Billy Purtell (Paperback)

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. William Patrick "Billy" Purtell (January 6, 1886 - March 17, 1962) was a third baseman who played five seasons in Major League Baseball with the Chicago White Sox (1908-1910), Boston Red Sox (1910-1911), and Detroit Tigers (1914). Born in Columbus, Ohio, Purtell hit .227 in 335 major league games. The only hitting category in which he excelled was the sacrifice hit. He had 28 sacrifice hits in 1909 (10th best in the American League) and 32 in 1910 (3rd best). In 1910, Purtell set an unusual record that still stands. While batting .210 in 151 games for the White Sox and Red Sox, he hit only 6 doubles, the fewest by any major league player in 150 or more games. He did have 5 triples and two home runs.