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Martin "Marty" Bergen (October 25, 1871 – January 19, 1900) was an American Major League Baseball player from to . He played in 344 games during his four-year career with the Boston Beaneaters, 337 of them as their catcher. Bergen helped the Beaneaters to two straight National League pennants ( and ) and a second-place finish in 1899. A 2001 article about him described him as "a nimble fielder with a bullwhip arm who could snap the ball to second base without so much as moving his feet". In 1900, future Hall of Fame outfielder Jesse Burkett characterized Bergen as the best catcher in baseball history. Bergen suffered from apparent mental illness. By 1899, he experienced hallucinations, had to be removed from a game due to odd behavior, and walked off from the team train during a trip to Boston. On January 19, 1900, he killed his wife and two children, then took his own life. Despite this, and the brevity of his career, he received one vote in both 1938 and 1939 to enter the Baseball Hall of Fame.〔Posnanski, Joe.(Hall of Fame Needs to Get Rid of Ridiculous Character Clause ). SI.com. February 11, 2009. Retrieved 2013-08-04.〕 ==Career== Born in North Brookfield, Massachusetts, Bergen attracted attention while playing for a series of teams from 1892 to 1895. But his behavior was mercurial. Batting .372, Bergen left the Kansas City Blues suddenly in 1895 over a perceived slight, and never again played for the team. Boston had scouted him, and was quick to purchase his contract for $1,000. Within a year, Bergen had established a reputation for throwing out baserunners. Bergen played in 344 major league games for the Beaneaters teams,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Marty Bergen's career statistics )〕 who won two straight National League pennants (1897–1898), and finished in second place in 1899.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Atlanta Braves (1871–2007) )〕 As a catcher, he had mixed results, as exemplified by the 1898 season. On the plus side, he had a Range factor of 5.17 in 1898—well above the league average of 4.60 for catchers. However, Bergen also led the league's catchers with 24 errors and 38 passed balls. He had a career batting average of .258 with 69 extra base hits and 176 RBIs.〔 Future Hall of Famer Jesse Burkett enthusiastically described Bergen's skills in 1900: "As a catcher, Martin Bergen was the best the world ever produced. No man acted with more natural grace as a ballplayer. There was finish in every move he made. His eye was always true, and his movements so quick and accurate in throwing that the speediest base runners ... never took chances when Bergen was behind the bat."〔 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「Marty Bergen (baseball)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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