Major League Baseball is defined by its legends; players who
are still remembered decades after their last appearance in a game and their
ultimate deaths. Despite the amazing feats some of these players accomplished, when
the bell finally rang to signal the end of their careers, their swan songs were
lackluster by comparison.
In particular, here are twelve of the greatest hitters of
the first half of the 20th century. Their final big-league at-bat were
quiet departures from the game that had made them so famous and caused them to
become part of its collective memory for all time.
Honus
Wagner- September 11, 1917: Playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he
pinch-hit for rookie second baseman Jake Pitler.
Facing St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie pitcher Oscar
Horstmann, he struck out. The Pirates wound up losing 5-2.
Ty Cobb- September 11, 1928: Playing for the
Philadelphia Athletics, he pinch-hit in the top of the ninth for third baseman Jimmie Dykes against Hank Johnson and the New
York Yankees; popping out to shortstop Mark Koenig in a 5-3 loss.
Tris Speaker- August 30, 1928: Playing for the
Athletics, he pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth for Joe Boley
against the Boston Red Sox. Facing reliever Ed Morris,
he struck out for the second out of the inning in what ended up being a 3-2
loss.
Eddie Collins- August 5, 1930: Playing for the Athletics, he pinch-hit in the bottom
of the ninth for Joe Boley against the Red Sox. Facing reliever Danny
MacFayden, he grounded out to second baseman Otis Miller
for the final out of a 4-3 loss.
George Sisler- September 22, 1930: Playing for the Boston Braves, he pinch-hit
for second baseman Freddie
Maguire in the top of the fifth inning against Guy Bush
and the Chicago Cubs. He hit a grounder to first baseman George
“High Pockets” Kelly, who fed Bush for the out. Boston went on to lose 6-2.
Babe Ruth- May 30, 1935: Playing for the Braves, he grounded out in the top
of the first against Jim Bivin
and the Philadelphia Phillies. He then walked
out of the ballpark through the outfield fence after the bottom of the
first, never to play another game again. He was replaced in the lineup by Hal Lee,
who banged out three hits later in the game. The Braves still lost 11-6.
Mickey Cochrane- May 25, 1937- Playing for the Detroit Tigers, and playing
catcher, he was hit in the head by a pitch from Bump Hadley
of the New York Yankees in the top of the fifth inning. He was pinch-ran for by
career back-up catcher Ray
Hayworth (who stole a total of two bases in 15 major league seasons). The Tigers
went on to lose 4-3.
Rogers Hornsby- July 20, 1937: The manager of the St. Louis Browns played himself
sparingly as he saw fit. His last at-bat came pinch-hitting for second-baseman Tom Carey
against Monte
Pearson and the Yankees. In the bottom of the 10th inning, he
popped up to catcher Bill Dickey
in a 5-4 loss.
Lou Gehrig- April 30, 1939: Playing for the Yankees, he went 0-for-4 in a 3-2
loss to the Joe
Krakauskas and the Washington Senators.
Jimmie Foxx- September 23, 1945: Playing for the Phillies, he struck out in
the top of the fifth inning against Tom Seats
of the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was later lifted for pinch hitter Tony Lupien,
as Philadelphia drops the contest 4-3.
Mel Ott- July 11, 1947: Playing for the New York Giants, he pinch hit for
pitcher Larry
Jansen in the bottom of the eighth inning against reliever Ken Burkhart
and the St. Louis Cardinals. He grounded out to first baseman Stan Musial
to end the inning, and the game concluded shortly thereafter in a 4-3 St. Louis
victory.
Hank Greenberg- September 18, 1947: Playing first base for the Pirates against
the Dodgers, he faced reliever Clyde King
with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Although he popped up to second
baseman Eddie
Stanky, the very next batter, Wally Westlake, hit a walk-off solo home run
to give his team the 8-7 victory.
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You can check me out on Facebook or follow me on Twitter @historianandrewI have also authored a number of books (eBook and paperback) on topics of baseball that are available on Amazon.
I think Mickey Cochrane was hit in the head by Hadley in that at bat. He'd hit a home run off Hadley in his prior at bat.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. I mixed my notes snd have corrected.
ReplyDeleteDid you used to be at UVM?
If you mean U of Vermont, the answer is no but the historian of the same name is there. A few years ago, he and I exchanged notes trying to figure out if we are related but couldn't find a connection. I enjoy reading your blog.
ReplyDelete