| Hall of Fame |
Class of 1904
Caruthers, called "Parisian Bob" for conducting a contract holdout while vacationing in Europe, does not have the pitching or hitting stats to qualify him for the Hall by themselves, but together his talents were a devastating combination. Caruthers pitched for the AA powerhouse St. Louis Browns for much of his career, and also played RF. He posted a 218-99 won-lost record and 2.83 career ERA with a 123 ERA+, and a .282 career average with a .391 career on-base and 135 OPS+. At his peak, he was both one of the top hitters and top pitchers in the league. McPhee played second base for Cincinnati's major league franchise for 18 years, first in the AA (1882-89) and then the NL (1890-99). McPhee was best known for his defense, but also posted a 106 OPS+ for his career. McPhee had a career average of .271, and drew a lot of walks so he scored 100 runs in 10 seasons. He eschewed those new-fangled gloves for much of his career, but was persuaded to use one after coming back from an injury in 1896, and promptly posted a record fielding percentage for a season that lasted 25 years. Thompson was a slugger for Detroit and Philadelphia and posted a .331 career batting average. He had two seasons, 1887 and 1895, where he could reasonably be called the best player in the league, nearly a decade apart. He also batted over .400 in 1894. Voting Results (enough votes for election)