George Suggs

{{Short description|American baseball player (1882–1949)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=George Suggs |position=Pitcher |image=George Suggs.jpg |bats=Right |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1882|7|7|mf=y}} |birth_place=Kinston, North Carolina, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1949|4|4|1882|7|7}} |death_place=Kinston, North Carolina, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=April 21 |debutyear=1908 |debutteam=Detroit Tigers |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 18 |finalyear=1915 |finalteam=Baltimore Terrapins |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Win–loss record |stat1value=99–91 |stat3label=Strikeouts |stat3value=588 |stat2label=Earned run average |stat2value=3.11 |teams= *Detroit Tigers (1908–1909) *Cincinnati Reds (1910–1913) *Baltimore Terrapins (1914–1915) }} '''George Franklin Suggs''' (July 7, 1882 – April 4, 1949) was an American major league baseball pitcher.

On September 8, 1906, Suggs, pitching for the Southern Association's Memphis Egyptians, pitched an 11-inning no-hitter against the Nashville Baseball Club at Athletic Park in Nashville. He struck out six batters in the first game of a doubleheader, a 1–0 win.<ref name=nohit>{{cite web |url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AscmKoVLYjYPdE9MLXIzNVo4VnRFc2lpaW4yUF91aFE&authkey=CL_3m-cC&authkey=CL_3m-cC#gid=0 |title=Minor League No-Hitters |last=McGill |first=Chuck |website=Baseball-Reference.com |publisher=Sports Reference LLC |accessdate=September 17, 2015}}</ref>

Suggs made his major league debut on April 21, 1908, for the Detroit Tigers. Besides playing for Detroit (1908–09), Suggs also played for the Cincinnati Reds (1910–13) and the Federal League Baltimore Terrapins (1914–15). Suggs led the National League in the fewest Bases on balls per 9 innings pitched in 1910 and as of June 2012 is ranked 76th on the all-time list in that category.<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/bases_on_balls_per_nine_career.shtml Career BB/9 leaders from Baseball-Reference]</ref> He was a two-time twenty game winner (1910, 1914) and came just one win shy of the mark in 1912. Suggs finished his career with a 3.11 ERA and 99 wins.

As a hitter, Suggs was above average for a pitcher, posting a .204 batting average (112-for-549) with 47 runs, 1 home run, 47 RBI and 54 bases on balls. Defensively, he was above average, recording a .972 fielding percentage which was 24 points higher than the league average at his position.

Following his retirement from major league baseball, Suggs took a very active role in promoting baseball in his hometown of Kinston, North Carolina. He managed two independent (known then as "outlaw") teams in Kinston, the Kinston Robins and the Kinston Highwaymen. He was also the designer of their stadium, West End Park, which was modified in 1925 for the Virginia League Kinston Eagles. He was one of the initial inductees in the Kinston Professional Baseball Hall of Fame on February 11, 1983.

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==Sources== {{Baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=s/suggsge01 |fangraphs= |cube= |brm=suggs-001geo}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suggs, George}} Category:1882 births Category:1949 deaths Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Detroit Tigers players Category:Cincinnati Reds players Category:Baltimore Terrapins players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Minor league baseball managers Category:Jacksonville Jays players Category:Memphis Egyptians players Category:Mobile Sea Gulls players Category:Raleigh Capitals players Category:Baseball players from Lenoir County, North Carolina Category:Sportspeople from Kinston, North Carolina