Donie Bush

Donie Bush baseball card

Owen Joseph "Donie" Bush (October 8 1887 - March 28 1972) was an American shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball in the American League for the Detroit Tigers (1908-1921) and the Washington Senators (1921-1923). Bush was a superb leadoff hitter with a talent for getting on base, drawing bases on balls, and stealing bases. He was also one of the best fielding shortstops of all time, still holding the major league record for most putouts in a season by a shortstop. Bush went on to manage the Washington Senators (1923), Pittsburgh Pirates (1927-29), Chicago White Sox (1930-31), and Cincinnati Reds (1933).

Playing overview

Bush was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. In his first full season, which was also arguably his best, he made his only World Series appearance but lost. In the 1909 World Series, he was 7 for 22, for a .318 average with 3 RBIs. In 1914, Bush came in third in American League MVP voting behind Eddie Collins and teammate Sam Crawford. He also finished 14th in the MVP voting in 1911 and 12th in 1913. For a player who did not hit for high average or power, his MVP votes were the result of his superb fielding as a shortstop and his durability and gritty talent for stealing bases and drawing bases on balls. Bush played at shortstop for the Detroit Tigers for fourteen seasons from 1909-1921, followed by three seasons with the Washington Senators (1921-1923).

The King of the Base on Balls

Bush had one of the best batting eyes of his generation. He was among the Top 10 in bases on balls twelve straight years, from1909 through 1920. Known as the king of the base on balls, Bush walked over 80 times in each of his first seven full seasons. In 1909, 1910, 1911, 1912, and 1914, he led the league in the category. Oddly enough, when his career high came in 1915 (118), he finished 2nd in the league (behind Eddie Collins). Even more oddly, that year he was also tied with two other players at the mark of 118 (Ty Cobb and Burt Shotton). He finished three seasons with over 110 walks. His career mark of 1,158 walks places him at 55 all time in MLB history.

Considering how many times he walked, it was not hard to believe that his on-base percentage numbers were very good, but his numbers in this category were generally outstanding, especially considering his mediocre batting averages. He made the Top 10 in OBP four times. His 1909 on base percentage of .380 was third in the Amerian League behind teammate Ty Cobb and Hall of Famer Eddie Collins.

Bush also broke up a very noteworthy one-hitter. In what Babe Ruth once called the most thrilling game he played in, he one-hit the Tigers as the starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, giving up just a scratch single to Bush. Ruth also had a single and a triple in the game to help himself, but the Red Sox won 1-0 on a triple by Chick Shorten.

One of the Best Shortstops of His Generation

Bush was also the best defensive shortstop of his generation. With his remarkable speed and agility, Bush collected more putous, assists, and chances than any other shortstop of the era. Nearly a century later, his 1914 total of 425 putouts is still the major league record for shortstops. His 1914 total of 969 chances is also still the American League record.

In 1911, he totaled a remarkable 6.7 total chances per game. Bush was also involved in ten triple plays as a shortstop: May 4, 1910, April 24, 1911, May 20, 1911, September 9, 1911, April 6, 1912, August 23, 1917, August 14, 1919, May 18, 1921, and September 14, 1921.

Bush played 1,867 games at shortstop.

Gritty Leadership in Stolen Bases and Sacrifice Hits

In addition to his prowess for bases on balls and fielding, Bush's speed also made him a threat on the basebaths. His career total of 405 stolen bases places him 64th on the all-time list. Not until Kenny Lofton stole 66 bases in 1992 as a rookie did Bush's American League rookie record of 52 steals get broken. He ranked in the Top 10 in stolen bases in the American League ten times from 1909-1919. With his talent for getting on base and stealing bases, combined with his position as the leadoff hitter with batting greats Ty Cobb, Sam Crawford and Bobby Veach following him in one of the greatest hitting lineups of all time, it is not surprising that Bush also was among the Top 10 in runs scored ten times from 1909-1919. Bush had four seasons with 100 or more runs scored, including a league-leading 112 runs in 1917. He was second in the American League in runs scored in 1911 (126 runs -- second to Cobb) and 1909 (114 runs -- two fewer than Cobb).

Among the talents that led to his recognition as one of the best players of the 1910s was his talent for the sacrifice hit. One of the great bunters of all time, he collected 337 sacrifice hits in his career, ranking him 5th on the all time major league leader list (behind Hall of Famers Eddie Collins and Willie Keeler). He led the league with a stunning 52 sacrifice hits in 1909, and hit another 48 in 1920.

Rookie Star of the 1909 World Series

In his first full season in the major leagues, Bush helped lead the Tigers to the 1909 World Series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. A classic series, Honus Wagner's Pirates beat the Tigers 4 games to 3. Rookie Bush was the surprise hitting star for Detroit in the 1909 World Series. With Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford slumping in the World Series (batting .231 and .250 respectively), Bush picked up the slack. He hit .318 during the seven-game series with an on-base percentage of .483, picking up 7 hits, 5 bases on balls, and 3 sacrifice hits. He was also got on base twice after being hit by a pitch, scored 5 runs, and collected 3 RBIs. Although the Tigers lost the World Series, Bush's 1909 Series performance was one of the greatest in Detroit Tigers' history.

Although he played mainly shortstop, he switched to playing second base sometimes in his final year with Detroit, and with Washington he tried out third as well. However, out of 1936 career games, he played shortstop 1867 times. In a 16-season career, he batted .250 with 9 home runs and 436 RBIs in 1946 games. He accumulated 1280 runs scored. He had .356 all-time on-base percentage with 186 doubles, 74 triples, and 1804 hits in 7210 career at bats.

"It Ain't How Big You Are, It's How Good You Are"

Bush was one of the shortest players in the major leagues at 5 foot, 6 inches, and 130 pounds. He once said, "I used to tell 'em it ain't how big you are, it's how good you are. But whenever another team had an uncommonly small player, I'd slip up and compare heights. Always turned out he was an inch taller than me."

Managerial overview

Although he only managed for 7 seasons, one of them while playing, most say Bush will always be known first for managing.

Bush managed three different teams in his career, most notably the Pirates from 1927 to 1929, where he led them to the 1927 World Series in which they were crushed by the 1927 Yankees – considered one of the best teams of all time. During the Series, he benched future Hall of Famer Kiki Cuyler for a minor spat the two had had. Some said it was a grave mistake.

In his managerial career, he was 497-539 in 1045 career games, a .480 winning percentage. His best time as a manager came in Pittsburgh when he went 246-178 (.580), leading them to a pennant and a 2nd place finish, although he did not complete that year.

Bush went on to manage and own a Triple-A team in his home town of Indianapolis. He later scouted for the Red Sox and worked with the Chicago White Sox, completing 65 years in organized baseball.

Donie Bush died in Indianapolis at St. Vincent's Hospital after becoming ill while visiting spring training camps in Florida. He was 85.

Bush Stadium in Indianapolis used to be named Victory Field. It was changed to honor Donie Bush.

External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record
• The Deadball Era