San Francisco Giants: Top 30 players of all-time
. . . George Burns . 18. 40
NY/SF Giants best players all-time: No. 18-George Burns
41 WAR
George Burns was another member of the New York Giants, and he was primarily their leadoff hitter–a dang good one, too.
He is just one of the four players in MLB history to lead his league in walks and runs scored five different times. He’s in some pretty good company may I add, as the other three players that have done that are Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, and Babe Ruth.
An interesting fact is he became one of the first players to wear a flat bill and sunglasses, and he did that because of the difficult angles and viewpoints he had to deal with at the Polo Grounds as a left fielder.
Burns was a two-time stolen base leader and in his final season with the New York Giants, George Burns won a World Series in 1921 before going to play with the Cincinnati Reds and then finishing his career in 1925 with the Philadelphia Phillies.
Manager John McGraw said that George Burns was the best player he ever managed other than Christy Mathewson (we’ll get to him).
After his playing career, he returned to the Giants as a coach in 1937 before retiring in 1957. Burns past away in New York at the age of 76.