Bobby Witt Jr. matched MLB feat last done by a Brooklyn Bridegrooms player in 1890
Although he played just six seasons, outfielder Darby O’Brien compiled impressive statistics while playing for the New York Metropolitans and Brooklyn Bridegrooms.
Unfamiliar with those team nicknames? It’s no wonder, because O’Brien was a star player in the 19th century.
O’Brien made his big-league debut in 1887 with the Metropolitans, who were around five seasons in the American Association. O’Brien is listed as one of the 12 best players in the Metropolitans’ franchise history, per Baseball Reference.
The following year, O’Brien joined the Brooklyn franchise. It had no nickname until 1889, when the team was called the Bridegrooms. After two seasons, the team dropped that moniker and these days the club is known as the Dodgers.
O’Brien was Brooklyn’s team captain and he had a fine, albeit short, career. In 709 games, O’Brien batted .282 with 147 doubles, 47 triples, 20 home runs and 321 stolen bases.
That included a stretch in which he had 25 or more doubles and 25 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons (1887-90). For more than 130 years, no big-league player had matched that feat.
Until this season.
Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who has an MLB-best 31 doubles, swiped his 25th base on Wednesday night and joined O’Brien on that short list.
Ian Kraft, the Royals’ assistant director of media relations, unearthed that gem of a stat.
O’Brien also made headlines in 1888 for a reason that Witt likely won’t replicate. O’Brien was accused by police of larceny, a New York Sun story noted, for stealing a white Irish terrier dog.
During the trial, O’Brien said the dog was his and he had a woman named Louise Jones look after the pup while he was on a road trip. The Evening World newspaper said Jones was the wife of a former player in the “Kansas Citys” and didn’t want to give it back to O’Brien, so he took it.
So there’s another Kansas City connection.
Near the end of his playing days, O’Brien also ran a saloon before coming to a realization.
“A man cannot play ball and run a saloon at the same time,” he told the Evening World.++
This story was originally published July 10, 2025 at 12:41 PM with the headline "Bobby Witt Jr. matched MLB feat last done by a Brooklyn Bridegrooms player in 1890."
