Roger Maxwell "Doc" Cramer (July 22, 1905 - September 9, 1990), born in Beach Haven, New Jersey, was a Major League Baseball center fielder and left-handed batter who played in the American League for the Philadelphia Athletics (1929-35), Boston Red Sox (1936-40), Washington Senators (1941) and Detroit Tigers (1942-48).
Cramer was an elegant center fielder with speed and a powerful arm. He was nicknamed "Flit", which was the name of a popular insecticide, for his great ability to judge fly balls; in other words, because he was "death to flies" (he led the league in putouts in 1936 and 1938).
Offensively, Cramer was a spray leadoff hitter who used raw speed to get on base and to stretch singles into doubles. He led the league in singles five times and tied for the lead in total hits (200) in 1940. Beside this, he batted 180 or more in 1933 (195), 1934 (202), 1935 (214), 1938 (198), 1939 (183), 1941 (180) and 1943 (182).
Cramer tied a major league record by going 6-for-6 in a nine-inning game, and he is the only American League player to do it twice (1932 and 1935). He batted .300 or more eight times and led the league in at-bats in seven seasons (1933-35, 1938, 1940-42), setting another major league record. Cramer was selected for the All-Star game five times (1935, 1937-40), and in 1934 he hit for the cycle.
In the 1945 World Series, Cramer, at age 40, led the Tigers in batting average (.379), hits (11), runs (7) and slugging average (.379), and batting in four runs, helping his team to win the series 4-3 against the Chicago Cubs. At the end of his career, he was frequently used as a pinch-hitter, and led the league with nine pinch hits in 1947. Later, as a White Sox batting coach, he tutored the young second baseman Nellie Fox from 1951 to 1953. Frequently, Fox credited Cramer with making him a major league hitter.
In his 20-season career, Cramer batted .296 with 37 home runs, 842 RBI, 2705 hits, 396 doubles, 109 triples, 62 stolen bases, and a .340 on base percentage in 2239 games. By teams, he batted .308 for the Athletics, .302 for the Red Sox, .282 for the Tigers, and .273 for the Senators. His 2705 hits are among the most for players who are not in the Hall of Fame.
Cramer died in Manahawkin, New Jersey at 85 years of age. There is a street named in his honor: Doc Cramer Blvd.
Doc Cramer
Norm Cash
Norman Dalton Cash (November 10, 1934 - October 12, 1986) was a Major League Baseball first baseman and left-handed batter who played for the Chicago White Sox (1958-1959) and Detroit Tigers (1960-1974). He was born in Justiceburg, Texas. He attended San Angelo Junior College, where he played football as well as baseball.
Cash filled the middle of the Tigers lineup for 15 seasons. He came to Detroit after a deal with the Cleveland Indians that turned out to be one of the worst transactions in baseball history. The White Sox let go him to Cleveland prior to the 1960 season, and not realizing what he had, the Indians G.M. Frank Lane traded Cash to the Tigers for Steve Demeter four months later. Both Chicago and Cleveland were haunted by Cash for the next 15 years, as he won a batting title and a World Series ring in a Detroit uniform.
Cash enjoyed a breakout season in 1961 batting a league-best .361, with 41 home runs, 124 runs batted in, 119 runs scored, 193 hits, 124 walks for .488 on base percentage, a .662 of slugging average, but it was overshadowed by the 61 home runs of Roger Maris. Some have attributed some of the gaudy hitting statistics of 1961 to the league expansion that year, which resulted in a dilution of pitching talent.
Even on his own team, Cash was overshadowed by his future Hall-of-Fame roommate Al Kaline. Although he never hit above .283 for the rest of his career, Cash hit 30 or more homers five times, 20 or more eleven times, including nine straight seasons between 1961-69. Also, he was considered one of the best defensive first baseman in the 1960s. He led the league in putouts (1961), fielding percentage (1964, 1967) and assists (1965-67).
Cash was a career .271 hitter with 377 home runs, 1103 RBI, 1046 runs, 1820 hits, 241 doubles, 41 triples, 43 stolen bases, .374 on base percentage, and a .488 of slugging average in 2089 games. Beside this, Cash hit .385 (10-26) with one home run in the 1968 World Series, and he batted .304 (14-46) with two homers and seven RBI in 16 career post-season games. On first base, he had a overall total of 15157 putouts, 1317 assists and only 131 errors in 16605 chances, for a .991 of fielding percentage. Beyond his statistics, Cash was a favorite with his teammates, the media, and Tiger fans; he was known for his sense of humor; in one famous episode, while he was a baserunner, he attempted to call time out when he was about to be tagged out.