Robert Hayes Veach (June 29, 1888 – August 7, 1945) was an American baseball player from 1910 to 1930 including 14 seasons in the major leagues. He was the starting left fielder for the Detroit Tigers from 1912 to 1923 and also played for the Boston Red Sox (1924–1925), New York Yankees (1925) and Washington Senators (1925).
Veach hit for both power and average. He compiled a .310 career batting average and finished second to Ty Cobb for the 1919 American League batting title with a .355 average. He also led the American League in runs batted in (RBIs) three times (1915, 1917, and 1918) and was among the league leaders 10 times. Nobody in baseball had as many RBIs or extra base hits as Veach from 1915 to 1922. He is also the only player born in the state of Kentucky to have collected 2,000 hits and 1,000 RBIs.
Veach was also among the best defensive outfielders of his era, regularly ranking among the league leaders in putouts, range factor, and fielding percentage. Despite being one of the most productive hitters in baseball during his years in Detroit, Veach played in the shadows of three Detroit outfielders who won 16 batting titles and were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Cobb in center field and Sam Crawford followed by Harry Heilmann in right field. Detroit's 1915 outfield consisting of Veach, Cobb, and Crawford has been ranked by baseball historian and statistician Bill James as the greatest outfield in history.
Early years
Veach was born in Island, Kentucky, in 1888. His family moved to Madisonville, Kentucky, when he was 12 years old. His father was a coal miner, and Veach also began working in the coal mine as a boy. In 1915, Veach recalled: "I started in as a miner when I was fourteen years old and worked at it in the winters until a couple years ago, long after I was earning money as a player." At age 17, Veach moved to Herrin, Illinois, where he began playing semi-pro baseball.
Professional baseball career
Minor leagues
Kankakee
Veach began his professional baseball career in 1910 as a pitcher with the Peoria Distillers of the Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League. At the start of the season, he was sent to the Kankakee Kays of the Northern Association. He compiled a 10-5 record at Kankakee and was recalled to Peoria.
Peoria
In 1911, Veach was converted from a pitcher into an outfielder. He appeared in 132 games for Peoria, compiling a .297 batting average with 40 extra base hits.
Indianapolis
Veach began the 1912 season with Peoria, batting .325 with 24 extra base hits in the first 56 games of the season. In July 1912, he was promoted to the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association. He remained in Indianapolis for only two months and two days before being purchased by the Detroit Tigers.
Detroit
1912–1914
In early September, Veach was purchased by Detroit from Indianapolis. He was promptly inserted into the Tigers' lineup, replacing Davy Jones as the left fielder in an outfield that included future Baseball Hall of Famers Ty Cobb and Sam Crawford. Veach made his major league debut on September 6, 1912, at age 24. He appeared in 23 games for Detroit in 1912, compiling a .342 batting average in 79 at bats. Veach remained the Tigers' starting left fielder for 12 years.
In 1913, as Veach adjusted to playing in the major leagues, his batting average declined to .269, but he continued to show power and speed with 22 doubles, 10 triples and 22 stolen bases. He also showed patience at the plate, drawing 53 bases on balls to boost his on-base percentage to .346.
Veach improved steadily in 1914, raising his batting average to .275. He also had 14 triples, which was the fifth best total in the American League that season, trailing teammate Sam Crawford's total of 26 triples, which remains the American League record. His 74 RBIs in 1914 also ranked ninth in the league. Veach also continued to show patience at the plate, drawing 50 bases on balls and ranking fifth in the league with an at bat to strikeout ratio of 18.1. He also showed great range in the outfield, ranking fourth among the league's outfielders with 282 putouts.
1915 season
In 1915, Veach has a breakout season, becoming one of the most dominant batters in the American League. His batting average increased by 38 points to .313, and he led the American League with 40 doubles (nine more than any other player) and 112 RBIs (tied with teammate Sam Crawford). He was also among the league leaders with 53 extra base hits (2nd), 178 hits (3rd), 247 total bases (3rd), .313 batting average (6th), .390 on-base percentage (6th), .434 slugging percentage (7th), and 68 bases on balls (10th).