Mule Suttles
Perhaps best analogized to a Ryan Howard type, George "Mule" Suttles hit for good average and tremendous power, while also striking out frequently as a result of his free swinging style. With his 50 ounce bat, he was known for his tremendous home runs, one estimated at 600 feet.
He was, unsurprisingly, not terribly swift and mobile, and his fielding range was not distinguished, but he was able to handle the balls he did get to well. Hit bat, however, powered his team, the St. Louis Stars, to championships in 1928, 1930 and 1931. After the Negro National League folded at the end of the 1931 season, Suttles went on to play in Chicago and Detroit among other venues, including Cuba for winter ball. After a hitting coach in Chicago helped him to adjust his free swinging style to cut down on strikeouts, Suttles helped Chicago claim a championship 1933. Suttles still managed a home run in every 13.5 at bats, while maintaining a .315 batting average.
The Giants themselves fell victim of the Great Depression, and once more Suttles was on the move, this time to the Newark Eagles. With his .356 batting average and home run every 12.5 at bats, he was part of what was known as the "million dollar infield." Throughout the last half of the 1930s, Suttles continued to pile up gaudy stats.
Suttles also barnstormed (played exhibition games on organized tours for extra money in the off season) as did many ball players of the era, both black and white. When a white team's pitcher faced Suttles, he asked Leo Durocher for advice. "Just pitch and pray," was all one of baseball's great managers could offer. Eventually, Suttles became a manager in the Negro Leagues. He died in 1968 at the age of 67.
Suttles was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
Sources:
http://coe.ksu.edu/nlbemuseum/history/players/suttles.html
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060729&content_id=1581874&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
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