Something got me thinking today about the smallest real players to play in major league baseball. Of course, Bill Veeck‘s little person Eddie Gaedel, who walked in his only major league plate appearance, was the shortest at 3’7″ to play in MLB.
Veeck was able to meld crass exploitation with real baseball know-how (in 1951, when pitching staffs were only 9 or 10 men, you can’t entirely discount the fact that Veeck could have seen the value in a pinch-hitter would almost always walk — this was the guy who turned the Indians into World’s Champions, and the best single season attendance draw continuing through the next generation, in only about three seasons). If filling the seats was the goal, and it was, it certainly worked for Veeck, at least until Disco Demolition Night in 1976.
Will Harridge, the AL President, voided Gaedel’s contract the next day.
This is the best post on-line I found to my question, and it’s relatively recent. Here – are – some – others. I not sure it any of these posts mention the 5’6″ Jose Altuve.
Wee Willy Keeler (“Hit ‘Em Where They Ain’t”) is the only Hall of Famer, and for that matter the only player of real consequence at 5’4.” Nobody remembers Lee Viau today. At 140 lbs, Keeler was 20 lbs lighter than Viau.
The first major league pitchers to develop major league curveballs were not big dudes. Candy Cummings was 5’9″ and 120 lbs, and Bobby Mathews was 5’5″ and 140 lbs. Candy is in the Hall of Fame for his reported discovery of the curveball. An HOFer who got there purely on MLB performance is “Old Hoss” Radbourn listed at 5’9″ and 168 lbs.
People were a lot smaller in 19th century America. Multiple subsequent generations of heavy meat and dairy eating has made the contemporary American male on average much larger than those whose diets were based mainly on starches.
Baseball Almanac says there were ten MLB players listed at 5’3″. Unfortunately, it hasn’t identified, at least to the cheapskate public, the identities of those ten. One of the posts linked above says that Mike McCormack (5’3″, 155 lbs) was the shortest player to qualify for a batting title. However, he slashed .184/.278/.222 as the main 3Bman for the 1904 Brooklyn Superbas and was never heard of again outside of the minor league cities where he continued to play pro baseball.
“Doc” Gautreau was probably the 5’4″ that baseball reference lists him at. Rumors of shorter height are probably a result of the fact that he was reported to weigh only 129 lbs. He was a rangy 2Bman who made his share of errors. He had no power, and his ability to get on base wasn’t appreciated during his three seasons as an MLB platoon player on second division Boston Braves teams in the late 1920’s.
Gautreau was a Massachusetts Canuck, like footballer Jack Kerouac a generation later. When the Montreal Royals started play in the (now AAA) International League in 1928, they were on the look-out for a French Canadian ballplayer who would appeal to their fan base.
Gautreau, who spoke French, had left the majors in 1928, and the Royals acquired him for the 1929 season. He gave the Royals five strong seasons and was almost certainly the team’s most popular player, since he also hustled like a guy who was 5’4″ and 129 pounds.
The subject of tiny MLBers is near and dear to my heart for reasons I will elaborate on in a later post.
Burly's Baseball Musings 