“Wee Willie” Keeler,
Photo Image: Betz Studio of Baltimore, MD
Photo Subject: Portrait of Wee Willie Keeler in his 1898 gray Baltimore Oriole uniform, his last year as an Oriole before his contract was transferred to his hometown team, the Brooklyn Superbas (Dodgers).
Fun Fact: He was born William Henry O’Kelleher in Brooklyn, whose name was Americanized to Keeler. He earned the “Wee Willie” moniker because he stood 5’ 4½” tall and tipped the scale at a mere 140 pounds.
He was famous for his motto that succinctly captured his advice for his batting success: “Keep your eye clear, and hit ‘em where they ain’t”. One way he accomplished this is by perfecting the “Baltimore Chop” where he would swing the bat in a downward motion (a chop), so the ball would bounce high in front of home plate and he could beat-out the play at first. Folklore claims that the Orioles placed cement on that part of the infield (covering it with dirt, of course) to cause higher bounces.
Keeler used a 30-inch / 29-ounce bat, perhaps the shortest and lightest ever used by a big leaguer. Even with this small bat, Wee Willie would choke-up, prompting Hall-of-Famer Sam Crawford to claim “He only used half the bat”.
Bat control allowed him to practice his famous hitting theory of “hit ‘em where they ain’t”. If the infielders were playing deep he would bunt, if they moved in, he would poke the ball over their heads. Keeler was so accomplished at his craft, that led the league in hits on three separate occasions and won consecutive batting titles in 1897 (.424) and 1898 (.385). He also held the record for hitting streaks at 44 games; that is until 1941 when Joe DiMaggio broke his record hitting safely in 56 games.
Painting Detail: Printed on 8½” x 11” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Finer details were made using Prismacolor pencils.
Acknowledgement: Baseball History Comes Alive. Information of date of the image, thanks Craig Brown’s website Threads of Our Game.