Rube Vickers

Harry Porter "Rube" Vickers (May 17, 1879 – December 9, 1958) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Superbas, Cincinnati Reds, and Philadelphia Athletics during the early 20th century. He holds numerous Pacific Coast League single-season records, as well as the modern-era National League record for most passed balls in a game as a catcher.

Rube Vickers
Pitcher
Born: (1879-05-17)May 17, 1879
Hillsdale, Michigan, U.S.
Died: December 9, 1958(1958-12-09) (aged 79)
Belleville, Michigan, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 21, 1902, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1909, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record22–27
Earned run average2.93
Strikeouts213
Teams

Professional career

Early career

Vickers started his career in organized professional baseball in 1900, when he played for the Toledo Mud Hens and the New Castle Quakers of the Interstate League. Two years later, he appeared as a pitcher for the Rock Island Islanders and the Terre Haute Hottentots of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League.[1]

Cincinnati Reds

Near the end of the 1902 season, Vickers started three games for the Cincinnati Reds, each resulting in a complete game loss. He struck out six and walked eight, and posted a 6.00 earned run average (ERA) in 21 innings pitched.[2]

Cincinnati's last game of 1902 was scheduled for October 4 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, who had clinched the National League pennant.[3]: 105  Although the weather was rainy and the field was muddy and wet, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss insisted on playing the game, wanting his team to set a record by winning 103 games. In protest, Reds manager Joe Kelley submitted a lineup card with his players out of position, including Rube Vickers at catcher.[4] Vickers caught two innings, during which he set the single-game modern-era MLB record for passed balls with six,[3]: 107 [5] a mark which has since been tied but not surpassed.[6] He was replaced after two innings by Heinie Peitz, an actual catcher, but the Pirates had taken a 7–1 lead and went on to win the game.[7][8]

Brooklyn Superbas

On February 17, 1903, the Reds sold Vickers to the Brooklyn Superbas. He appeared in 5 games for Brooklyn, four as a pitcher and one as a center fielder, and had a 10.93 ERA in 14 innings.[2]

Return to the minor leagues

While not playing for the Superbas in 1903, Vickers pitched for the Holyoke Paperweights of the Connecticut League, with whom he threw 287 innings and had a 22–10 win–loss record. He pitched for the Paperweights again in 1904, and recorded 17 wins and 10 losses in 239 innings.[1]

Vickers began the 1905 season with Holyoke as well, and went 11–7 in 171 innings for the Paperweights.[1] However, he also played for a team that represented the independent Northern New York League in Burlington, Vermont,[9] which earned him the nickname "Kangaroo" (for what fans considered "contract jumping").[10] Midway through the season, he was acquired by the Seattle Siwashes of the Pacific Coast League (PCL).[11] In his first year with Seattle, Vickers posted a 12–6 win–loss record[12] and a 1.83 ERA in 1572⁄3 innings.[1]

Vickers played the entire 1906 season with the Siwashes, during which he set several Pacific Coast League records. He pitched in a record 64 games,[13]: 55  during which he threw over 500 innings,[1][12] which is both a PCL record and the highest total for any pitcher in organized baseball in the modern era.[11] Vickers' win–loss record was 39–20;[1][13]: 55  his 39 victories led the league and are tied with Doc Newton for the PCL record.[11][12] He struck out over 400 batters,[13]: 55  which led the league and set another PCL record.[11][14] Finally, Vickers led the league with 11 shutouts.[12]

In 1907, Vickers moved to the Williamsport Millionaires of the Tri-State League. In 39 games, he had 25 wins,[1] which led the league.[15] After their season ended, Vickers was signed by the Philadelphia Athletics.

