May 10, 2006--"Now Running For the Midget . . . . "
You’re probably not old enough to remember Jim Delsing who died last week, right in the middle of the baseball season, at the age of 80 (see NY Times obit linked below).
We’re caught up right now with Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Babe Ruth’s lifetime homerun record—as I write this Bonds is at 713, one short of the Babe’s 714. This is of course fraught with controversy because of Bonds’ almost certain use of steroids and how we should regard his achievement.
Jim Delsing played the outfield for 10 seasons for various clubs in the American League. It was a very different era where the controversies involved whether Willie Mays, Duke Snider or Mickey Mantle was the best center fielder or if the Brooklyn Dodgers would ever beat the Yankees in the World Series. (They finally did in seven games in 1955.)
Delsing had a lifetime batting average of just .255, not Hall of Fame numbers. But he was famous for something very different—on August 19, 1951 he served as pinch runner for a midget, 3-foot-7-inch Eddie Gaedel.
Gaedel was hired by the flamboyant owner of the old St. Louis Browns, Bill Veeck. It was late summer and the Browns were yet again languishing in last place, and of course very few fans were buying tickets to their games. Veeck, ever the showman, secretly gave Gaedel a major league contract and used him as a pinch hitter—to draw walks. His strike zone—the area between a player’s knees and the letters on the chest of his uniform—was just an inch and a half and thus even the most skilled of pitchers couldn't throw him even one strike.
So on that fateful day, Veeck ordered the Browns’ manager to put Gaedel in as a pinch hitter. He wore a uniform with the number 1/8 on his back and carried a Little League bat. When he was announced, a fifteen-minute delay ensued, during which the Browns had to convince the home plate umpire that Gaedel actually was on the team's active list, had a legitimate contract, and that league headquarters had been properly notified. (They had been by telegram that morning.)
He was then allowed to bat and he promptly drew a walk on four pitches. Since Veeck saw this as more than just a stunt, wanting to see a run scored, and since he realized that Gaedel, because he was a midget, would never be able to run safely to second base, he directed that a pinch runner take his place.
In came Jim Delsing to run for him, and the rest is history.
Delsing managed to get to third base but did not score. The Browns lost the game 6-2 and finished the season in last place. Gaedel was paid $100 for the day but never appeared in another game.
So what’s all the fuss about Barry Bonds?
We’re caught up right now with Barry Bonds’ pursuit of Babe Ruth’s lifetime homerun record—as I write this Bonds is at 713, one short of the Babe’s 714. This is of course fraught with controversy because of Bonds’ almost certain use of steroids and how we should regard his achievement.
Jim Delsing played the outfield for 10 seasons for various clubs in the American League. It was a very different era where the controversies involved whether Willie Mays, Duke Snider or Mickey Mantle was the best center fielder or if the Brooklyn Dodgers would ever beat the Yankees in the World Series. (They finally did in seven games in 1955.)
Delsing had a lifetime batting average of just .255, not Hall of Fame numbers. But he was famous for something very different—on August 19, 1951 he served as pinch runner for a midget, 3-foot-7-inch Eddie Gaedel.
Gaedel was hired by the flamboyant owner of the old St. Louis Browns, Bill Veeck. It was late summer and the Browns were yet again languishing in last place, and of course very few fans were buying tickets to their games. Veeck, ever the showman, secretly gave Gaedel a major league contract and used him as a pinch hitter—to draw walks. His strike zone—the area between a player’s knees and the letters on the chest of his uniform—was just an inch and a half and thus even the most skilled of pitchers couldn't throw him even one strike.
So on that fateful day, Veeck ordered the Browns’ manager to put Gaedel in as a pinch hitter. He wore a uniform with the number 1/8 on his back and carried a Little League bat. When he was announced, a fifteen-minute delay ensued, during which the Browns had to convince the home plate umpire that Gaedel actually was on the team's active list, had a legitimate contract, and that league headquarters had been properly notified. (They had been by telegram that morning.)
He was then allowed to bat and he promptly drew a walk on four pitches. Since Veeck saw this as more than just a stunt, wanting to see a run scored, and since he realized that Gaedel, because he was a midget, would never be able to run safely to second base, he directed that a pinch runner take his place.
In came Jim Delsing to run for him, and the rest is history.
Delsing managed to get to third base but did not score. The Browns lost the game 6-2 and finished the season in last place. Gaedel was paid $100 for the day but never appeared in another game.
So what’s all the fuss about Barry Bonds?
posted by Steven Zwerling at
6:35 AM
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