Baby Doll Jacobson

Baby Doll Jacobson
Jacobson in 1922
Center fielder
Born: (1890-08-16)August 16, 1890
Cable, Illinois, U.S.
Died: January 16, 1977(1977-01-16) (aged 86)
Orion, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 14, 1915, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
September 22, 1927, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.311
Home runs83
Runs batted in818
Teams

William Chester "Baby Doll" Jacobson (August 16, 1890 – January 16, 1977) was an American baseball outfielder. He played 11 seasons of Major League Baseball, principally with the St. Louis Browns, between 1915 and 1927. He also played for the Detroit Tigers (1915), Boston Red Sox (1926–1927), Cleveland Indians (1927), and Philadelphia Athletics (1927).

Jacobson was one of the best hitters in the American League during his prime years. He batted above .300 for seven consecutive seasons, including a .355 season in 1920 and a .352 season in 1921. He also hit for power and finished second behind Babe Ruth with 122 RBI in 1922. He compiled a .311 lifetime batting average and twice finished among the top ten in voting for the American League Most Valuable Player Award. During the eight years from 1919 to 1926, Jacobson compiled 1,473 hits, ranking sixth in the major leagues behind Baseball Hall of Famers Sam Rice (1,639), Rogers Hornsby (1,626), Harry Heilmann (1,556), George Sisler (1,495), and Ty Cobb (1,478).

Jacobson was also one of the best defensive outfielders of his era. He set 13 defensive records during his career, and his 488 putouts in 1924 stood as a major league record until 1928 and an American League record until 1948. He also led the major leagues with nine double plays started from the outfield in 1925.