Dave Orr

David L. Orr

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 250 lb.

• Debut May 17, 1883
• Final Game October 2, 1890
• Born September 29, 1859 in New York, NY USA
• Died June 2, 1915 in Richmond Hill, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

". . . the greatest hitter that ever played ball was old Dave Orr. . . I have always held that Dave Orr was the strongest and best hitter that ever played ball." - Hall of Famer Dan Brouthers, quoted in Sporting Life of September 22, 1894, after discussing Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, Sam Thompson and himself

"He was a mighty slugger and his home-run drives earned him the reputation of being the greatest batter in the world." - from the Sporting Life obituary of Dave Orr in 1915

Dave Orr's Adjusted OPS of 162 is one of the highest of all-time, ranking him slightly above Stan Musial. Although his career was only eight years, most of them for the New York Metropolitans, he still qualifies for the eleventh highest batting average of all-time. Orr was certainly one of the top first basemen of the 1880s, alongside Dan Brouthers, Cap Anson, Roger Connor, and a few others.

Orr's career lasted only 8 years as he was cut down by a stroke in 1890 which ended his career. His left side was paralyzed. He did some umpiring after that (including at the major league level), and worked odd jobs, including as caretaker at Ebbetts Field and press box attendant for a team in the Federal League.

Orr played mostly in the American Association, although in his last year he played well in the Players League, hitting .371, which was a close second in the league.

1884, 1885, and 1886 were his best seasons. Orr nearly led the American Association in WAR all three years - Pete Browning barely edged him out in 1885. Orr's OPS+ over this span was 195, best in the American Association, but second overall to Dan Brouthers.

Orr was a heavy man, at 5' 11" and 250 lbs., perhaps a precursor to the stout Babe Ruth (although Ruth was not heavy in his earlier years). That comparison is reinforced by the fact that Orr had a lifetime batting average of .342, the same as Ruth. Remarkably for a man of his dimensions, he twice led the league in triples - but at the time, these were achieved mainly by hitting the ball a long way in the spacious ballparks of the time, and not by running fast.

Prior to his major league years, Orr played professional ball for Newark, Hartford, and a Brooklyn team called the Alaskas. He umpired one National League game in 1891.

After baseball, as mentioned above, he worked as a watchman in New York after being struck by a "slight stroke of paralysis", but was still as cheery as ever. See this newspaper article [1].

Notable Achievements

• AA Batting Average Leader (1884)
• 2-time AA Slugging Percentage Leader (1885 & 1886)
• 2-time AA Hits Leader (1884 & 1886)
• 2-time AA Triples Leader (1885 & 1886)
• AA RBI Leader (1884)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 2 (1884 & 1890)

Records Held

• Triples, right handed batter, season, 31, 1886

Related Sites

• Dave Orr at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page

This manager's article is missing a managerial chart. To make this person's article more complete, one should be added.