Buck Ewing
The man who invented the modern catching position also happened to be one of the 19th century's most dangerous hitters. Ewing's .303 career average over 18 seasons established him as the prototype for the complete catcher — the first backstop who could truly anchor both sides of the game at the highest level.
What made Ewing revolutionary wasn't just his bat, though 71 home runs represented serious power in the dead-ball era. He pioneered catching techniques that are still used today, including the crouch stance and snap throw to second base. His teammates called him "Buck" for his ability to buck runners off the basepaths with his rifle arm.
The pitching numbers tell another story entirely. His 275 ERA+ peak season shows he could dominate from the mound when needed, a flexibility that made him invaluable to his clubs. For a catcher to post a 114 career ERA+ while maintaining elite offensive production was simply unheard of in his era.
Career · Batting
18 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | TRN | 13 | 45 | 0 | 5 | .178 | — | — |
| 1881 | TRN | 67 | 272 | 0 | 25 | .250 | — | — |
| 1882 | TRN | 74 | 328 | 2 | 29 | .271 | — | — |
| 1883 | NY1 | 88 | 376 | 10 | 41 | .303 | — | — |
| 1884 | NY1 | 94 | 382 | 3 | 41 | .277 | — | — |
| 1885 | NY1 | 81 | 342 | 6 | 63 | .304 | — | — |
| 1886 | NY1 | 73 | 275 | 4 | 31 | .309 | — | — |
| 1887 | NY1 | 77 | 318 | 6 | 44 | .305 | — | — |
| 1888 | NY1 | 103 | 415 | 6 | 58 | .306 | — | — |
| 1889 | NY1 | 99 | 407 | 4 | 87 | .327 | — | — |
| 1890 | NYP | 83 | 352 | 8 | 72 | .338 | — | — |
| 1891 | NY1 | 14 | 49 | 0 | 18 | .347 | — | — |
| 1892 | NY1 | 105 | 393 | 8 | 76 | .310 | — | — |
| 1893 | CL4 | 116 | 500 | 6 | 122 | .344 | — | — |
| 1894 | CL4 | 53 | 211 | 2 | 39 | .251 | — | — |
| 1895 | CIN | 105 | 434 | 5 | 94 | .318 | — | — |
| 1896 | CIN | 69 | 263 | 1 | 38 | .278 | — | — |
| 1897 | CIN | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — |
| Career | 1315 | 5363 | 71 | 883 | .303 | — | — | |
Career · Pitching
6 seasons| Year | Team | G | IP | W | L | ERA | ERA+ | SO | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882 | TRN | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 31 | 0 | 3.000 |
| 1884 | NY1 | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 1.13 | 275 | 3 | 1.375 |
| 1885 | NY1 | 1 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 4.50 | 67 | 0 | 3.500 |
| 1888 | NY1 | 2 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 115 | 6 | 1.714 |
| 1889 | NY1 | 3 | 20.0 | 2 | 0 | 4.05 | 97 | 12 | 1.550 |
| 1890 | NYP | 1 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 4.00 | 97 | 2 | 1.556 |
| Career | 9 | 47.0 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 23 | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.