For the most part, major league catchers are prized for their defense, rarely doubling as offensive threats. Mike Grady was not like most catchers.

Michael William Grady was born December 23, 1869 in Kennett Square, and was one of the first players from Chester County to play Major League Baseball. Before signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, he played in the Brandywine AA League of West Chester.

Grady made his major league debut on April 24, 1894 as a member of the Phillies. Grady hit .363 over the course of his rookie season, during which the pitching mound was moved back to its current distance of 60 feet, 6 inches from the plate and three Phillies outfielders batted over .400. He played for the Phillies from 1894-1897, the Cardinals in 1897, the New York Giants from 1898-1900, the Washington Senators in 1901, and the Cardinals again from 1904-1906.

Grady is known for being part of an unfortunate piece of baseball history. As a third baseman for the Giants in 1899, Grady committed four fielding errors on a single play. He misplayed a groundball for one error, threw over the first baseman’s head for another, dropped the throw from the first baseman as he tried to gun down the runner at third, and threw over the catcher’s head into the stands as the base runner broke for home.

Grady was vociferous and outspoken during his playing career, and never shied away from recounting the infamous tale of his most embarrassing moment. He was fond of saying that upon committing the third error of the play, he purposefully threw the ball into the stands in anger.

Grady was, however, an exceptional hitter, compiling a .294 career average over his 11 major league seasons. He led the league in OPS (a commonly used stat today that adds on-base percentage with slugging percentage) for a catcher in 1904 and 1905, and finished third in that category in his final season in 1906. All told, Grady finished his career with 884 hits, 35 home runs and 461 RBIs. After a shaky rookie season during which he posted a .720 fielding percentage, he improved his defense considerably, rounding out his career with a .956 mark in that category. - click here to learn more