The Resume

(March 3, 1872-January 1, 1923)
Born in Brooklyn, New York
Birth name was William Henry O'Kelleher
Outfielder for the New York Giants (1892-93,1910), Brooklyn Grooms (1893), Baltimore Orioles (1894-98), Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1902) and New York Highlanders (1903-09)
Lifetime batting average of .341
2,932 hits
Two-time National League batting champ (1897-98)
Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame (1939)

Why he might be annoying:

His height is listed in various sources anywhere from a merely below average 5'7 to a decidedly wee 5'4.
Before moving to the outfield, he played third base, where he was particularly error prone.
He and teammate John McGraw brawled naked in the shower room after one game (1897).
He was known as the Brooklyn Millionaire when he retired from baseball (although his worth was probably about $200,000), but a real estate slump left him broke until the team owners raised $5,500 to pay off his debts.

Why he might not be annoying:

He was the first baseball player to sign a contract worth $10,000 a season (1903).
He had 200 or more hits in eight seasons, a record that lasted over a century until Ichiro Suzuki did it a 9th time in 2009.
His hitting advice was 'Learn what pitch you can hit good, then wait for that pitch' and 'Keep your eye clear and hit ‘em where they ain’t.'
He was so adept at bunting that he prompted the rule change to make a third-strike foul bunt into a strike out.
Ted Williams said, 'He may have been small in size, but he was huge with the bat.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Baseball Hall of Famers (Ranked: 1939)
• Baseball Players
• Born in Brooklyn, New York
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 39]
• I am Left Handed - Male [H-P]
• I Did Not Graduate High School [J-M]
• I Died in 1923 (Ranked: 50)
• I Died in the City I Was Born In
• I Died on Day One [January 1st] (Ranked: 1923)
• I Have Tuberculosis
• I’m Buried at Calvary Cemetery [Queens, New York]
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• My Nickname is Part of My Name [A-L]
• New York Yankees
• NL Batting Champs (Ranked: 1897)
• NL Batting Champs (Ranked: 1898)
• Profiles 32001-32250 (Ranked: 32179)
• San Francisco Giants
• Sporting News' 100 Greatest Baseball Players (Ranked: 75)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 38 Votes: 7.89% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 21 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 11 Votes: 72.73% Annoying