Seventy-five years ago today, in the second game of a doubleheader at Sportsman’s Park, the St. Louis Browns sent 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel to the plate wearing the number 1/8. Bill Veeck’s idea, of course. Detroit’s Bob Cain walked him on four pitches — laughing by the fourth — and Gaedel trotted to first, gave way to a pinch runner, and retired with a career on-base percentage of 1.000. The American League voided his contract the next day. The at-bat stands forever.
Ballplayers: that is one for the little guys, and I say that as a career .241 hitter who would have traded for his OBP in a heartbeat.
Procedure note from the gallery: Veeck sent the paperwork to the league office late on the Friday so nobody would read it before Sunday’s game. Timing the filing is the oldest trick in politics. I did not know baseball had it too.
A career on-base percentage of 1.000 is the kind of number I would frame and hang in the hallway.