 Kelley was regarded as an excellent batter , a good base runner , and a great leader . Over his seventeen season MLB career , Kelley had a .317 batting average , and batted over .300 in eleven consecutive seasons . Kelley stole a career @-@ high 87 bases in the 1896 season , which led MLB . He finished in the league 's top ten in categories such as batting average , home runs , runs batted in ( RBI ) , and stolen bases numerous times . He served as team captain of the Orioles and the Superbas . In recognition of his career achievements , Kelley was elected a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1971 . 
