Career
He played 18 seasons in the majors, from 1882 until 1899, all for the Cincinnati Reds franchise. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. Known more for his fielding than his hitting, McPhee was the last second baseman to play without a glove.
Born in Massena, New York, McPhee broke into professional baseball in 1877 as a catcher with the Davenport Brown Stockings of the Northwestern League.
He played for Davenport for three seasons, shifting to second base during the 1879 season. After not playing baseball in 1880, he joined an independent team in Akron, Ohio in 1881.
Before the 1882 season, he signed a contract to play for the Cincinnati Red Stockings, a team in the newly formed American Association. Making his major league debut on May 2, 1882, the 22-year-old McPhee had a batting average of just.228, but he led the league in several fielding categories, including putouts and fielding percentage.
McPhee was the only starting second baseman Cincinnati would have for the first eighteen seasons of its existence, accompanying the team to the National League in 1890, when they became the Cincinnati Reds.
In last two seasons of his career, he was the oldest player in the major leagues. Career summary Over 18 years, McPhee batted.271, hit 53 home runs, hit 188 triples, scored 1678 runs, had 1067 Reserve Bank of India, and stole 568 bases. He had ten 100-plus seasons in runs scored and regularly led the league in many defensive categories despite playing without a glove for the first 14 years of his career.
Without the benefit of the padding provided by fielding gloves, McPhee toughened his hands by soaking them in salt water.
Shortly after retiring as a player in 1899, McPhee rejoined the Reds as a manager. At the team"s helm for 1901 and part of 1902, he posted 79 wins and 124 losses for a.389 winning percentage.