In 1894, the 32-year-old—who two seasons earlier hit 29 triples (the fourth-best total in MLB history) as a member of the St. Louis Browns—joined the Western League's Minneapolis Millers and promptly put on a show never before seen in pro baseball. That year, the big righty hit .417 with a record 43 home runs, throwing in 33 stolen bases for good measure. Amazingly, Werden was even better in 1895. Playing his home games in Athletic Park, noted for its short foul lines, "Moose" hit .428 with 45 long balls, including a two-game stretch that saw him go 9-for-9 with six big flies.
In July 1895, Werden—who claimed he once "hit the ball so hard that it broke in two"—became the eighth pro baseballer to slug four homers in a single game. In its coverage of the contest, The Saint Paul Daily Globe wrote that Werden sent "severe shocks to the soughing curves of the Detroit twirlers. . . . Four times did the young Scandinavian deliver to the sailing leather an impetus which carried it . . . out of the grounds." Though his 1894-95 stats are inflated due to the bandbox in which he played, make no mistake about it: Big Perry Werden could hit the ball a "country mile." Hardly an obscure record, following Ruth's 29 home run performance in 1919 (Babe surpassed Ned Williamson who hit 27 HRs in 1884), article after article pointed out that the all-time professional mark still belonged to Werden.
When his record finally fell in 1920, Werden expressed admiration for the new home run king. "There is no doubt that Babe has it on all of them—modern and ancient," said Werden. "There wasn't much talk about my 45 home runs [at the time]. The truth is, some fans panned me because I swung too hard." Home runs aside, Werden had much in common with Ruth. Both men stood 6-foot-2 and weighed well over 200 pounds; like the Babe, "Peach Pie Perry" was famous for his voracious appetite. Both began their careers as top-notch hurlers and possessed speed and athleticism that belied their pudgy physiques. Each had larger than life personalities and were noted for their fun-loving, jovial nature. And, according to an Associated Press article from 1921, "Werden stood at the plate with his feet close together [and] his grip was like Babe's clear down to the handle."
A Missouri native, Werden began his big league career as a pitcher with the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons in 1884. That year, the multi-talented phenom posted a 12-1 record with a 1.97 ERA over 141 innings pitched. Following an arm injury, Werden was sent packing to the minors. Undeterred, the youngster reinvented himself, becoming a capable first baseman and feared batsman in short order. In 1887, he set the Western League ablaze, finishing the season with 34 doubles, 12 home runs, and a .384 batting average.
Following an 1889 campaign that saw him hit .394, Werden was given another shot in the majors, this time with the American Association's Toledo Maumees. The 28-year-old went on to slash .295/.404/.456 with 59 steals, 72 RBI, and a league-best 20 triples in 1890. Werden followed that by hitting .290 with 18 triples and 104 RBI with the 1891 Orioles; in the field, he paced the circuit's first sackers with 1,422 putouts while finishing second in fielding percentage. Werden joined the National League St. Louis Browns the following year; he posted a paltry .258 average but nevertheless drove in 84 runs. The 1893 season would be among Werden's finest in the majors: he hit .276 with an astounding 29 triples, two shy of the existing record set by Dave Orr in 1886. (Owen "Chief" Wilson slugged an all-time record 36 three-baggers in 1912.)
Following his epic three-year run (1894-96) in the Western League, Werden played one last big-league season with the 1897 Louisville Colonels, finishing the year with 14 triples, 83 RBI, and a career-high .301 batting average. All told, Werden hit .282 with 109 doubles, 87 triples, 26 home runs, and 151 stolen bases over parts of seven major league seasons. Werden would go on to play nine more years in the minors, though he never approached his earlier production, finally hanging up his spikes at age 46. Combined with his major league stats, "Moose" finished his 23-year pro career with 2,294 hits—including 384 doubles, 143 triples, and 155 home runs—357 stolen bases, and 1,120 runs scored.
Shortly before Werden's death in 1934, The North American Newspaper Alliance interviewed the former home run king. When asked to name the most powerful batsmen of all-time, the 70-year-old opined: "Big Ed Delahanty would have equaled or bettered the home run record of Babe Ruth if the lively ball had been in use. . . . I have watched them all—Delahanty, Pop Anson, Dan Brouthers, King Kelly, Larry Lajoie, Hans Wagner, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Sam Crawford, Bill Lange, and George Van Haltren of the past, and Ruth, Rogers Hornsby, Joe Jackson, Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons and Chuck Klein of the present—but of all these mighty sluggers I rank Delahanty and Ruth as the greatest." – BK2
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