Ed McKean

Edwin John McKean
(Mack)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut April 16, 1887
• Final Game July 27, 1899
• Born June 6, 1864 in Grafton, OH USA
• Died August 16, 1919 in Cleveland, OH USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ed McKean was a 19th century shortstop who spent most of his 13-year career playing in Cleveland, OH, first for the Cleveland Blues and then for the Cleveland Spiders. He was a workhorse with a .302 lifetime batting average who led the league twice in games played and twice in at-bats.

Based on the similarity scores method, there are 5 Hall of Famers in the list of the ten most similar players, and the other 5 are well-known players - Jack Glasscock, Buddy Myer, Larry Doyle, Herman Long and Deacon White. The most similar Hall of Famer is Arky Vaughan.

Although he didn't lead the league in offensive categories, he was often among the leaders: in 1888, he was sixth in batting average and 2nd in triples; in 1889, he was seventh in batting average; in 1890, he was fourth in on-base percentage and fifth in home runs; in 1891, he was second in hits and sixth in runs scored; in 1892, he was 7th in RBI; in 1893, he was 2nd in RBI and 3rd in triples (with 24); in 1894, he was 5th in RBI; in 1895, he was 5th in RBI; in 1896, he was 6th in RBI; in 1897, he was 10th in triples; and in 1898, he was ninth in RBI.

In 1891, Ed McKean was the first player in the National League to have 600 at-bats. After that, it became quite common.

In 1892, he accidentally shot himself in the finger. At age 44 in 1908 he was still playing minor league ball. Among business ventures, he tried wrestling and running an inn.

He was often referred to as big, and he was also stocky. In the off-season after the 1891 season, he was reported to weigh 207 pounds and trying to lose weight.

"The passing of big Ed McKean and Patsy Tebeau, and the going of Clarence Childs to Chicago breaks up effectively one of the greatest infields that ever nudged elbows." - Sporting Life of April 14, 1900, about the breaking up of the Cleveland Spiders infield, which also included Bobby Wallace for a time

Notable Achievements

• 2-time NL At Bats Leader (1891 & 1895)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 4 (1893-1896)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 5 (1891 & 1893-1896)
• 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 2 (1887 & 1888)

Further Reading

• Rich Blevins: Ed McKean: Slugging Shortstop of the Cleveland Spiders, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2014. ISBN 978-0-7864-7334-2

Related Sites

• Baseball History Daily article on Ed McKean