Mule Suttles
| Birthdate | 3/31/1900 |
| Death Date | 7/9/1966 |
| Debut Year | 1923 |
| Year of Induction | 2006 |
| Teams | Negro Leagues |
| Position | First Base |
An outstanding hitter, Negro Leaguer Mule Suttles hit .374 with five home runs in 26 documented exhibition games against white competition.
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BaseballReference.com credits Suttles with a career OPS of 1.028
BaseballReference.com credits Suttles with a career OPS of 1.028
According to Baseball Reference, Mule Suttles played in the Negro Leagues from 1923-1944. The record shows that he hit .339 with a .410 on-base percentage, and a .618 slugging percentage.
The 6’3″, 250-pound Suttles reportedly used a 50-ounce bat to slug 179 homers in 906 games. That translates to 32 bombs every 162 games.
Suttles earned the National Negro League’s Triple Crown in 1926. That season he hit .425 with 32 homers and 130 RBI in just 89 games.
The first baseman topped the .400 mark four times from 1926-1936. When the Negro Leagues followed big league baseball’s invention of the All Star Game, Suttles was chief among the performers.
The hulking figure slugged the first home run in the inaugural East-West All Star Game in 1933. From his age-32 season in ’33 through his 38th birthday he made 5 East-West All Star squads.
Despite his performance, Suttles’ career remained largely forgotten until his induction into the baseball Hall of Fame in 2006.
In the offseason Suttles played against MLB stars to augment his income
In the offseason Suttles played against MLB stars to augment his income
Despite the color barrier, Negro Leaguers often faced off against their MLB counterparts. These contests took place in the off-season and helped augment the income of the players involved.
Shown here is a lineup of Negro League stars called the Philadelphia Royal Giants. They squared off against Dizzy Dean’s All Stars on October 31, 1935. Satchel Paige started the game against a star-studded lineup.
Hall of Famer Arky Vaugnan played shortstop while NL home run champion and four-time All Star Wally Berger hit behind him in the cleanup spot. Dolph Camilli who won the 1941 NL Most Valuable Player Award played first and Cooperstown hurler Dean got the start on the hill.
Ole Diz faced a batting order that included three men who went on to get their Cooperstown plaques: Turkey Stearnes, Mule Suttles, and Biz Mackey. The Cardinals hurler went 7 innings, giving up five hits and a pair of runs.
Third baseman Suttles went 1-for-4 with two runs batted in.
Satchel struck out 7, allowed two runs on two hits, and left with a no-decision after four innings. The MLB crew pushed across three more runs off of Chet Brewer to gain a 5-4 victory.
Five men have adorned their signatures to the lineup including Paige, Vaughan, Camilli, Berger, and 217-game winner Freddie Fitzsimmons.
First baseman Mule Suttles was elected to the Hall in 2006
First baseman Mule Suttles was elected to the Hall in 2006
In 2005, the Hall of Fame put together a special screening committee to find people associated with the Negro Leagues who were most deserving of induction.
An original list of 94 nominees was cut to 29 candidates and finally 17 new members of the Hall of Fame to be inducted in 2006.
The cover of the 2006 Hall of Fame yearbook shows those 17 and including Mule Suttles.
When the time comes for Negro Leaguers to once again gain consideration for Cooperstown, the men identified in 2005 figure to be atop the list.
