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Roger Maxwell "Doc" Cramer (July 22, 1905 - September 9, 1990), born in Beach Haven, New Jersey, was a Major League Baseball center fielder and left-handed batter who played in the American League for the Philadelphia Athletics (1929-35), Boston Red Sox (1936-40), Washington Senators (1941) and Detroit Tigers (1942-48).
Cramer was an elegant center fielder with speed and a powerful arm. He was nicknamed "Flit", which was the name of a popular insecticide, for his great ability to judge fly balls; in other words, because he was "death to flies" (he led the league in putouts in 1936 and 1938).
Offensively, Cramer was a spray leadoff hitter who used raw speed to get on base and to stretch singles into doubles. He led the league in singles five times and tied for the lead in total hits (200) in 1940. Beside this, he batted 180 or more in 1933 (195), 1934 (202), 1935 (214), 1938 (198), 1939 (183), 1941 (180) and 1943 (182).
Cramer tied a major league record by going 6-for-6 in a nine-inning game, and he is the only American League player to do it twice (1932 and 1935). He batted .300 or more eight times and led the league in at-bats in seven seasons (1933-35, 1938, 1940-42), setting another major league record. Cramer was selected for the All-Star game five times (1935, 1937-40), and in 1934 he hit for the cycle.
In the 1945 World Series, Cramer, at age 40, led the Tigers in batting average (.379), hits (11), runs (7) and slugging average (.379), and batting in four runs, helping his team to win the series 4-3 against the Chicago Cubs. At the end of his career, he was frequently used as a pinch-hitter, and led the league with nine pinch hits in 1947. Later, as a White Sox batting coach, he tutored the young second baseman Nellie Fox from 1951 to 1953. Frequently, Fox credited Cramer with making him a major league hitter.
In his 20-season career, Cramer batted .296 with 37 home runs, 842 RBI, 2705 hits, 396 doubles, 109 triples, 62 stolen bases, and a .340 on base percentage in 2239 games. By teams, he batted .308 for the Athletics, .302 for the Red Sox, .282 for the Tigers, and .273 for the Senators. His 2705 hits are among the most for players who are not in the Hall of Fame.
Cramer died in Manahawkin, New Jersey at 85 years of age. There is a street named in his honor: Doc Cramer Blvd.
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