1935 for the Philadelphia Athletics (1924–1933) and Boston Red Sox (1934–1935). Bishop batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.
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In a 12-season career, Bishop was a .271/.423/.366 (BA/OBP/SLG) hitter with 41 home runs and 379 RBI in 1338 games played.
Baseball career
Bishop was the leadoff hitter for the last three American League pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics teams of Connie Mack. Nicknamed "Tilly" or "Camera Eye" for his notable ability to judge pitches, Bishop was adept at working counts and drawing walks, as evidenced by his .423 career on-base percentage, in front of Athletics sluggers Al Simmons, Mickey Cochrane and Jimmie Foxx. Eight times he collected 100 walks, leading the AL with 128 in 1929; twice walked eight times in a doubleheader, to set a major league record; twice draw five walks in a single game, to become the only major leaguer to do this twice and recorded a 2.55 walk-to-strikeout ratio (1153-to-452), as his walk percentage of .204 is only surpassed by Ted Williams's .207. He also scored 100 or more runs during four consecutive seasons (1928–1931), with a career-high 117 in 1930. Rated as one of the best fielders in the game, Bishop led AL second basemen four times in fielding percentage and played 18 World Series games without committing an error. When Bishop scored 117 runs in 1930, he became the only man in major league history to score at least 70 runs while collecting more runs than hits.
When Mack dismantled the Athletics in 1933, he sent Bishop, Lefty Grove and Rube Walberg to the Boston Red Sox for two players and $150,000. After two years in Boston, Bishop ended his playing career in 1936 with the Baltimore Orioles of the International League and then scouted for the Detroit Tigers in 1937.
Later life
After that, Bishop served as baseball head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy between 1938 and 1962. During his 25 years as Navy Midshipmen coach, he posted a 306–143 record, including an academy seasonal record of 24 victories and two defeats in 1961.
Bishop died in his home of Waynesboro at age 62. The baseball stadium at the Naval Academy is named for Bishop.