Thank God Nobody Pulled A Canseco

Lion In Oil had a post over the weekend about St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Aaron Miles, who was pressed into action as a pitcher during a blowout loss to Washington on Saturday and responded with a 1-2-3, nine pitch inning.

The tongue-in-cheek suggestion was that Miles could be capable of pulling a “reverse Ankiel”, shifting from position player to full-time pitcher, but I was left with a very real question when I finished reading: how many Hall of Fame position players saw the same sort of action?

My goal was to find guys who, like Miles, made the occasional mound appearance, not those who could legitimately list their occupation as “pitcher” on a job application. To help differentiate between the two types, I set a somewhat arbitrary limit of 25 career innings pitched – even that is probably a little high, but it helps weed out the likes of Babe Ruth, George Sisler, and John Montgomery Ward, which was the goal anyway.

What’s left? Sixteen Hall of Famers, including some of the greatest hitters in baseball history, doing their best to see how the other half lives:

Ted Williams – Appeared in one game in 1940, his second season. He pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out one.

Stan Musial – Appeared in one game as a 31-year-old veteran in 1952. He faced one batter, Frank Baumholtz, who reached on an error.

Wade Boggs – The only Hall of Fame position player to pitch in the Retrosheet Era (weird, because I would have considered this a newer trend than it actually is), Boggs appeared in one game each for the Yankees in 1997 and the Devil Rays in 1999. He gave up one run on three hits in 2 1/3 total innings, walking one and striking out two. His “career” ERA+ is 121.

George Davis – Appeared in three games with the Cleveland Spiders in 1891, his second year in the league. He finished all three, recorded one save and one loss in four innings pitched, and allowed seven earned runs on eight hits and three walks for a 15.75 ERA.

George Kelly – Appeared in one game for the New York Giants in 1917, his third year in the league. He picked up the win, allowing four hits and one walk with two strikeouts over the final five innings.

Jake Beckley – The regular first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds, Beckley started a game for the team in 1902. He lasted four innings, giving up eight runs (three earned) on nine hits in four innings.

Harry Hooper – Pitched two innings of relief for the Red Sox in 1913, surrendering two hits and one walk.

Jimmie Foxx – Pitched a perfect inning of relief for the Red Sox in 1939, then worked nine more games for an absolutely terrible Phillies team in 1945, starting two. He struggled some, allowing 27 base runners in 22 2/3 innings, but only gave up four runs for a 1.59 season ERA.

Dan Brouthers – Appeared in three games, starting two (and going the distance in both) as a rookie with the Troy Trojans in 1879. He had an 0-2 record in those games, allowing 30 runs (only 13 earned) on 35 hits in 21 innings. Four years later, he pitched two innings for the Buffalo Bisons, giving up seven runs on nine hits in two innings for a 31.75 earned run average.

Jim O’Rourke – Another Buffalo Bison, O’Rourke appeared in six games, finishing four and saving two in 1883 and 1884.

Cap Anson – Finished three games for the 1883-84 Chicago Cubs, recording one save and a 4.50 ERA in four innings pitched.

Charlie Comiskey – Maybe the most effective pitcher of any regular position player, Comiskey posted a 0.73 ERA in 12 1/3 innings spread over four games. Thanks to two seasons in which he recorded an ERA+ of infinite, his final career total in that category was 410.

Tris Speaker – It’s good to see a traditional addition to the list: Speaker appeared in one game for the Red Sox in 1914, pitching the last inning and giving up one run on two hits.

George Wright – Recorded a 1.80 ERA in three games for the Boston Red Stockings and Boston Red Caps in 1875 and 1876, respectively. In four innings pitched in 1875, he struck out eleven batters.

Ty Cobb – Appeared in two games in 1918 (finishing one) and one in 1925 (earning a save). In three career games, he allowed six runs on two hits, walking two and failing to record a strikeout.

Honus Wagner – The greatest shortstop of all time was also a good outfielder, first baseman, and third baseman, and probably would have been a decent pitcher if the Pirates had asked more of him. As it was, Wagner pitched two games for the team, one each in 1900 and 1902. He allowed five runs (all unearned) on seven hits in 8 1/3 innings.