Ed McKean

Who was Ed McKean?

Edwin John McKean was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily for the National League's Cleveland Spiders.

Born in Grafton, Ohio, McKean began his career in 1884 with the Youngstown, Ohio club in the minor league Iron & Oil Association. After two more seasons in the minors, he was signed by the Cleveland Blues of the American Association, and became the club's starting shortstop in their first year as a major league team. He remained in that position for the franchise for nearly its entire existence.

Prior to the 1899 season, the Spiders transferred most of their best players to the St. Louis Perfectos, including McKean. This was legal at the time, as both teams were owned by the same ownership group led by the Robison brothers. However, he did not perform up to expectations and was let go in July. The following season, the Spiders folded, and such shenanigans were outlawed.

After not playing professionally for two years, McKean returned to play in the minor leagues in 1902 as player-manager of the Rochester Bronchos. After several more years in the minors, he retired following the 1908 season. All told, McKean racked up a grand total of 2,083 hits and 1124 RBI during his major league career. He also recorded 4 seasons with over 110 RBI and owned a superb lifetime batting average of .302. For his time, he also hit a lot of home runs; 66 in 13 seasons was considered great at that time. He died at age 55 in Cleveland, Ohio.