Emil Frisk

John Emil Frisk (October 15, 1874 – January 27, 1922) was a pitcher and outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, and St. Louis Browns. Frisk also had a long career in the minor leagues, where he won three batting titles and became the first minor league baseball player to accumulate over 2,000 career hits.

Career Frisk was born in Kalkaska, Michigan. he started his organized baseball career in 1898, as a pitcher. That season, he went 14-3 with a 2.79 earned run average for the Canadian League's Hamilton Hams. He also batted .311. In 1899, he went to the Detroit Tigers of the Western League before being purchased by the Cincinnati Reds in August. He went 3-6 for Cincinnati and was then returned to Detroit. In 1900, Frisk went 6-9. The Western League had become the American League, and 1901 was its first year as a "major" league. Frisk hit .313 early that season, but had a mediocre record as a pitcher and was released in July. His slugging percentage was .618. It had been a smooth transition from pitching, but in 1903 Frisk slumped down to .273 and subsequently moved to the Pacific Coast League. In 1904, he batted .336 with the Seattle Siwashes to win another batting championship. He was drafted by the St. Louis Browns that fall. He played for the Spokane Indians in 1910 and 1911, and he moved around from Spokane, Seattle, and the Vancouver Beavers from 1912 to 1915. That season, he became the first baseball player in history to get 2,000 hits in the minor leagues.

Nicknamed the "Wagner of the minors", Frisk was a consistent hitter. He hit safely over 120 times in every season from 1906 to 1914. In 1915, at the age of 40, he batted .272 and then retired from baseball. He finished his career with a .301 average in the minors. He had a wife and one son.