Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #159A: W. Benjamin "Ben" Chapman. Outfielder for the Washington Senators in 1936-1937 and 1941. 1,958 hits and 287 stolen bases in 15 MLB seasons. He had a career OBP of .383. 4-time All-Star. 1932 World Series champion. 4-time AL stolen base leader. He managed the Philadelphia Phillies in 1945-1948. His playing reputation was eclipsed by the role he played as manager of the Phillies, opposing Jackie Robinson's presence in MLB, including shouting racial epithets. His best season as a player was 1931 for the Yankees as he posted a .396 OBP with 61 stolen bases, 120 runs scored, and 122 RBIs in 686 plate appearances.

Deveaux outlines Chapman's brief, initial stint in Washington: The man Washington got (in a trade with the Yankees during the 1936 season) in exchange for Powell (Jake Powell, a temperamental outfielder who had alienated Griffith and the Washington fans), Ben Chapman, also had an interesting, but much longer, career in baseball. Born in Nashville, Tennessee, on Christmas Day, 1908, the 27-year-old Chapman was a converted infielder who'd been moved to the outfield so that New York could maximize the benefit from his outstanding speed and throwing arm. Chapman went on to rack up great numbers on some very good Yankees teams of the early 1930s. With the arrival of Joe DiMaggio in the spring of '36, however, he had outworn his welcome. Moving him to Washington meant the Yanks could open up centerfield for DiMaggio, who'd been playing in left. But Chapman was certainly a welcome addition in the Washington outfield, scoring an awesome 91 runs in just 97 games, and batting .332. . . .

. . . The following day (11 June 1937), Griffith pulled off a much more important coup, landing the celebrated Ferrell brothers from the Red Sox in exchange for Bobo Newsom and centerfielder Ben Chapman. Bobo was allowing nearly six runs per nine innings in 1937, and Chapman had only 12 RBIs in 35 games and his average was a puny .262. (The Washington Senators by Tom Deveaux.)