How HOFer Ned Hanlon Thought Baseball Could Become The King Of Sports
The former MLB star player and manager had some strong feelings on what would make the game as successful as possible
Ned Hanlon was an excellent baseball player, suiting up for 13 big-league seasons. He was an even better manager, helping him to his eventual enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame by guiding his teams to five pennants over two decades (his managerial career was entirely before the World Series era).Towards the end of his illustrious stint in baseball he was worried about the future of the game and offered some ideas that he hoped would be the saving grace of what he thought could be a lagging sport.
Originally an outfielder, Hanlon played big-league ball between 1880–1892 with five different teams — most notably the Detroit Wolverines of the National League. In 1,270 career games, he batted a combined .259 with 1,318 hits, 30 home runs, 518 RBIs and 329 stolen bases (a stat that was only kept for the second half of his career). He also began managing in his final four seasons as a player before transitioning to that role exclusively.
Hanlon managed in the majors for a total of 20 seasons, leading five different teams. He did his best work with the Baltimore Orioles, with whom he…
