A Baker’s Dozen Things You Should Know About Hans Lobert

Hans Lobert with Philadelphia

1. John Bernard Lobert was born in Delaware in 1881. His father was a cabinet-maker.

2. The family later moved to Williamsport, Pennsylvania (home of the Little League World Series) and then to Pittsburgh.

3. In 1903 he was given a tryout by his hometown Pirates. He was a neighbor of Honus Wagner, the two men liked each other, and Wagner, who was nicknamed “Hans” referred to Lobert as “Hans number two.”  He managed one hit, a bunt single, in 13 at bats that season, but picked up a nickname.

4. He spent 1904 in the minors then went to the Cubs in 1905, primarily as a third baseman. After a year with Chicago he was sent to Cincinnati.

5. Between 1905 and 1910, inclusive, he was the Reds primary third baseman, hitting as high as .310 and as low as .212. He did steal a lot of bases averaging 34 a season. In 1908 he stole second base, third base, and home in the same inning.

6. In late 1910 he was traded to Philadelphia (the Phillies, not the Athletics). He had a decent 1911, then was injured in 1912. While with Philly, he ran a foot race against Olympic Champion Jim Thorpe and won.

7. He had two more good years with the Phils, then was traded after 1914 to the Giants, thus missing Philadelphia’s first trip to the World Series in 1915.

8. He remained in New York through the 1917 season, then retired.

9. In retirement he coached at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY for eight seasons, then became a Giants scout. Later he managed in the minors.

10. In 1934, Lobert became a Phillies coach and remained a coach until 1942, when he became the manager. He was 42-109 in his sole year at the helm (he managed two games at Philadelphia on a interim basis in 1938, going 0-2).

11. He returned to the Giants as a coach and a roving instructor, then scouted for both the Dodgers and Giants until he died in 1968.

12. For his career, Lobert hit .274 with an OPS+ of 109, 316 stolen bases, 640 runs scored, and 23.1 WAR.

Edward G. Robinson (in cap) as Lobert

13. In 1953 the movie Big Leaguer starred Edward G. Robinson as Lobert.

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Opening Day, 1910: Cincinnati

Clark Griffith

Cincinnati finished fourth in 1909, but was in the midst of a slow rise. Under manager Clark Griffith they had come from sixth in 1906, to fourth. The problem was they were still 33.5 games out of first and 17 out of third. Apparently they were content with the steady rise, because there were very few changes to the roster in 1910. Having said that, Cincy had used 29 position players in 1909, but only the starting eight and five others played more than 20 games.

Left fielder Bob Besher, who led the NL in stolen bases in 1909, led off. Dick Egan, the second baseman, held down the two hole and first baseman Dick Hoblitzel took the third spot in the lineup. Cleanup hitter Mike Mitchell remained in right field. The only change in the starting lineup occured in the five hole where new center fielder Dode Paskert replaced Rebel Oakes (who was now at St. Louis). Paskert had been the primary backup outfielder the year before. The sixth and seventh spots remained in the hands of third baseman Hans Lobert (who, despite the movie, didn’t look like Edward G. Robinson) and catcher Larry McLean. Shortstop Tommy McMillan remained in the eight hole.

Beside Paskert on the bench in 1909 were Miller Huggins, Frank Roth, Ward Miller, and Mike Mowrey (who was traded during the season).  The new bench saw Tom Downey as the backup infielder, Tommy Clark as the new backup catcher, and holdovers Miller (the fourth outfielder) and Roth (a catcher and pinch hitter). Huggins was at St. Louis.

The pitching in 1909 had Art Fromme, Harry Gaspar, Jack Rowan, Bob Ewing, and Bill Campbell start more than 20 games and Jean Debuc did the most out of the bullpen. None had been overly great. Fromme won 19 but lost 13, Gaspar was 18-11, and the others had losing records. Fromme, Gaspar, and Rowan were back. George Suggs (over from Detroit in the AL) and Fred Beebe (from St. Louis) replaced Ewing and Campbell. Debuc was also gone.

As a team, Cincinnati hadn’t done much to improve on a fourth place finish. They’d gotten rid of one position player and a couple of pitchers, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to rally from a 33 game deficit. They were still fast and had a couple of potential .300 hitters, but nothing much else.

Next: Philadelphia (NL)