Original glass plate negative of Christy Mathewson as a member of the New York Giants. This is a rare image of Mathewson, as it shows him at bat during a game, as opposed to on the mound. Mathewson is pictured in his follow-through swing after making contact. Based upon both Mathewson’s and the catcher’s reaction (both are tracking the ball with their eyes), it appears that Mathewson hit a fly ball to the left side of the field. Despite the absence of a date, the Giants uniform style shown here was only used by the club in 1908. Mathewson, like most pitchers, was a weak hitter. In 147 at bats in 1908 he managed just 20 hits for a batting average of .155. On the mound, however, it was business as usual. Mathewson won the pitching Triple Crown that year, leading the league in wins (37), ERA (1.43) and strikeouts (259), with both the win and strikeout totals also representing career highs. The negative (7x5") displays a few small areas of emulsion loss along the borders. In Very Good condition overall. Culled from the Legendary Brown Brothers Photo Archive.