Eddie Gaedel

Eddie Gaedel
Gaedel batting in August 1951,
in his only plate appearance in baseball
Pinch hitter
Born: (1925-06-08)June 8, 1925
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died: June 18, 1961(1961-06-18) (aged 36)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
MLB debut
August 19, 1951, for the St. Louis Browns
Last MLB appearance
August 19, 1951, for the St. Louis Browns
MLB statistics
On-base percentage1.000
Batting average
Plate appearances1
Base on balls1
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
Career highlights and awards
  • Shortest player in Major League Baseball history

Edward Carl Gaedel (June 8, 1925 – June 18, 1961) was the smallest player to appear in a Major League Baseball game.[1]

Gaedel gained recognition in the second game of a St. Louis Browns doubleheader on August 19, 1951.[2] Weighing 60 pounds (27 kg) and standing 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm) tall, he became the shortest player in the history of the Major Leagues. Gaedel made a single plate appearance and was walked with four consecutive balls before being replaced by a pinch-runner at first base. His jersey, bearing the uniform number "18", is displayed in the St. Louis Cardinals Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck, in his 1962 autobiography Veeck – As in Wreck, said of Gaedel, "He was, by golly, the best darn midget who ever played big-league ball. He was also the only one."[3]

  1. ^ "Veeck's latest gimmick - a midget big leaguer". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). AP photo. August 20, 1951. p. 8.
  2. ^ "Browns hit all-time low; use 3-foot 7-inch player". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. August 20, 1951. p. 7.
  3. ^ Veeck, Bill. Veeck – As in Wreck. University of Chicago. Retrieved August 30, 2011.

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