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Renown for his “bottle bat”, 5’8″, 158-pound Heinie Groh was a sight to be seen. Because of his small hands, Groh could not grip or effectively swing heavy lumber with bigger barrels. Soon he came up with a solution. Groh whittled down the handle of a big bat so it would better fit his mits and lighten the weight of the wood for his swing. With increased area of the barrel, Groh became one of the era’s great bunters.

Groh’s broke in with the 1912 pennant-winning Giants. He stayed with New York until a May 22nd trade to the Reds in 1913.

In Cincinnati he blossomed. The Reds installed Groh as their starting second baseman and leadoff man. By 1915 they moved Groh to third base, a position more valued in the Deadball ERA because of the number of bunts to field. He responded with a 5.7 WAR on the season. Three years later in 1918, Groh was named captain of the team.

In that role, Groh helped lead the 1919 Reds to the National League pennant. Though they were 8 games better than the AL champion White Sox, Cincinnati entered the World Series as the underdog.

The Reds prevailed 5-games-to-3 in a Fall Classic tainted by the gambling scandal that resulted in 8 White Sox players being barred from the game. To a man, the Cincinnati men believed they would’ve beaten an on-the-level Chicago club as well.

In 9 years in the birthplace of professional baseball, Groh led the league in doubles and on-base percentage twice each. During the run he also topped NL hitters once each in getting hit by a pitch, walks, hits, runs, and OPS.

In 1921 the Reds traded him back to the Giants. The following season the team won the World Series in the first of three consecutive pennant-winning campaigns. In the ’22 Fall Classic against the Yankees, Groh led the Giants to the title by hitting .474 with a .524 on-base percentage and a .579 slugging mark. Groh remained with the Reds through May 13th, 1926 release.

After sitting out the first three months of 1927 Groh signed with the Pirates as a free-agent in July. The club finished with 94 wins as Groh’s sixth pennant-winning club. His final career at bat came in the Fall Classic.

Heinie Groh ended his career with 1,774 hits, a .292 average, a.373 on-base percentage, a 118 OPS+. At his retirement he ranked third in National League history in games and assists, fourth in putouts and total chance at third base.

His 48.3 career WAR ranks above Hall of Fame third baseman Pie Traynor, George Kell, Freddie Lindstrom and many other fine hot corner men. In 1963 Groh was voted into the Reds Hall of Fame.

Shown here is Groh’s signature on a 3×5 card. He lists the New York Giants and Cincinnati as teams he played for. Interestingly he does not mention the Pirates for whom he played his final season in 1927.

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On June 5, 1914 Heinie Groh became the second Reds player of the 20th century to hit for the cycle. The second baseman went 5-for-5 with a single, two doubles, a triple and an inside-the-park home run. He joined Mike Mitchell who went cycling three years earlier on August 19, 1911.

The Cincinnati faithful waited a quarter of a century for another Red player to duplicate Groh’s feat. That came on June 8, 1940 when centerfielder Harry Craft turned in a 5-for-5 game with two singles, a double, triple, homer, and a walk. For good measure, Craft scored four times, drove in six runs and was also hit by a pitch.

Frank Robinson made it three Reds cycles on May 2, 1959. The Hall of Famer had his way with four Dodger pitchers. He walked and singled off of starter Gene Snyder, doubled off of Carl Erskine, tripled off of Johnny Klippenstein, and homered off of Sandy Koufax. Shown above is a 1966 Topps American League batting leaders card. It features the top three finishers in the Junior Circuit batting race.

In the pitching-friendly era Robinson lead the league with a .316 mark. Minnesota’s Tony Oliva was the league’s only other .300 batter. He finished with a .307 mark. Third in the rae was Detroit’s Al Kaline at .288. All three Cooperstown men have signed the card.

The century’s final Cincinnati cycle came on June 2, 1989. That night Eric Daves treated the Riverfront Stadium fans to a 4-for-4 night. He drove in six runs and scored his only run on the homer.

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Heinie Groh stands behind only Frank “Home Run” Baker among baseball’s best third basemen in the first quarter-century of the 1900s. With Baker playing his career in the American League and Groh remaining in the NL for his 16 years, Groh was the Senior Circuit’s top man at the hot corner during his career.

A leadoff hitter, Groh batted .300 or better four times, led the league in on-base percentage and doubles twice, and in walks, hits, and runs once each. By the time he retired Groh ranked third in NL history in games played at his position. Defensively he ranked third in assists, total chances, and fourth in putouts. Groh was Bill James’ pick as the best third basemen each year from 1915-1920.

Ranking Groh behind Baker is no slight to Groh. Baker received MVP consideration in four straight seasons starting in 1911. The Athletics slugger led the AL in homers each year from 1911-1914 and topped the circuit in RBI in ’13 and ’14. Though Baker played just 13 seasons, he amassed 62.8 career WAR. His 7-year peak WAR of 46.7 ranks above the 43.3 of the average Cooperstown third baseman.

Shown here is the signature of Frank “Home Run” Baker.

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Heinie Groh played in 16 big league seasons covering 1,676 regular-season games and 7,040 plate appearances. He also appeared in 21 World Series games.

The final time Groh came to bat was in the 1927 Fall Classic against a Yankee squad considered by many as the greatest team of all time. Groh came to bat in the ninth inning of Game 3 against Hall of Fame hurler Herb Pennock. With his Pirates down 8-1 Groh led off the inning by lofting a soft pop up back to the mound. Pennock gloved the ball.

The next day the Yankees swept Pittsburgh to earn the World Series title as Groh took off his uniform for the last time.

In the collection is the contract signed by Herb Pennock to be portrayed or represented in the Lou Gehrig Biopic Pride of the Yankees. All fans of Gehrig, the Yankees, and baseball should see Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan turn in outstanding performances in the film. For more knowledgeable fans of the game, catching a glimpse of the Yankees of the era adds to the viewing experience.