Batting average .256 Name Tommy Corcoran Stolen bases 387 | Runs batted in 1135 Hits 2256 Role Baseball athlete | |
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Died June 25, 1960, Plainfield, Connecticut, United States | ||
Thomas William Corcoran (January 4, 1869 – June 25, 1960) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Burghers (1890), Philadelphia Athletics (1891), Brooklyn Grooms/Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1892–1896), Cincinnati Reds (1897–1906) and the New York Giants (1907). The 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Connecticut native occasionally played second base later in his career. He batted and threw right-handed.
Career
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Corcoran gained the nicknames Corky and Tommy the Cork. He was considered a hard-working, supple-handed shortstop.
A mediocre hitter, Corcoran batted .300 in a season just once (1894). He was a barehanded fielder early in his career when gloves were gradually becoming standard equipment, and made the transition to a glove without difficulty. He became adept at going to his right to field ground balls backhanded. Corcoran set a still-standing ML record for shortstops with 14 assists in a nine-inning game. (Lave Cross had 15 assists in a 12-inning game in 1897.) Corcoran finished in the top 10 in the league in at bats seven times.
Over an 18-season career, Corcoran batted .256, with 34 home runs and 1,135 RBIs. He had a total of 387 stolen bases, scored 1,184 runs, and made 2,256 hits in 8,812 career at-bats. He accumulated 2,957 total bases.
After retiring as a player, Corcoran became an umpire; his umpiring included one season in the short-lived third major circuit, the Federal League.
Corcoran had four sons and a daughter. He died at the age of 91 in Plainfield, Connecticut.