Philadelphia Athletics

Vickers pitched in 10 games for the Athletics in 1907. On October 5, he achieved the feat of winning two games in one day in a doubleheader against the Washington Senators. Vickers pitched 111⁄3 scoreless innings of relief in the first game, which Philadelphia won 4–2, and pitched a perfect five innings in the second game, a 4–0 Philadelphia win that was shortened due to darkness.[16] These were his only two wins for the Athletics that season,[11] which he finished with a 3.40 ERA (below average according to ERA+)[14] in 501⁄3 innings.[2]

In 1908, Vickers served as the workhorse of the Athletics pitching staff. He pitched 317 innings over 53 games (34 starts) and led the Athletics in both wins and losses with a 18–19 record.[11][17][18][19]: 22  His ERA was 2.21, and he led the American League with 17 games finished.[2][14][20]

Vickers could not repeat his success in 1909. He appeared in just 18 games for the Athletics, winning two games and losing two.[11][14] Vickers recorded his second win of the season, and the last of his major league career, on October 2, 1909, the final day of the season, in the second game of a doubleheader against the Washington Senators.[2][19]: 25 

Later career

After the 1909 season, Athletics manager Connie Mack sent Vickers to the Baltimore Orioles of the Eastern League. In 1910, he had 25 wins for the Orioles, but also led the league with 24 losses. In 1911, Vickers led the league with 32 wins and 369 innings pitched.[13]: 72 [14] In 1912, he had a 13–14 win–loss record in 43 games.[1]

Vickers pitched in five games for the Jersey City Skeeters in 1914.[1]

Vickers managed the Kalamazoo Celery Pickers of the Central League for part of the 1920 season.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Rube Vickers Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  2. "Rube Vickers Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  3. Hittner, Arthur D. (14 June 2013). Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's "Flying Dutchman". McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-0395-7. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. Gattie, Gordon. "October 4, 1902: Pittsburgh Pirates finish exceptional season by winning record 103rd game". www.sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  5. Nash, Bruce M.; Zullo, Allan (15 March 1989). Baseball Hall of Shame. Simon and Schuster. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-671-68766-3. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  6. Gotsulias, Stacey (August 30, 2017). "Aug. 30, 1987: When Geno Petralli had one of the worst games ever". www.sportingnews.com. Sporting News. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  7. Weeks, Jonathan (1 June 2020). The Umpire Was Blind!: Controversial Calls by MLB's Men in Blue. McFarland & Company. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-1-4766-8032-3. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  8. "Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score, October 4, 1902". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  9. "1905 Burlington Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  10. Rutkoff, Peter M.; Hall, Alvin L., eds. (16 November 2015). The Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture, 1997 (Jackie Robinson). McFarland & Company. p. 36. ISBN 978-0-7864-8157-6. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  11. Zingg, Paul J.; Medeiros, Mark D. (1994). Runs, Hits, and an Era: The Pacific Coast League, 1903-58. University of Illinois Press. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0-252-06402-9. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  12. Snelling, Dennis (1 January 1995). The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903-1957. McFarland & Company. pp. 297, 345, 347–349. ISBN 978-0-7864-0045-4. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  13. Sullivan, Neil J. (15 March 1990). The Minors. Macmillan Publishers. ISBN 978-0-312-30221-4. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  14. Hill, David (5 October 2016). "Athletics History: Rube Vickers has Day of His Life". Call to the Pen. FanSided. Archived from the original on 6 July 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
  15. Quigel, James P.; Hunsinger, Louis E. (2001). Gateway to the Majors: Williamsport and Minor League Baseball. Penn State University Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-271-03937-4. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. "Rube Vickers 1907 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  17. Sparks, Barry (31 October 2005). Frank "Home Run" Baker: Hall of Famer and World Series Hero. McFarland & Company. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-7864-2381-1. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  18. Davis, Ted (August 2000). Connie Mack: A Life in Baseball. iUniverse. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-595-12112-0. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  19. Adler, Richard (10 January 2014). Mack, McGraw and the 1913 Baseball Season. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-5172-2. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  20. Heller, Dave (5 October 2021). Gettysburg Eddie Plank: A Pitcher's Journey to the Hall of Fame. McFarland & Company. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-4766-4248-2. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
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