Bill Bergen

Bill Bergen baseball card, ca. 1909-1911, published by American Tobacco Company

Bergen was a fine defensive catcher whose dubious claim to fame was his offensive ineptitude. No one played in the major leagues as long as Bill Bergen and hit so poorly. Bergen had 3,028 career at-bats, during which he compiled a batting average of .170 (516/3028), a record low for players with more than 2,500 plate appearances. Pitchers are traditionally the weakest-hitting player in the lineup, yet three hurlers with more than 2,500 plate appearances accrued higher career batting averages than Bergen: Pud Galvin with .201, Bobby Mathews with .203, and Cy Young with .210. Among position players (non-pitchers), the next lowest career batting average is Billy Sullivan with .213[2] (a remarkable .043 differential). Bergen's career on-base percentage (OBP) was .194—he is the only player with at least 500 at-bats who tallied an OBP under .200. During five of his major league seasons, both his OBP and slugging percentage were under .200. He hit only two home runs in his career—and both were inside-the-park. In 1909, Bergen hit .139, the lowest average in history for a player with the minimum number of plate appearances to qualify for the batting title.[3] From 1904 to 1911, Dodger pitchers as a group outhit Bergen, .169 to .162.[4]

Per 150 games played (extended to an average MLB season), Bergen averaged only 11 extra-base hits and 15 walks. In five seasons his on-base average and his slugging percentage were both under .200. Throughout his 3,229 career plate appearances, Bergen was never hit by a pitch, a major league record that stood for over 85 years until broken by Mark Lemke in 1997.

In 1909, Bergen set another record for futility with a span of 45 consecutive at-bats without a base hit, which at the time was the longest streak ever by a position player (non-pitcher). The record stood for 102 years, and was broken in 2011 by Eugenio Vélez[5] (who also, coincidentally, played for the Dodgers). (The record was again broken in 2019 when Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles went 0-for-54.[6]) Baseball historian Craig Wright wrote, "Forgotten today is how close Bergen came to extending his record. He ended his streak with what was described as a 'lucky hit,' an infield hit he beat out after his grounder 'caromed off [pitcher Ed Reulbach]'s glove.” [7]

William Bergen, Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers), baseball card portrait issued by American Tobacco Company, 1912

Despite his lack of batting skills, Bergen remained an active major leaguer for so long because he played in an era when pitching dominated and he was a first-rate defensive catcher. In 1908, The Sporting News called him one of the best catchers in the game. Charles Faber, in his book Baseball Ratings, called Bergen the third-best defensive catcher in history, behind Gabby Hartnett and Pop Snyder, and ahead of Johnny Edwards and Roy Campanella. Total Baseball ranks Bergen the fifth-best defensive catcher of all-time.[8] By the measure of win shares, Bergen was the second best defensive catcher in the majors during his career, trailing only Ossee Schreckengost of the Philadelphia Athletics.

Bergen ranks ninth on the all-time list for assists[9] by a catcher with 1,444, despite never being a full-time player. His .989 fielding percentage in 1908 set a record (since broken) for catchers.[10] On August 23, 1909, he threw out six St. Louis Cardinals who attempted to steal bases, a record that stands.[4] That year he threw out 138 attempted steals in only 112 games behind the plate.[11] His career percentage for throwing out base-stealers was 47.3%, as compared to a league average of 45% in that timeframe.[12] He led the league in Caught Steals in 1906 and 1909.

Bergen tallied 100 assists as a catcher in nine seasons (in seven of which he caught less than 100 games), leading the league in 1904, 1906, and 1909. By comparison, the following Hall of Fame catchers reached 100 assists in a season the following number of times (despite in most cases playing far more games each season than Bergen) : Johnny Bench (1); Yogi Berra (0); Mickey Cochrane (0); Ray Schalk (10); Roger Bresnahan (6); Roy Campanella (0); Gary Carter (4); Bill Dickey (4); Carlton Fisk (0); Gabby Hartnett (2); Ernie Lombardi (0); Rick Ferrell (0); and Buck Ewing (4).

Most of the teams for which Bergen played were not very good, which could partly explain his being retained on rosters year after year. The Dodgers had a losing record every year Bergen was on the team, including a dismal 48–104 record in 1905. (The 1903 Cincinnati Reds were the only team he played on that finished with a winning record.[13]) After he was released from the big leagues, Bergen played in the minor leagues until 1914. He coached and managed in minor league ball until 1920, at which point he retired from the game.[8]

Bergen died in Worcester MA, on December 19, 1943, of heart disease. He is buried at St. John Cemetery, in Worcester.

His brother, Marty Bergen was a big-league catcher for the Boston Beaneaters, who suffered from severe mental illness. Marty Bergen brutally murdered his family and committed suicide in 1900.[14]

• Dead-ball era
• Batting average
• On-base percentage
• Mendoza Line

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Pepper, Al. Mendoza's Heroes: Fifty Batters Below .200.
• Webpage dedicated to Bergen
• Bill Bergen at Find a Grave