The Forgotten Pitchers: Part 1 of 2

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Thousands of pitchers have played major league baseball. Most of us only remember the greats and rightly so. Hall of Famers like Walter Johnson, Sandy Koufax, and Greg Maddux. These are great pitchers and should be remembered. But what about all the others? There are a few that have slipped thru the cracks that I find very interesting.

This is a list of all MLB pitchers in history who have only one career appearance and recorded no outs in that appearance. These are not position players who happened to pitch one time. Some were starters others relievers, but all of them where pitchers who had one game, zero innings pitched careers. Take a trip back in history and learn how a few forgotten players contributed to the game in their own little way.


1. Bill Childers (1895)
Not much is known about Bill Childers except that he was born in St. Louis, MO and his career professional pitching line is one of the worst of all time. Bill entered his one and only game on July 27, 1895 and 2 hits, 6 walks, 3 wild pitches and 6 earned runs later his career was over. His final ERA was "Infinite".

Career Pitching for Bill Childers
IP AB R ER ERA H BB WP HBP
0 8 6 6 Inf 2 6 3 0

2. Doc Hamann (1922)
Doc was one of many minor leaguers that Cleveland Indians manager Tris Speaker brought up to play in the game against the Boston Red Sox on September 21, 1922. Speaker thought it was a good opportunity for the Indian fans to get a look at the clubs prospects. However, for Doc this would be the first and last major league game he would ever play in. Doc's pitching line includes 7 batters faced, 3 hits, 3 walks, and 1 hit by pitch. He left the game allowing three runs, all earned, without recording a single out. This concluded his pro ball career.

Career Pitching for Doc Hamann
IP AB R ER ERA H BB WP HBP
0 7 6 6 Inf 3 3 1 1

3. Mike Palagyi (1939)
Mike played and pitched in his only major league game against the Boston Red Sox on August 18, 1939 as a member of the Washington Senators. In that game he faced three Hall of Fame players in Ted Williams, Jimmy Foxx, and Joe Cronin. I would give him credit for this, but he walked two of them and beaned the other before finally being pulled from the game. He never pitched or played again.

Career Pitching for Mike Palagyi
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0433Inf0301

4. Fred Bruckbauer (1961)
Mr. Bruckbauer was a good pitcher for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the late 50s, but did not find such success in his one appearance for the Minnesota Twins. On April 25, 1961, Fred made a relief appearance against the Kansas City Athletics at Municipal Stadium. It would be his last. He saw 4 batters gave up a hit to three of them and walked the other. He retired and went down in history with an infinite ERA.

Career Pitching for Fred Bruckbauer
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0433Inf3100

5. Jim Schelle (1939)
A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Jim Schelle made his professional baseball debut on July 23, 1939 with the Philadelphia Athletics. The Athletics were playing the Detroit Tigers and Schelle came in as relief in the fourth inning. He allowed all five batters he saw to reach base allowing three of the players to score. He was then pulled, before recording an out, and sent back to the minors were he would end his career.

Career Pitching for Jim Schelle
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0533Inf1301

6. Frank Dupee (1901)
Dupee saw success as a semi pro pitcher in the New England League before joining the Chicago White Stockings in the summer of 1901. Dupee was given the start on August 24, 1901 against the Baltimore Orioles. Clinging to a half game lead over the Boston Americans, Chicago was dealing with several injuries to key pitchers and were in desperate need of a solid performance from their new starter Dupee. He did not deliver. Dupee walked the first three batters he faced and was replaced. All three of those runners ended up scoring and the White Stockings went on to lose the game. Dupee never played in another major league game.

Career Pitching for Frank Dupee
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0333Inf0300

7. Will Koenigsmark (1919)
A native of Illinois, Will Koenigsmark, right handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, made his only appearance in the majors on September 10, 1919. He allowed 2 hits, 1 walk, and 2 earned runs. What a career!

Career Pitching for Will Koenigsmark
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0322Inf2100

8. Bill Ford (1936)
On the last day of the 1936 season, the Boston Bees sent Bill Ford to the mound as the starting pitcher going against the Philadelphia Phillies. Ford could not retire a single batter walking all three he faced. He was replaced by Guy Bush who pitched all nine innings and won the game. Bill Ford's stat line was not found until 2003.

Career Pitching for Bill Ford
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0322Inf0300

9. Lou Bauer (1918)
At the young age of 19, Lou Bauer appeared in his one and only game for the Philadelphia Athletics on August 13, 1918. It did not go well. His game/career line includes 2 batters faced, 2 walks, and 1 earned run. Seems like he should have got another chance.

Career Pitching for Lou Bauer
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0221Inf0200

10. Gordie Sundin (1956)
Gordie Sundin's lone appearance came on September 19, 1956 for the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore was behind 8-1 to the Detroit Tigers when Sundin came into the game. He walked both batters he saw and was subsequently pulled from the game. He was charged with 1 earned run. This outing was the end of his MLB career. He went back to the minors and retired 5 years later.

Career Pitching for Gordie Sundin
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
0211Inf0200

11. Larry Yount (1971)
Larry Yount, older brother to Hall of Famer Robin Yount, holds one of the most peculiar baseball records of all time. Larry is the only pitcher in MLB history to appear on the official score book without ever facing a batter. On September 15, 1971, while playing for the Houston Astros, Yount was announced as the pitcher in the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves, but experienced soreness in his arm while warming up and was removed before he threw an official pitch. After the game he went back to AAA. Larry played for 8 years in the minor leagues, but was never able to make it back to the show. Meanwhile, his brother Robin had more hits than anybody in the 1980's. Sorry Larry.

Career Pitching for Larry Yount
IPABRERERAHBBWPHBP
000000000

Go to The Forgotten Pitchers: Part 2 of 2

(Statistics derived from a SQL query of the Lahman Baseball Database)

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