Editing Roger Connor (section)

==MLB playing career==

===Early years (1880–1889)===
In Connor's first year with the Troy Trojans, he teamed with future Hall of Fame players [[Dan Brouthers]], [[Buck Ewing]], [[Tim Keefe]] and [[Mickey Welch]], all of whom were just starting their careers. Also on that 1880 Trojans team, though much older, was player-manager [[Bob Ferguson (infielder)|Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson]]. Though Connor, Ferguson and Welch were regularly in the lineup, the other future stars each played in only a handful of the team's 83 games that season. The team finished in fourth place with a 41–42 [[win–loss record]].<ref>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/TRO/1880.shtml 1880 Statistics and Roster, 1880 Troy Trojans]. [[Baseball-Reference.com]].</ref> Connor committed 60 errors in 83 games and sustained a shoulder injury, prompting a position change to [[first baseman]] for 1881.<ref name=Bock/>

He later played for the [[New York Gothams]], and, due to his great stature, gave that team the enduring nickname "Giants". Connor hit baseball's first [[grand slam (baseball)|grand slam]] on September 10, 1881, at Riverfront Park in [[Rensselaer, New York|Rensselaer]], New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/gamesproj/game/september-10-1881-roger-connor-s-ultimate-grand-slam|title=September 10, 1881: Roger Connor's 'ultimate' grand slam|work=sabr.org|author=John R. Husman|access-date=March 9, 2020}}</ref> His grand slam came with two outs and his team down three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, a situation known today as a [[walk-off home run]]. [[George Vecsey]], in ''The New York Times'' wrote: "Roger Connor was a complete player — a deft [[first baseman]] and an agile base runner who hit 233&nbsp;[[triple (baseball)|triples]] and [[stolen base|stole]] 244 bases despite his size (6&nbsp;feet 3 inches and 200 pounds)."<ref>{{cite news|author=Vecsey, George|title=Baseball: Going deep in history|date=May 14, 2007|work=[[The New York Times]]
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/14/sports/14iht-HOMERS.1.5698697.html?_r=0
|access-date=November 3, 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Roger Connor (baseball player).jpg|thumb|right|[[Roger Connor]] with the [[New York Gothams]], circa 1887.]]

He led the NL with a .371 average in 1885. On September 11, 1886, Connor hit a ball completely out of the Polo Grounds, a very difficult park in which to hit home runs. He hit the pitch from Boston's [[Old Hoss Radbourn]] over the right field fence and onto 112th Street. The New York Times reported of the feat, "He met it squarely and it soared up with the speed of a carrier pigeon. All eyes were turned on the tiny sphere as it soared over the head of [[Charlie Buffinton]] in right field."<ref>''Land of the Giants: New York's Polo Grounds'', Stew Thornley (2000), Temple University Press, {{ISBN|1-56639-796-0}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_4hXOpP-TJQC&pg=PA26&sig=jqShF2cJG9nKliCQTcJ3EKx-Ch4&dq=roger+connor+%22September+11,+1886%22+%22Roger+Connor+became+the+first+batter+to+hit+a+home+run+entirely+out+of+the+Polo+Grounds+on+September+11,+1886.+%22  Excerpt  pg. 26]</ref> A group of fans with the [[New York Stock Exchange]] took up a collection for Connor and bought him a $500 gold watch in honor of the home run.<ref name=Bock>{{cite news|last=Bock|first=Hal|title=Connor was baseball's first home run king|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2007-07-20-3879178360_x.htm|work=[[USA Today]]|access-date=November 3, 2013|date=July 20, 2007}}</ref>

===Players' League (1890)===
Another New York baseball team, also known as the Giants, emerged with the founding of the [[Players' League]] (PL) in 1890. Several players from the NL team left for the new league's Giants team, including future Hall of Famers Connor, Keefe, [[Jim O'Rourke (baseball)|Jim O'Rourke]] and [[Hank O'Day]]. In 123 games, Connor registered 169 hits, a .349 batting average, 14 home runs, 103 [[run batted in|runs batted in]] (RBI) and 22 stolen bases. His home run total led the league and it represented the only major league single-season home run title that he won.<ref name=BR/> Connor experimented with some changes to his batting style that year. He hit more balls to the [[opposite field]] and he sometimes batted right-handed, though he did not have much success from the right side.<ref>Kerr, p. 103.</ref>

Though Connor had success in his season with the PL, the league struggled. Some of the teams ran into financial difficulties.  National League teams rescheduled many of their games to conflict with PL games in the same cities, and a high number of PL games were cancelled late in the season due to [[rainout (sports)|rainouts]].<ref name=Wiggins>{{cite book|last1=Wiggins|first1=Robert Peyton|title=The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs: The History of an Outlaw Major League, 1914–1915|date=2009|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0786438358|page=46|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4yDtlquCJiYC|access-date=July 24, 2014}}</ref> Connor was optimistic that the league would be successful in 1891, but it officially broke up that January.<ref name=Ghosts>{{cite book|last=Fleitz|first=David L.|title=Ghosts in the Gallery at Cooperstown: Sixteen Little-Known Members of the Hall of Fame|year=2004|publisher=McFarland|isbn=0786480610|pages=171–175|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0tZCr_c4UPUC&pg=PA173}}</ref>

===Later career (1891–1897)===
Returning to the NL Giants for a season in 1891, Connor hit .294. In the offseason before 1892, Connor signed with the [[Philadelphia Athletics (1890–91)|Philadelphia Athletics]]. The team broke up shortly after Connor signed, and his contract was awarded to the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] for that year. He returned to the Giants in 1893, raising his average to .322 and hitting 11 home runs. During the 1894 season, the Giants looked toward the team's youth and Connor lost his starting position to [[Jack Doyle (baseball)|Jack Doyle]]. He was released that year and picked up by the [[St. Louis Browns]].<ref name=Ghosts/> The next year, his brother [[Joe Connor (baseball)|Joe Connor]] made his major league debut with the same team. Joe played two games with St. Louis before being sent back down to the minor leagues. That year's St. Louis team finished with a 39–92 record, {{frac|48|1|2}} games out of first place.<ref>Kerr, p. 134.</ref>

Connor was released by the Browns in May 1897 after starting the season with a .227 batting average. His major league playing career was over. While a major league player, Connor was regularly among the league leaders in [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] and home runs. Connor's career mark of 138 was a benchmark not surpassed until 1921 by [[Babe Ruth]]. He finished his career with a .317 batting average.<ref>[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=connoro01 Baseball Almanac, Roger Connor Stats], accessed May 2007.</ref> Connor finished in the top ten in batting average ten times, all between 1880 and 1891.  Over an 18-year career, Connor finished in the top ten for doubles ten times, finished in the top three for triples seven times and remains fifth all-time in triples with 233. He was also the first player to reach 1,000 career walks. He also established his power credentials by finishing in the top ten in RBI ten times and top ten in homers twelve times.<ref name=BR>[https://www.baseball-reference.com/c/connoro01.shtml Roger Connor Statistics]. [[Baseball-Reference.com]].</ref>