The second baseman was one of the most talented and divisive players in baseball history
Hall-of-Fame second baseman Johnny Evers was one of the first walking definitions of a scrappy baseball player. Although he barely weighed 125 pounds, he was a relentless dynamo on the field, doing whatever it took to win. Along the way he developed a notoriety of having a sour demeanor that led to his nickname of the “Human Crab,” but what did he think about his reputation?
In parts of 18 big-league seasons (1902–1917; 1922; 1929), Evers was primarily known for playing with the Chicago Cubs, with whom he spent the first 12 years of his career. The middle man in the famed double-play trio with shortstop Joe Tinker (Evers did not get along with him off the field) and first baseman Frank Chance, they were immortalized by a famous poem by Franklin Pierce Adams.
Evers was a winner at heart. He played in four World Series; a key cog in three teams that won titles. Playing primarily during the Dead Ball Era, his numbers don’t jump off the page but they didn’t need to. He finished with a combined batting average of .270 to go along with 12 home runs, 536 RBIs and 324 stolen bases. He was also a standout defender, and his 15.4 career dWAR is still 15th all-time among players who predominantly played second base during their career.
It wasn’t just hustling that made Evers scrappy. He also fought for every possible advantage, especially if that meant letting umpires know if he disagreed with their decisions. This led to him receiving a number of suspensions
In a wide-ranging interview that appeared in the Evening Star (Washington, DC) on August 29, 1915, the infielder discussed at length how he came to be known as so pugnacious and crabby, and what that meant to him. Regardless of the origins, part of him clearly seemed proud of what he stood for:
“Well, I’ll tell you why I think they call Johnny Evers the ‘Human Crab.’ It is because Evers goes on the ball field to win games and to play as hard as he knows how every minute. He has no friends when the battle is on. He’s fighting, in a sportsmanlike way for every point, and he continues to fight tomorrow just the way he fought today.
“I am telling to why I believe they call Johnny Evers the ‘Human Crab.’ Possibly I am not a competent witness since I happen to be the same Johnny Evers. But I’ll be glad to explain to you just what I mean by fighting for ball games, and I think it will be clearer to you. In fact, I appreciate the opportunity to let the public know a few facts about Johnny Evers.”
Evers was no dummy. He knew his reputation most directly correlated to his consistent chirping at umpires. He could even pinpoint with some degree of precision when it all started:
“I suppose about five or six years ago, when I was with the Chicago Cubs, I did get in wrong with the fans quite often. We made it a point to go after everything in the way of technicalities and I still insist that is a good thing to do. I watched for every opportunity and was quick to tell an umpire when I thought he was making a mistake. Now, the umpire doesn’t live who likes to have his attention called to the rules. He is supposed to know them, and once his decision is made, he won’t change it — in fact, it would be a bad policy for him to reverse himself.
“Naturally, I was in arguments with umpires and players on opposing teams almost every day. It got so bad that I couldn’t open my mouth; the instant I did an umpire would yell, ‘Get out of here, Evers!’ But that didn’t stop me for my heart and soul were in my game, and I could not stand to see a decision made which technically might be wrong. I realized that the umpires would not reverse it but believed that they might remember my protest and give it my way the next time.”
Baseball fans like action on the field. An occasional dustup with the umps is acceptable but when a player does it too often it can get to be too much. Evers believed that’s where things likely went wrong with the spectators:
“Now, as I have said, this put me in wrong with the fans. They put me down as a continual kicker, an umpire baiter, a ‘crab.’ Why, there were men on our club who did more kicking and crabbing in one day than I did in a week. But I had the reputation, and one word from me was worse than a five-minute oration from another player.”
Although he never denied he was a consistent pest to umpires, Evers did believe that he was given a little too much credit for his crabbiness, explaining:
“Let me ask you something: Did you ever hear a man say that Evers as much as laid a finger on an umpire? If he said that, he lied. This is my fourteenth season in the National League and I never have even as much as tapped an umpire on the chest protector with my forefinger, the way some players do.
“Find me a ball player who will say that I ever intentionally hurt an opponent. They come into second base spikes first and cut me until the blood runs into my shoes. I don’t say a word. I don’t resent it or crab about it. I go to the bench when the inning is ended, have the cut dressed and continue to play, and most of the time nobody knows I am hurt — not even the player who cut me.”
History shows that Evers may have had a slightly rosier memory of his acrimonious interactions with the men in blue than others. He was suspended and fined on numerous occasions, including for putting sand down the neck of an umpire; throwing a bat and bad-mouthing the wife of National League President John Tener; and slapping an umpire with his glove.
If he was to be known as a crab or annoying on the field, Evers also wanted to make sure the record reflected his more positive attributes that he thought were often left out of the narrative:
“I want the presidents of the two leagues, the chairman of the national commission, the presidents of all the ball clubs and every man connected with the game to know that Johnny Evers will place his character and honesty and sportsmanship alongside of any one of them. I’ll defy them to find a serious blemish in mine. I’ve lived a clean life off the field, and I’ve tried to uphold the game as the greatest in the world when I was on the field. I don’t need to hide a single act of mine from the world.
“I have said some things that I should not have said. I have lost my head occasionally and done things which probably did not look well to the fans — but who in the world is perfect? Surely none of the magnates who attacked me has gone through life without making some mistakes.”
When it came down to it, it seemed that Evers’ reputation weighed more heavily on him because of how it impacted his family more than anything else:
“As I said, I personally don’t mind the criticism. But you must remember that I have a wife and son. They pick up a newspaper and read that a magnate has called me a ruffian, a burly, and about everything that one man could safely call another and have it put in print. They don’t believe it, of course, for they know me, but they are afraid to go to the games and be pointed out as the wife and son of the ‘Human Crab.” Did you ever look at it that way?”
Evers was clearly a win at all costs type of player. He sought any advantage he could get, regardless of the reputation it may have earned him. He may not have been as popular as some players, but his three World Series championships as a player and 1946 induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame suggest regardless of how annoying or abrasive he might have been, it worked.
The Link LonkFebruary 22, 2021 at 10:39PM
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Why People Thought Baseball HOFer Johnny Evers Was an Annoying Crab - SportsRaid
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