TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY

Edd Roush was a proud and stubborn man who won two batting titles for the Reds and helped them to the 1919 World Series title. He rarely reported to spring training, often held out for more money and his aggressive playing style made him the National League's equivalent of Ty Cobb. Roush was the best player to make his mark in the Federal League and then go on to star in the majors. In 1915, when the Federal League folded, John McGraw bought Roush for the princely sum of $10,000 and then traded him to Cincinnati in 1916 after the outfielder had hit just .188 in 39 games for the Giants. The trade was one of the worst mistakes of McGraw's career, and the New York skipper spent the next decade trying to re-acquire Roush, which he finally did in February 9, 1927. Primarily a center fielder, Roush ended his career back with Cincinnati in 1931, having garnered more than 2,300 hits and a .323 lifetime batting average.

Best Season, 1917

Roush won his first batting title, hitting .341 with 19 doubles, 14 triples, four homers, 67 RBI, 21 steals, and just 24 strikeouts. Later, he would hit for higher averages but so was everyone else.

1919 Black Sox Notes

Roush stubbornly maintained that his Reds would have won the 1919 World Series even if the eight "black Sox" conspirators had played honestly. Roush struggled to hit .214, but he had seven RBI, six ruins scored and two stolen bases in series.

Notes

In both 1924 and 1925, Roush was 10th in National League Most Valuable Player voting... Inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 by the Old-Timers Committee.

Batting Races

Roush was involved in several batting races -- from 1917 to 1921 he never finished lower than third in the NL. In 1917 he defeated Rogers Hornsby by 14 points, in 1918 he just missed winning his second straight title, losing out to Brooklyn's Zack Wheat. Through August 1, 1918, Heinie Groh was leading the NL with a .340 mark, Wheat was second at .337 and Roush was way back at .296. Roush then made a furious dash for the title, hitting .427 (53-for-124) over the last 32 games of the season to finish at .333, two points back of Wheat. In 1919, Roush edged Hornsby by three points, .321 to .318, with Ross Youngs also in the race much of the season. In 1920 and 1921 Roush lost the title to Hornsby, each time by wide margins. He twice had hitting streaks of 27 games in 1920 & 1924.

Hall of Fame Artifacts

Roush is credited with using one of the heaviest bats in major league history -- a 48-ounce piece of lumber. One of his bats is in the Hall of Fame collection.

Historic Days!

February 9 1920 — The Joint Rules Committee bans all foreign substances or other alterations to the ball by pitchers, including saliva, resin, talcum powder, paraffin, and the shine and emery ball. A pitcher caught cheating will be suspended for 10 days, at the time there were 17 total including future HOFer Stan Coveleski.

February 9, 1927: Edd Roush traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the New York Giants for George Kelly and cash. the fiery baseball player known for his Hall of Fame career, wielded a heavy bat and mastered the art of place hitting. Born in 1893 in Indiana, Roush's strong hands and arms, developed on his family's farm, propelled him into baseball. Beginning with the Cincinnati Reds in 1916, he quickly became a defensive standout, often compared to Tris Speaker. Roush secured two batting titles in 1917 and 1919 and led the Reds to a World's Championship in 1919. Despite salary disputes and his aversion to the bean ball, Roush's career soared. He retired in 1931, leaving a lasting legacy in baseball history.

February 9 1951 — The St. Louis Browns sign Satchel Paige, 45. He has been out of Major League Baseball since last pitching for the Cleveland Indians in 1949. 20 years later on this day he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. (listen to him talk HOF on Radio Calls)

February 9 1976 -- - Oscar Charleston is selected for the Hall of Fame by the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues.

February 9, 1981, future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan signs a free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants. Morgan led the National League in walks in 1980, while helping the Houston Astros to the Western Division title.

February 9, 2018 in Bryan, TX, Wally Moon passes away - “Moon shots” were what they called the home runs that lefthanded-batting Wally Moon golfed over the 42-foot wall a mere 250 feet down the Los Angeles Coliseum’s left field line with his inside-out swing. Though he didn’t hit many of them, the newly arrived Moon hit them early in 1959, and his ingenuity seemed to capture the spirit of the ragtag bunch that took the Dodgers from seventh place to the World Championship. Appropriately, he scored the last run ever in the Coliseum.

Todays featured clip:

Quote of the day:

TRIVIA

TRIVIA: in 1920, a lengthy argument took place on the field, this future hall of fame outfielder fell asleep and his teammates were unable to wake him and he eventually got ejected from the game, who was he?

A. Babe Ruth

B. Edd Roush

C. Harry Hooper

D. Tris Speaker

Answer in tomorrows newsletter

 ANSWER TO YESTERDAY’S TRIVIA

Trivia Answer: From time to time Connie Mack over his 50 years took a break as the A’s Manager. Who filled in for him?

A. Connie Mack , JR

B. Earle Mack

C. Roy Mack

D. Jimmy Dykes

Earle Mack, He was an A's coach from 1924 to 1950, serving as interim manager for a time in 1937 and 1939. It was assumed that he would succeed his father as manager of the Athletics when he finally retired, but instead, it was Jimmy Dykes who took over. The move was the result of a front office putsch orchestrated by his younger half-brother, Connie Mack Jr. and the Shibe-MacFarland family who were minority shareholders.

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