As manager Robert Lee Caruthers (January 5, 1864 – August 5, 1911), nicknamed "Parisian Bob", was an American right-handed pitcher and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Bridegrooms.
Caruthers' 175 wins during six Association seasons would stand as the second-best total in the league's ten-year existence, behind Tony Mullane's 203 wins in seven seasons; Caruthers' league ERA of 2.62 was the best of any pitcher with at least 2,000 innings, and put him behind only Ed Morris and Will White among those with 1,500 innings.
In 1890, Caruthers posted a record of 23–11 as Brooklyn won the NL title in their first season in the league; he also saw considerable playing time in left field and batted .265.
However, that is based on a total of 10 losses in the 1892 season (his last as a pitcher), a total revised from the contemporary record; the official league records for that year, which are recognized by Major League Baseball, charged him with only 8 losses, a figure which some other sources also recognize.
The reduction of two losses would increase his career winning percentage to .691, placing him behind only Spud Chandler who compiled a record of .717 over 150 decisions.
On August 5, 1911, Caruthers died after a month-long illness in Peoria, Illinois, where he had lived for three years.