Jacob Ellsworth Daubert (April 7, 1884 – October 9, 1924) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Superbas and Cincinnati Reds. His career lasted from 1910 until his death in 1924.
Daubert was recognized throughout his career for his performance on the field. He won the 1913 and 1914 National League batting titles and the 1913 Chalmers Award as the National League's Most Valuable Player. Between 1911 and 1919, The Baseball Magazine named him to their All-American team seven times. Baseball historian William C. Kashatus observed that Daubert was "a steady .300 hitter for 10 years of the Deadball Era" who "never fielded below the .989 mark."
Early life
Daubert was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania to Jacob and Sarah Daubert. The lack of child labor laws enabled Daubert to go to work early in his life. In 1895, at the age of eleven, the young Daubert joined his father and two brothers at work in the local coal mines.
In 1906, Daubert left his job at the mines and signed a contract with a baseball team in Lykens, Pennsylvania. He was originally a pitcher on the team before he converted to first base.
In 1911 and 1912, Daubert placed ninth and eighth in the Chalmers Award voting. The following year, he won the award. On August 15, 1914, Daubert tied Cy Seymour's MLB record with four sacrifice bunts in one game. In 1916 he batted .316 and Brooklyn won their first NL pennant. His season ended in disappointment, however, after he hit only .176 in the 1916 World Series and Brooklyn lost the series to the Boston Red Sox.
Daubert hit .261 in 1917, but the following year he hit .308 and led the NL in triples. When the season was cut short due to World War I and the Spanish flu epidemic, major league owners prorated player salaries. Daubert, who had been among the founding members of the Players' Fraternity, sued for the balance of his salary. Eventually, Jake recovered most of the $2,150 he was due. and he hit .292 that season.
Daubert also excelled in sacrifice hits. His career total of 392 sacrifice hits is second in MLB history, behind Hall of Famer Eddie Collins.
In his career, he had 56 home runs, 1,117 runs, 722 runs batted in, 250 doubles, 165 triples and 251 stolen bases. He recorded a .991 fielding percentage playing every inning of his MLB career at first base. When he left Brooklyn for Cincinnati, Daubert held the Brooklyn franchise record for games played at first base (1,206). The record was broken by Gil Hodges in 1956.
Baseball unionization efforts
Daubert was a trailblazer in baseball's unionization movement, a controversial role that may have been a factor in his omission from the Hall of Fame.
Although Daubert was unsuccessful in pressuring the commissioners to accept the terms of the fledgling baseball union's petition, he lobbied continuously for his own interests as a player, thereby earning a reputation as a "troublemaker" within the baseball establishment. Against his doctor's advice, he returned to play in the team's final home game of the season. He was interred at the Charles Baber Cemetery in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Daubert was survived by his wife Gertrude, his son George, and his daughter Louisa. and the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame in 1990.
See also
- List of baseball players who died during their careers
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders