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Harold Homer Chase (February 13, 1883 – May 18, 1947), nicknamed "Prince Hal", was a first baseman in Major League Baseball, widely viewed as the best fielder at his position. During his career, he played for the New York Highlanders (1905–1913), Chicago White Sox (1913–1914), Buffalo Blues (1914–1915), Cincinnati Reds (1916–1918), and New York Giants (1919). No lesser figures than Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson named Chase the best first baseman ever, and contemporary reports described his glovework as outstanding. He is sometimes considered the first true star of the franchise that would eventually become the New York Yankees. In 1981, 62 years after his last major league game, baseball historians Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book ''The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time''. Despite being an excellent hitter and his reputation as a peerless defensive player, Chase's legacy was tainted by a litany of corruption. He allegedly gambled on baseball games, and also engaged in suspicious play in order to throw games in which he played. ==Career== Chase attended Santa Clara College, where he played baseball. He signed his first contract with the Los Angeles Angels of the Class-A Pacific Coast League in 1904. The New York Highlanders selected Chase from Los Angeles in the 1904 Rule 5 draft on October 4, 1904. Chase joined the Highlanders in 1905, and held out during March 1907, threatening to sign with the outlaw California League if the Highlanders did not increase his salary.〔(The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search )〕〔(The Meriden Daily Journal - Google News Archive Search )〕 Though he agreed to join the Highlanders in April 1907,〔(The Meriden Daily Journal - Google News Archive Search )〕 he also insisted on playing in the California League during the winter.〔(The Toledo News-Bee - Google News Archive Search )〕 After the Highlanders fired manager Clark Griffith during the 1908 season, Chase held out and insisted he would not play for new manager Kid Elberfeld.〔(The Day - Google News Archive Search )〕 Chase served as player–manager in 1910 and 1911. He signed a three-year contract with the Yankees before the 1913 season,〔(The Gazette Times - Google News Archive Search )〕 but they traded him to the Chicago White Sox for Babe Borton and Rollie Zeider on June 1, 1913. Before the 1914 season, Chase jumped from the White Sox to the Buffalo Blues of the Federal League. Following a spell in the short-lived Federal League, he went to the Reds. In 1916, Chase led the NL with a .339 batting average.〔 After Buck Herzog was fired as Reds manager in 1917, Chase was again passed over for management in favor of Christy Mathewson. On February 19, 1919, the Reds traded Chase to the New York Giants for Walter Holke and Bill Rariden. It has long been rumored that the Giants acquired him after Mathewson let it be known he wanted nothing to do with Chase. However, this story is belied by the fact that Mathewson signed on with the Giants (where he had starred for many years as a pitcher) as assistant manager to John McGraw; moreover, after McGraw took a leave of absence from the team near the end of the 1919 season, Mathewson named Chase as first base coach. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hal Chase」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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