Max Carey

The Pirates have been blessed with many a great outfielder. Easily most fans will name Clemente and the Waner brothers. Few think of Max Carey, who is one of the best defensive centerfielders of all-time.

Born Maxmillian Carnarius, Carey was on the path to become a Lutheran minster. While enrolled in divinity school, Max developed a fondness for atheltics, namely baseball. While still in school, Max went to play for a minor league team in South Bend, Indiana. The team there had a need for a shortstop and Max was going to inquire about the position. After showing off a school track medal, the manager allowed Max to play the next day. Not wanting to give up his amateur status, Max went by the name Max Carey, though it could have easily been Carney, to preserve that status.

After finding out how much money he could quickly make playing baseball, Carey decided to stop going to divinity school and focus on baseball full time. After another year in school, Carey went back to the South Bend team where he became a left fielder. Carey played superbly during that 1910 season and caught the eye of a Pirate scout. Later that year Carey would be in Pittsburgh playing for the defending World Champions.

There is a tale that when he first reported to Pittsburgh, Carey went to 'his' position of shortstop only to find Honus Wagner asking him what he was doing. It is rumored that Wagner told the young play to wait a minute, he'd have to talk with Fred Clarke about his position. Wagner, allegedly told Clarke that he was the shortstop and if he thought that kid would stick with the team, perhaps he (Clarke) should retire and let him play left. So for the final few games of 1910 Carey would be taking Clarke's place out in left.

The next year Clarke would become a semi-regular player, splitting time between left and center. He would not hit extremely well that year, batting only .258, but he would show the promise of great things to come, with his excellent speed. Carey was a monster on the basepaths has he racked up steals and infield hits. His speed also was apparent in the field, as he once had 450 putouts in a season.

Carey had an excellent eye at the plate, as he routinely would draw more walks than strikeouts. Despite that prowess, he never hit for an extremely high average, though in 1922 he batted a then career high .329 after altering his hitting style to mimick Ty Cobb.

Carey's best season was more than likely his 1925 season, when he helped to lead the Pirates to the World Series. That season he batted .343 and had 46 stolen bases at the age of 35. In the World Series against the Senators, he hit .458 in helping to bring home the Pirates 2nd World Series. Carey had 4 hits in Game 7 alone. Those numbers he put up probably would have made him Series MVP, though they did not give out such an award.

Unfortunately that would be his swan song as a Pirate player. The next season was the year of the ABC affair, as Fred Clarke, then a member of the Pirate managment, would sit in the office and critize manager Bill McKechnie. Carey, along with Babe Adams and Carson Bigbee took exception to this and spoke up. Carey was promptly released by owner Barney Dreyfuss after the affair. Carey would end up in Brooklyn playing for the Robins. He would spend two years there finishing out his playing career.

After his playing career, Carey remained in baseball. He returned to the Pirates as a coach and eventually became manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers for a time, being replaced by Casey Stengel. Carey would continue to coach with various organizations and teams, at one point, running the Woman's Pro Baseball League during World War II.

Carey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1961 by the Veteran's Commitee. Carey would pass away in 1976. Prior to his death, Carey advocated for better retirement benefits for players, after seeing his fortunes and that of others go away. He also championed the small ball and speed approach to the game that he excelled at.

Many may not think of Max Carey as one of the greats, but when you look at his numbers they seem to speak for themselves. He had incredible durability and is still, 9th All-Time in stolen bases and second to Cobb in steals of home. Add to his speed his great defensive prowess, and you have a player that could have played in almost any era, not just his own.

Career Stats:

Year	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1910-29	2476	10770	9363	1545	2665	419	159	70	800	738	92	1040	695	.285	.361	.386	.747