The Pinch-Hitter

I had a friend who once said a real trivia question is not to know the name of the midget pinch-hitter batter who Bill Veeck inserted into a St Louis Browns lineup in 1951, who by virtue of a strike zone that could be measured with a 12" ruler that forced the Detroit Tigers pitcher, Bob Cain, to walk the batter with four straight pitches, but to know who was the pinch-runner to replace Eddie Gaedel when he reached first base?

Embedded within the event are multiple true trivia questions that I doubt even Jeopardy has landed on. In addition to who was the pinch-runner, what was the name of  batter that Eddie Gaedel replaced, and what was the name of the poor pitcher for Detroit who couldn't really be blamed for not being able to find the strike zone of a midget standing at home plate who was holding a tiny bat, who was surely told not to swing at anything?

The answer to these multiple trivia questions appear in an obit, not for Eddie Gaedel, who unfortunately passed away in 1961 after suffering a heart attack at 36 after being mugged in Chicago, but in the obit for Frank Saucier, 98, who Gaedel pinch-hit for.

Frank's claim to be part of an extended trivia question was as a major leaguer someone who only ever had 18 appearances in the major leagues over three years. He had won three minor league batting titles, but a lingering shoulder injury and service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War stunted his major league career.

Bill Veeck was a legendary baseball owner who tried to inject fun and humor into the teams be owned. As part of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the American League between games of the August 19 doubleheader, Veeck arranged for a vintage car parade, a performance by baseball's clown prince Max Patkin and Eddie Gaedel, a circus performer, to pop out of cake wearing a St. Louis Browns uniform with the number 1/8. It didn't stop there.

Saucier was penciled in to lead off at-bat in the bottom of the first inning, but was called back to the dugout by the manager Zack Taylor who inserted Eddie Gaedel into the lineup.

The home plate ump Ed Hurley went nuts, and said Eddie couldn't bat. Veeck of course anticipated this and had Taylor produce the one-year contract that Eddie had signed. Eddie walked, took his time getting to first base after waving to the crowd and was replaced by a pinch-runner Jim Delsing, who then took Saucier's spot in the outfield.

Aside from all the novelty of the event, the obit points out the American League President Will Harridge didn't hear of the stunt for two days! before voiding Eddie Gaedel's contract.

Okay, it's 1951, but was Harridge out of the country not to hear of the stunt as soon as it happened?

Seems some news doesn't travel very fast when it's generated by a bottom division club like the St. Louis Browns. Maybe that's why they became the Baltimore Orioles in 1953.

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