Sommer and Jimmy Macullar unsuccessfully attempted to engineer the departure of Pop Corkhill and Chick Fulmer from the Reds in 1883, and as a consequence Sommer and Macullar were sent to Baltimore that offseason.[1] There, they helped lead a turnaround for the Orioles in 1884, which secured the status of manager Billy Barnie.[1] Cincinnati replaced Sommer that season by signing Browns outfielder Tom Mansell, with a $400 raise as an inducement.[1]
In 1886, Sommer set the record for the lowest single-season batting average (.209) by a player with 500 or more at-bats.[2] His record was broken in 1888 by Al Myers of the Washington Nationals, who hit .207 that year.[2]
In the 1880s, the New York Clipper praised Sommer as one of the strongest defensive outfielders in baseball.[3]
123Nemec, David, and Mark Rucker. The Beer and Whisky League: The Illustrated History of the American Association-- Baseball's Renegade Major League, Globe Pequot, 2004, pp. 66-67. ISBN1592281885
12Nemec, David. The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Major League Baseball, University of Alabama Press, 2006, p. 484. ISBN0817314997
↑Anderson, Dave. "Foreword", in Going, Going..Caught!: Baseball's Great Outfield Catches As Described by Those Who Saw Them, 1887–1964 by Jason Aronoff, McFarland, 2009, p. 4. ISBN0786441135
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