Nap Rucker Stats

Nap Rucker was born on Tuesday, September 30, 1884, in Crabapple, Georgia. Rucker was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 15, 1907, with the Brooklyn Superbas. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Nap Rucker baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Nap Rucker of the Brooklyn National League club is easily the best southpaw in the game today. Speed always had been the boast of his village admirers and his spit-fire control, which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World for a southpaw." - Peet, William. Washington Herald Sports Writer. Nap Rucker Voted Best Southpaw. 14 October 1914.

Nap Rucker



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Birth Name:   George Napoleon Rucker
Nickname:   Nap
Born On:   09-30-1884  (Libra)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Crabapple, Georgia
Year of Death Data Died On:   12-19-1970 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Alpharetta, Georgia
Cemetery:   Roswell Presbyterian Cemetery, Roswell, Georgia
High School:   None Attended
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Left
Player Height Chart Height:   5-11   Player Weight Chart Weight:   190
First Game:   04-15-1907 (Age 22)
Last Game:   09-13-1916
Draft:   Not Applicable

Nap Rucker

Nap Rucker Pitching Stats

1907 23 Superbas 37 30 7 15 13 .536 2.06 26 4 0 275.1 1,122 242 63 94 3 80 - 131 10 8 0 -
1908 24 Superbas 42 37 6 17 19 .472 2.08 30 6 1 333.1 1,346 265 77 107 1 125 - 199 5 19 0 -
1909 25 Superbas 38 33 5 13 19 .406 2.24 28 6 1 309.1 1,227 245 77 95 6 101 - 201 5 14 0 -
1910 26 Superbas 41 39 2 17 18 .486 2.58 27 6 0 320.1 1,291 293 92 112 5 84 - 147 5 9 0 -
1911 27 Superbas 48 33 14 22 18 .550 2.71 23 5 4 315.2 1,273 255 95 102 12 110 - 190 5 8 0 -
1912 28 Superbas 45 34 11 18 21 .462 2.21 23 6 4 297.2 1,201 272 73 101 6 72 1 151 6 3 1 -
1913 29 Superbas 41 33 7 14 15 .483 2.87 16 4 3 260.0 1,046 236 83 99 3 67 3 111 3 7 1 -
1914 30 Robins 16 16 0 7 6 .538 3.39 5 0 0 103.2 449 113 39 57 2 27 0 35 1 2 0 0
1915 31 Robins 19 15 4 9 4 .692 2.42 7 1 1 122.2 521 134 33 42 3 28 0 38 3 2 0 -
1916 32 Robins 9 3 4 2 1 .667 1.69 1 0 0 37.1 149 34 7 14 0 7 0 14 0 1 0 -
10 Years 336 273 60 134 134 .500 2.42 186 38 14 2,375.1 9,625 2,089 639 823 41 701 4 1,217 43 73 2 0

Nap Rucker

Nap Rucker Hitting Stats

1907 23 Superbas 37 97 6 15 1 1 0 0 8 3 0 23 3 0 0 - .155 .180 .186
1908 24 Superbas 42 117 3 21 0 1 0 0 6 1 0 14 1 0 0 - .179 .186 .197
1909 25 Superbas 38 101 3 12 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 16 7 0 0 - .119 .136 .129
1910 26 Superbas 41 110 6 23 1 0 0 0 3 2 0 15 4 0 0 - .209 .223 .218
1911 27 Superbas 48 104 6 21 2 2 1 0 9 3 0 15 7 0 0 - .202 .224 .288
1912 28 Superbas 45 102 8 25 2 1 0 0 12 3 0 12 4 0 0 - .245 .267 .284
1913 29 Superbas 41 87 3 21 1 0 0 0 0 4 0 10 2 0 0 - .241 .275 .253
1914 30 Robins 16 34 6 9 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 4 3 0 0 0 .265 .286 .353
1915 31 Robins 19 42 2 9 1 0 0 0 3 3 0 6 0 0 0 1 .214 .267 .238
1916 32 Robins 9 11 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 .091 .091 .091
10 Years 336 805 44 157 10 6 1 0 44 22 0 117 31 0 0 1 .195 .216 .226

Nap Rucker

Nap Rucker Fielding Stats

1907 Superbas P 37 30 826 85 2.3 78 5 73 7 4 n/a n/a n/a .918 2.55
1908 Superbas P 42 35 1,000 124 3.0 120 13 107 4 1 n/a n/a n/a .968 3.24
1909 Superbas P 38 33 928 74 1.9 70 3 67 4 3 n/a n/a n/a .946 2.04
1910 Superbas P 41 39 961 88 2.1 86 6 80 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .977 2.42
1911 Superbas P 48 33 947 98 2.0 95 7 88 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .969 2.71
1912 Superbas P 45 34 893 88 2.0 87 5 82 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .989 2.63
1913 Superbas P 41 33 780 57 1.4 55 5 50 2 1 n/a n/a n/a .965 1.90
1914 Robins P 16 16 311 33 2.1 33 4 29 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.86
1915 Robins P 19 15 368 47 2.5 46 6 40 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .979 3.38
1916 Robins P 9 4 112 10 1.1 10 1 9 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.41
P Totals 336 272 7,126 704 2.1 680 55 625 24 18 n/a n/a n/a .966 2.58
10 Years 336 272 7,126 704 2.1 680 55 625 24 18 n/a n/a n/a .966 2.58

