About

William Henry Keeler, nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American professional baseball right fielder who played in the major leagues from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas in the National League, and the New York Highlanders in the American League. Keeler was a part of five teams that won the National League pennant. One of the greatest contact hitters of all time and notoriously hard to strike out, Keeler has the highest career at bats-per-strikeout ratio in major league history, averaging 63.17 at bats per strikeout. His plate appearance-per-strikeout ratio is also one of the best of all time, with Keeler averaging 70.66 plate appearances between strikeouts, second only to Joe Sewell, another Hall of Famer, who averaged 73.06 plate appearances between each strikeout. In 1939, Keeler was posthumously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.