Hobe Ferris
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Albert Sayles "Hobe" Ferris, (December 7, 1877 – March 18, 1938), was a major league second baseman during the 1900s. He holds the record for the lowest on base percentage of any player in major league baseball history with over 5000 plate appearances, recording an OBP of just .265. Despite this, his career slugging percentage is actually higher than the league average of the period.
Ferris was born in Providence, Rhode Island and began his major league career in 1901 with the Boston Americans. He was a member of the Boston side that won the inaugural 1903 World Series. Despite being a gifted defensive player, Ferris committed an error in the top of the first inning of the opening game of the series, and in doing so committing the first ever error in World Series baseball. He did, however, make amends by knocking in all of Boston's runs in the final game, which they won 3-0. Perhaps the other most famous incident of Ferris's career came in 1906, when he and Jack Hayden were ejected from a game after Ferris kicked Hayden in the face; this was the first time that team-mates had been ejected for fighting each other.
Prior to the 1908 season Ferris was traded to the St. Louis Browns in order to clear space for Amby McConnell, who was highly rated at the time. Whilst at St. Louis, Ferris converted to become a third baseman. His first season with the Browns was the most productive of his entire career: he set new highs in OBP, batting average, and RBIs. However, this relatively successful season with the bat proved to be something of a blip - in 1909 his numbers plummeted as he recorded the worst season of his career. Following this poor season Ferris's contract was not renewed by the Browns.
Following his departure from St. Louis, Ferris could not find a major league club willing to offer him a contract. This led to him signing with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Association prior to the 1910 season. In his first season with the Millers, Ferris's performance with the bat improved slightly; however, the following year he exploded. In 1911 he hit 14 home runs and recorded an average of .303 as the Millers won their second consecutive pennant with a team that included Gavvy Cravath, Sam Leever and future Hall of Famer Rube Waddell. The Millers won a third consecutive pennant in 1912, Ferris's numbers, however, returned to their previous level. Ferris decided to retire at the end of the season.
