The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame is proud to introduce to you its class of 1884. Two years ago, two men from the American League were added to the Hall of Fame. Now we add a legend from the National League to our hallowed halls. This year we enshrine one man. We enshrine a man who many feel was under appreciated as a player. Over the course of a fourteen season career this man defined what it meant to be a middle of the lineup hitter, a Left Fielder, and a Cincinnati Red Stocking. He was an extra base hit master, leading the National League in extra base hits six times and slugging percentage four times.
Lip Pike
Accomplishments
All Star Selections: 8
World Series Championships: 1 (1881)
National League Championships: 1 (1881)
Position: Left Field
Inducting Team: Cincinnati Red Stockings
All-Time Doubles for Left Fielders as of April 1886
Lip Pike played fourteen seasons in the Major Leagues. He spent eleven seasons in Cincinnati, occupying the middle spot in the order for ten of those seasons. Some men strike people out. Some men slap singles. Lip Pike’s claim to fame was his ability to knock extra base hits. He was feared by pitchers for his ability to not just get on base, but to empty them with a double or a triple. Or even a home run. He was a power house of a hitter who led the league in home runs three times during his career.
Pike is being inducted for his accomplishments on the field, but during his time as a player he was often under the radar since his Cincinnati team just wasn’t very good. His Red Stockings finished in the bottom half of the National League nine of the eleven seasons he played for them. According to Pike, all of the struggles made their 1881 World Series victory over Philadelphia all the more sweet. Pike still smiles to this day when talking about that special season. Like his Hall of Fame induction, it is something you will never be able to take away from him.