“Frisch can knock down more balls with his elbows, knees, chest and head, and by dint of his fleet recovery throw out the runner, than any nine men we know.”
– Philadelphia sportswriter Gordon Mackay, 1924
We’ve finished our examination of the best Giant infielders, those who had the ten best peaks at each position. As I explained in an earlier post, for a player’s three-year peak to qualify for any of the lists of top defenders, he had to play that position for at least 70% the Giants’ games during that period. One excellent Giant defender failed to meet this threshold for all but one of his peaks. His peaks, however, were so good, and his ability to play multiple positions so significant to the Giants, that he deserves some mention of his own.
Frankie Frisch made our list of best three-year peaks of defensive play by Giant second basemen, having the third-best such peak from 1922 to 1924. Yet Frisch was much more to those Giants teams than a second baseman. He played third and short as well, and his versatility allowed his manager, John McGraw, to find room on the infield for such great defensive players as Dave Bancroft and Travis Jackson.
|
Years |
Games Started at Position |
3-year Defensive Runs/150 |
3 Year Defensive Runs |
|
1920-22 |
2B-146,3B-255,SS-3 |
12.2 |
32 |
|
1921-23 |
2B-281,3B-163,SS-1 |
13.1 |
38 |
|
1922-24 |
2B-363,3B-72,SS-11 |
16.1 |
46 |
|
1923-25 |
2B-320,3B-65,SS-49 |
14.4 |
40 |
|
1924-26 |
2B-312,3B-55,SS-49 |
16.1 |
43 |
Frisch was a whirling dervish on the infield, knocking down hot smashes with his chest, diving for others that seemed out of reach, ranging far and wide for pop flies. The example set by Frisch, a fiery on-field leader — pitcher Burleigh Grimes called the rookie Frisch “a sassy kid . . . [with] a lot of guts” — inspired the whole team. If Frisch, captain of the Giants and their highest-paid player, was willing to move around the infield, how could George Kelly say no to moving to second to make room for Bill Terry at first?