Player #106A: G. Earl McNeely. Outfielder with the Washington Senators in 1924-1927. 614 hits and 69 stolen bases in 8 MLB seasons. 1924 World Series champion. His 12th-inning single drove in the winning run as Washington took Game 7 of the 1924 World Series from the New York Giants. His most productive season was 1926 with Washington as he posted a .373 OBP with 84 runs scored and 18 stolen bases in 503 plate appearances. He last played with the St. Louis Browns in 1928-1931.
Deveaux explains how McNeely became a National: Every team in the top half of the league, including the Nats, had a taste of first place during the first half of the (1924) campaign. Wid Matthews, a small, peppy player in center field hit .359 during his first three weeks after joining the club on June 5, but by the end of the season, Matthews would become Griffith's chief concern. Mathews had led the entire league in outfield errors as rookie with the A's in '23, and his hitting soon began to tail off. Later renowned as a scout, Matthews hit .302 for the Senators in 1924, but he'd been getting most of his hits by pulling the ball into short right field. When defenses began adjusting, his success as a hitter diminished greatly.
Griffith wanted someone with prowess at the plate who would be more surehanded between Goose Goslin and Sam Rice. Nemo Leibold, now 32, would not fill the bill, as his defensive skills were merely average at best. Scout Joe Engel was ordered to scan as far and wide as he had to in order to find a center fielder. The field got narrowed down to two players: Billy Zitzmann, of Newark, and Earl McNeely, of Sacramento. On Engel's recommendation, Griffith went to Buffalo to see Newark's Zitzmann, who had previously appeared in the big leagues briefly, and would resurface with Cincinnati the following season. The Old Fox was unimpressed.
Scouting McNeely would mean a lot of time and expense. Deciding he couldn't waste another two weeks in the heat of a pennant race, Griffith decided to rely on Engel's word and purchased McNeely, sight unseen. He did talk Sacramento down from the original publicized asking price of $75,000 to $35,000. In order to get McNeely, Griff gave up three lesser players, including loaning Wid Matthews for the rest of the season. (Mattews' big-league career would end following ten games with the Nats in 1925.) The fiery Mattews was a fan favorite, but Clark Griffith could not have guessed the popular outcry which resulted from the move.
The Old Fox tried to back out of it, but it was too late. His hesitation had more to do, however, with McNeely's condition when he reported to the Nats than with Wid Mattews' box office appeal. When McNeely joined the team, Clark Griffith reportedly greeted him at the club's Chicago hotel with a tongue-in-cheek comment to the effect that he was finally coming face to face with the man he'd paid so much money for. Griffith extended his hand, but McNeely was unable to take it. He told Griffith that he'd hurt his shoulder the previous week and that he couldn't raise his throwing arm above his hip. Griffith hit the proverbial roof. Right away, he was on the phone to Commissioner Landis, demanding that the deal be cancelled. But the deal stood. Barely given enough time for proper introduction to his new teammates, McNeely began asserting himself, batting .394 in his first ten games. In 45 games to the end of the season, he hit .330, and he had the range and speed of a top-flight center fielder. In a tight pennant race, Earl McNeely would make a difference for Washington. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1677664993
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1677664996