Jesse Cail Burkett (December 4, 1868 – May 27, 1953), nicknamed "Crab", was an American professional baseball left fielder.

[5] Beginning his professional career as a pitcher, he won 27 games at the age of 19 in 1888 for the Scranton Miners of the Central League.

He acquired his nickname, "Crab", due to his serious disposition,[6][7] and willingness to argue, fight and insult sportswriters, umpires, opposing players, and rookies.

He was then purchased by the Cleveland Spiders in February 1891 and played most of 1891 in the minors,[9] batting .316 for the Lincoln Rustlers[10] and pitching to a 4–6 record.

[4] Burkett was never known as a great defender, but after committing a league leading 46 errors in 1893, he was coached by fellow outfielder Jimmy McAleer to improve his fielding.

Early in the 1897 season, Burkett was hit in the head by a pitch by Fred Klobedanz which knocked him unconscious.

[7][19] In the next game of the double header, the arguments against Bill Wolf continued, and by the ninth inning Burkett was ejected again.

[19][20] In the 1897 season, Burkett finished third in batting average behind fellow Hall of Famers Willie Keeler and Fred Clarke.

Before the 1902 season, Burkett jumped to the St. Louis Browns of the American League and batted over .300 for the last time in his career.

The following year, the American League began to count foul balls as strikes,[26] causing his batting average to fall below .300 on the season for the first time since 1892.

His level of play continued to decrease as he set a career low in batting average as Boston finished in fourth place at the end of the season.

[27] Burkett managed the New England League's Worcester Busters from 1906 to 1915 and played some games for the team, as well.