Bruce Petway was a solid backstop, magnificent defensively and good enough offensively to sustain a 15 year career.
Petway was consistent offensively–consistently mediocre, but consistent nonetheless. In our projections, he only has 4 seasons with an OPS over.600 and only 2 below .500. He just wasn’t much of a threat with the stick, having below average power across the board, and while able to draw the occasional walk, didn’t control the strike zone very well overall. He had a little bit of speed, but nothing terribly unusual.
We have delayed his career a year, having him debut in 1907, and have shaved a few years off at the end, where his effectiveness was in clear and rapid decline. Still, he plays until 1922, well into his mid 30s, with over a decade carrying a fulltime load behind the plate. Certainly, his career could end with a pretty dismal 1920 season; instead, he has a decent bounce back in 1921 (posting the highest OPS of his career in the dawn of the lively ball era) before struggles in 1922 show it to have been a mirage.
Buddy was magnificent defensively, with an exceptional arm and excellent mobility, sort of a prototypical model for a defensive catcher. He played a few games elsewhere, most notably in RF, and was above-average with the glove everywhere, a testament to his athleticism and his understanding of the game.
I’m just a hair more pessimistic about Petway’s offensive skill than others are, but I would defend that pretty strongly. Where I could see change in this projection is usage–I believe I may be underestimating the PA’s he would see each year as a full time catcher. If so, that would add another 50-100 PA’s at the same level of efficiency, a change to his career totals, but not to the shape of his contribution.
| Name | Bruce Petway (Buddy) |
| ID / Status | petwa01bru / Draft |
| Pos | C |
| DOB / i9s Career | 12/23/1885 / 1907 - 1922 |
| Birthplace | Nashville, TN (USA) |
| Height / Weight | 5'10" / 159 |
| B / T | B / R |
Batting Projections
| Year | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 1907 | 325 | 81 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 22 | 51 | 15 | 4 | 0.249 | 0.297 | 0.280 | 0.577 |
| 1908 | 403 | 90 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 45 | 17 | 5 | 0.223 | 0.270 | 0.266 | 0.536 |
| 1909 | 424 | 99 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 36 | 37 | 16 | 7 | 0.218 | 0.276 | 0.271 | 0.546 |
| 1910 | 419 | 89 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 46 | 60 | 22 | 6 | 0.212 | 0.290 | 0.248 | 0.539 |
| 1911 | 467 | 115 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 59 | 27 | 8 | 0.246 | 0.319 | 0.283 | 0.602 |
| 1912 | 444 | 100 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 43 | 55 | 17 | 8 | 0.225 | 0.294 | 0.275 | 0.568 |
| 1913 | 421 | 98 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 41 | 49 | 23 | 7 | 0.233 | 0.301 | 0.259 | 0.560 |
| 1914 | 393 | 68 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 40 | 50 | 12 | 4 | 0.173 | 0.249 | 0.219 | 0.468 |
| 1915 | 489 | 121 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 70 | 18 | 10 | 0.247 | 0.137 | 0.288 | 0.606 |
| 1916 | 341 | 81 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 34 | 46 | 11 | 4 | 0.238 | 0.307 | 0.326 | 0.632 |
| 1917 | 308 | 56 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 35 | 8 | 3 | 0.182 | 0.261 | 0.221 | 0.482 |
| 1918 | 324 | 76 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 31 | 9 | 4 | 0.235 | 0.291 | 0.275 | 0.566 |
| 1919 | 259 | 55 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 27 | 8 | 2 | 0.212 | 0.269 | 0.278 | 0.547 |
| 1920 | 121 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 0.198 | 0.276 | 0.240 | 0.516 |
| 1921 | 242 | 75 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 19 | 5 | 3 | 0.310 | 0.343 | 0.397 | 0.739 |
| 1922 | 64 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0.219 | 0.265 | 0.313 | 0.577 |