Caruthers was a 19th century player, and one of a type fairly common at the time, but never seen today: a pitcher-outfielder. His 705 career games over 10 seasons were pretty evenly divided between the mound and the outfield, and he even played both in a few contests. At the time, rosters were rather short, and pitchers often played other positions when not pitching. On the American Association's St. Louis Browns, the two pitchers, Caruthers and Dave Foutz, were both good hitters and would switch off between pitching and right field. It worked well for a team that was a frequent pennant winner.
Caruthers, not big even for the time at about 138 pounds, was quite effective either from the box or at the plate, with a 123 ERA+ and a 133 OPS+ for his career. He was trim, fast, and athletic, and one of the best players in the league for several years.
Caruthers earned 178.81 ratings points.
Caruthers' stats: 218-99 record, 2.83 ERA, .282 average, 152 steals. posted by Shawn Weaver at 1:00 PM
I'm going to take a break now while I recalculate to add in the 2003 stats and do some revising. The list will undergo some changes in order when I finish. posted by Shawn Weaver at 1:00 PM