Nap Rucker

Nap Rucker Miscellaneous Stats

1907 Superbas 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.2 12.1 1.64 4.28 2.62
1908 Superbas 1 0 1.000 0 0 n/a 0.0 8.4 19.5 1.59 5.37 3.38
1909 Superbas 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 6.3 0.0 1.99 5.85 2.94
1910 Superbas 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 7.3 36.7 1.75 4.13 2.36
1911 Superbas 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 104.0 6.9 11.6 1.73 5.42 3.14
1912 Superbas 1 0 1.000 0 0 n/a 0.0 8.5 8.5 2.10 4.57 2.18
1913 Superbas 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 8.7 0.0 1.66 3.84 2.32
1914 Robins 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 8.5 34.0 1.30 3.04 2.34
1915 Robins 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 7.0 14.0 1.36 2.79 2.05
1916 Robins 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 5.5 5.5 2.00 3.38 1.69
10 Years 2 0 1.000 0 0 n/a 805.0 6.9 18.3 1.74 4.61 2.66

Nap Rucker

Nap Rucker Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1907 Brooklyn Superbas n/a $1,900.00 n/a -
1908 Brooklyn Superbas n/a Undetermined n/a -
1909 Brooklyn Superbas n/a Undetermined n/a -
1910 Brooklyn Superbas n/a Undetermined n/a -
1911 Brooklyn Superbas n/a Undetermined n/a -
1912 Brooklyn Superbas n/a $3,500.00 n/a -
1913 Brooklyn Superbas n/a $4,000.00 n/a -
1914 Brooklyn Robins n/a $4,500.00 n/a -
1915 Brooklyn Robins n/a $4,500.00 n/a -
1916 Brooklyn Robins n/a $4,500.00 n/a Stats

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George Napoleon Rucker was a Major League Baseball player who pitched ten years (1907-1916) for the Dodgers franchise; Brooklyn Superbas (1907-1913) and Brooklyn Robins (1914-1916). Nap, his nickname, was a powerfully built workhorse who was one of the best lefties in the game during that era. Charles Ebbets, co-owner of the Dodgers said, "I will always regard him as one of the greatest men the game has produced. Greatest in every way." Author Dennis Purdy (The Team by Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball, Workman Publishing Company, 15 July 2006), said, "Rucker was probably the best ledt-hander in the Dodgers organization until the arrival of Sandy Koufax" and shared this story about Nap and Ty Cobb:

Nap Rucker Biography | Baseball Almanac

Nap Rucker Bio | The Team by Team Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball | Page 589
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Ty Cobb disagreed with the story, saying, "No, I didn't once attack Nap Rucker, the pitcher, in the bathroom and try to throw him out of the tub in which he was relaxing.

"That phony fable has dogged me for more than half a century and I doubt there are enough fans to fill a broom closet who don't believe it happened - which it never did. I don't know who first concocted that particular piece of Limburger, but it has an odor I seem to associate with certain New York writers - never exactly simpatico to me - who've made certain it appeared in every language but the Sanskrit.

"Naturally, they have a moral wrapped up in their tidy little tale. The 'Rucker Incident' is supposed to delineate with journalistic punch my 'savage' will-to-win, to let no man nor beast stand against my 'terrible' competitive urge. In due time, I will deal at length with the many false accounts built around me to this purpose. A Chinese sage wrote that exaggeration is to paint a snake and add legs. With me, they attached fangs, claws, file-sharpened spikes, and fire snorting out of each nostril."

Source: My Life in Baseball: The True Record. Ty Cobb, Al Stump. Bison Books. January 1,1993. Batting: The Lost Science. Page 143.

Nap Rucker led the National League in complete games (27), innings pitched (320.1), and shutouts (6) in 1910, but had a losing record (17-18). A year later, Nap won 22 games, lost 18, and did not lead the league in any pitching statistics. Nap is not really known for either of those seasons, but rather his no-hitter against the Boston Doves, on September 5, 1908, the first by a lefty twirler in Dodger history.

Nap Rucker No-Hitter | Baseball Almanac

Nap Rucker No-Hitter | The Brooklyn Daily Eagle | September 6, 1908 | Page 5
Baseball Almanac Research Library

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