Bergen's struggle in 1909 was not an aberration. Debuting in 1901 with the Cincinnati team and after three seasons moving to the Brooklyn Superbas (later Dodgers) for another eight, Bergen was regarded as one of the finest defensive catchers in the major leagues due to his extraordinary quickness and throwing ability. Though he caught less than 1,000 games he still ranks 9th among all catchers in career assists. Each of the eight ahead of him caught at least 300 more games and his ratio of assists to games caught is higher than any of them. In nine of his seasons he had more than 100 assists (only 5 of 13 Hall of Fame catchers have even one) and in 1909, the year of his record hitless streak he totalled 202.
Unfortunately, once he got in the batter's box it was a different story. His lifetime batting average was .170, making him the only player in major league history with more than 2500 plate appearances (Bill amassed 3229) with a average below .200. Nor did he make up for it with power collecting only 45 doubles, 21 triples, and 2 home runs for a career slugging percentage of .201. Did he make up for it with a keen batting eye, allowing him to reach base on walks? No again, receiving only 88 base on balls in eleven seasons (versus 421 strike outs) for an on-base percentage of .194.
Bill's offensive high point was the 1903 season with the Reds when he hit .227, the first and last time he averaged more than .190. Over his last six years (1906-11) he hit .159, .159, .175, .139, .161., and finally .132.
It seems appropriate that Bergen ended his epic 1909 hitless streak by getting an infield hit! In his final campaign (1911), Bill had a 1 for 40 streak during which his average dropped to .111. He "broke out" of the slump by getting a single off Christy Mathewson; not too shabby.
As pathetic as his offense was, Bill survived because the Deadball Era placed a premium on a good fielding catcher with a strong arm at time when teams played for one run at a time and liberally employed the stolen base and hit and run play. Bergen also had the reputation as a pleasant and personable guy and good teammate.
After leaving the major leagues, Bill played several seasons in the minors before returning to Worcester, Ma (the big city about 15 miles from North Brookfield) where he died in 1943.
Bill Bergen learned the trade of catching from his older brother Marty, whose own story is one of the most tragic in baseball's history. After growing up and playing ball for his local independent club (where one of his teammates was Connie Mack) Marty made the majors in 1896 and for the next four years was the primary receiver for the Boston Beaneaters (later the Braves).
The Beaneaters fielded a strong team in those years, finishing 4th in 1896, 2nd in 1899, winning the National League pennant in 1897 and 1898, and Marty was considered a key factor in their success with the Sporting News calling him "the greatest throwing catcher the game ever produced".
Unlike his younger brother, Marty was also a passable hitter, with a lifetime batting average of .265, on base percentage of .299, and slugging .347, all somewhat below normal for that era, but not atrociously bad like Bill.
However, also unlike his younger brother, Marty was not pleasant, personable, nor a good teammate. From his SABR biography here are just a few of the troubling aspects of Marty's personality:
“Martin Bergen, the young backstop…is unpopular with his fellow players on the Boston team. Bergen is a sullen, sarcastic chap, never associates with the players, and always nurses a fancied grievance. His disposition handicaps his playing talents.”Marty returned to his wife and two children in North Brookfield at the end of the 1899 season. That fall, his local physician Dr Dionne, concerned about his patient's health visited Marty's home. According to Dionne's later statements:
Near the end of the 1898 season, Bergen threatened his teammates after an altercation on the bench. He declared that he would “club them to death” at the end of the season. He slapped teammate Vic Willis in a St. Louis hotel dining room.
Another wire article described Bergen as, “the hardest man in the National League to manage.” The writer described Bergen as “the erratic catcher of the Boston club, who has deserted the club annually since his connection with it and always at a time when his services were most needed. His grievances are fanciful. Of a moody disposition he imagines that his fellow players are leagued against him and are intent on bringing about his downfall. The contrary is the case. Manager Selee and his players have treated the great backstop with unusual consideration.”
According to The Boston Braves: 1871-1953, by the end of 1899 some did not want him to return to the club, plus several were seriously concerned about their safety around the disgruntled player.
He confessed to Dionne that he had “strange ideas” and said he was afraid that he was “not right in the head.” Bergen admitted that he couldn’t remember much about the past baseball season. All he remembered was that a man came up to him after his last game and congratulated him on a fine performance and gave him a cigar. Bergen was afraid to smoke the cigar because he believed it was poisoned. He was also concerned that Dionne and his wife were trying to poison him. He refused to take any medicine they gave him if he didn’t first mix it himself.Shortly thereafter, Bergen became convinced the National League was paying Dr Dionne to kill him.
On the cold morning of January 19, 1900, Marty awoke early and began to prepare to light a fire in the stove. He never lit the fire, instead picking up an axe. He killed his wife with the blunt side of the axe as she struggled to get out of bed. Marty then murdered his three year old son in bed with the sharp end and cornered his six year old daughter in the kitchen killing her with the blunt side. Standing in front of the kitchen mirror, Marty cut his throat with a razor, falling dead next to his daughter. The family was found later that day by Marty's father.
The only ballplayers to attend the Bergen family funeral on January 28 were Sliding Billy Hamilton, centerfielder for the Beaneaters and later Hall of Famer, and Connie Mack.
The next year Bill Bergen made his major league debut.
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