Jerry McCormick
Jerry McCormick was a veteran of two major league seasons when he was signed by the Whites in November, 1887. He made his debut at age 21 with Baltimore in the American Association in 1883, playing third base and hitting .262 in 93 games. In 1884, he played third (mostly), second and short with Philadelphia and Washington in the Union Association, hitting .261 in 109 games combined. After that, he dropped into the minor leagues, playing with clubs in the Eastern League and New England Leagues in 1885 and 1886. In 1887, he played with Toronto in the International League. The Post-Dispatch noted McCormick "has won praise for his liveliness and quickness in general as a fielder" and that he "has attracted some well-merited attention as a hitter" (March 11, 1888). The Sun (New York) gave his salary as $1500 when he was signed and called him "a hard hitter and a brilliant fielder" (November 20, 1887). He was expected to be one of the infielders for the Whites in 1888, so of course, he wound up playing center field for all but one of his 20 pre-season games with the Whites.
The local newspapers listed McCormick as the opening day center fielder for the Whites, but he hurt himself during pre-game warmups. The Sporting Life wrote
"It was the intention of Manager Loftus to release Mac as soon as the club returned from its recent trip up North, and his name was omitted from the score card in last Saturday's game. Mr Loftus told him he was not to play that afternoon, but McCormack put on his uniform and went onto the field to practice with the balance of the team. He was out in centre, and a long fly being knocked out there, he made the attempt to get it, and in doing so slipped and fell on his shoulder and slivered his shoulder blade."
It was estimated that he would be out for a month. Opening Day was April 28. McCormick was released on May 4, 1888, along with Pete Somers, leaving the Whites with 15 men under contract. He was signed by Easton in the Central League in early June, 1888. The Central League consisted of teams in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. He stayed on the east coast after his aborted attempt with the Whites. Except for a brief stint in Syracuse in 1891, he played exclusively for teams in Pennsylvania through to the end of his profession career in 1893. He hit near or over .300 for most of those seasons.
Spring stats for the Whites
Date Opponent Pos. AB R BH 2B 3B HR SB
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3/25/1888 Browns cf 4 0 0 0
3/27/1888 Browns cf 4 0 0 0
3/28/1888 Browns cf 4 1 1 1 0
3/29/1888 Browns cf 4 0 1 0
4/1/1888 Prickly Ash cf 4 1 2 1 0
4/7/1888 Browns cf 4 0 2 0
4/8/1888 Browns cf 4 1 1 0
4/12/1888 Kansas City cf 4 1 1
4/15/1888 Browns cf 4 1 0 0
4/16/1888 Bloomington cf 5 1 0 0
4/17/1888 Bloomington cf 4 1 0
4/18/1888 Bloomington cf 4 1 0
4/19/1888 Peoria cf 4 1 1
4/20/1888 Peoria cf 3 1 0
4/21/1888 Davenport cf 3 0 0 0
4/22/1888 Davenport cf 4 0 0 0
4/23/1888 Rockford cf 4 1 2
4/24/1888 Rockford cf 5 1 1 0
4/25/1888 Dubuque cf 4 0 0 0
4/26/1888 Dubuque 3b 2 0 0 0
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Totals (20 G) 78 12 12 2 0 0 0
HBP: 1; recorded 32 putouts with 3 assists and 1 error