At times, Lord inspired his teammates with his hustle, earning the White Sox captaincy; at other times, it seemed he didn’t want to play. The two years he batted more than .310 (1909 and 1911), he followed with marks of .267. He excelled at stretching doubles into triples. But as a fielder, he was virtually immobile. In 1913, he set single-season AL records for fewest chances accepted (364) and fewest assists (221) by a third baseman in 150 or more games. He jumped the White Sox in 1914, returned only to demand his release, and disappeared again when Charles Comiskey turned him down. Ten days later, Buffalo (Federal League) announced they had signed Lord, who didn’t show up until the next year to serve as player-manager.
