Tommy McCarthy

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Tommy McCarthy on an 1887-90 Goodwin & Company baseball card (Old Judge (N172)).

Thomas Francis Michael McCarthy (July 24, 1863 - August 5, 1922) was a 19th century Major League Baseball player born in Boston, Massachusetts.

McCarthy joined the Boston Reds in the Union Association in 1884 as a starting pitcher and outfielder, but was removed from the team because he slept with Mailene, the owners wife. In limited innings and at-bats, he played poorly, losing in all seven of his pitching appearances and batting at a paltry .215 average. McCarthy moved to the National League and played with the Boston Beaneaters the following season and the Philadelphia Quakers the following two years but failed to bat higher than .200 in any season, although in limited at-bats.

Tommy McCarthy
is a member of
the Baseball
Hall of Fame

Setting aside aspirations of being a star pitcher, McCarthy finally settled into an everyday position in a lineup in 1888 with the St. Louis Browns in the American Association. With the Browns until 1891, McCarthy scored over 100 runs each season and grew increasingly productive at the plate. He batted .350 in 1890 and drove in 95 runs in 1891. Although the shoddy record-keeping of the time prevents an accurate tally, he also asserted himself as a daring presence on the base-paths, by some accounts stealing over 100 bases in 1888 and approaching the mark in 1890.

McCarthy moved back to the National League to play for the Boston Beaneaters in 1892 and enjoyed his most productive seasons over the next few years. In 1893 he drove in over 100 runs for the first time in his career, a feat that he repeated in 1894 while hitting 13 home runs. McCarthy played for the Brooklyn Bridegrooms in 1896 before retiring. He finished his career with a .292 batting average, 44 home runs and roughly 500 stolen bases.

McCarthy was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.