With our national pastime on hiatus, I find myself recalling and/or researching unique plays, players and teams in baseball history. You know, like the Twins being the only team to turn two triple players in one game (both classic groundball 5-4-3 triple killings); the White Sox once scoring 11 runs in one inning on just one hit; or Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer being the only player to draw two bases-loaded walks in a World Series game (links to those stories at the end of this post).
Alex McColll
Those who read Baseball Roundtable regularly know I have a keen interest in players who had brief, but for some reason notable, MLB careers. In fact, that is why, each year, BBRT presents the John Paciorek Award. (More on that later in this post.) Recently, I came across the tale of Alex “Red” McColl, a player who truly played for love of the game – pitching his way through nearly two-decades in the minor leagues before making his major league debut. Let me share his story.
On September 6, 1933, the Washington Senators hosted the Chicago White Sox. The Senators came into the game in first place, with an 86-45 record and a comfortable 9½-game lead over the second-place Yankees. Starting for the White Sox was Jake Miller, in his ninth (and final) MLB season, with a 5-5 record and a 5.05 earned run average on the season. Starting for the Senators was rookie right-hander Alex “Red” McColl – making his first-ever major league start. And, he made the most of it.
McColl went the distance in the game, giving up just one run on four hits (five walks and four strikeouts), as the Senators prevailed 3-1. Not only did McColl get the mound victory and a complete game in his first MLB start, he had a hand in all three Senators’ runs. In the bottom of the second inning, the switch-hitting McColl laced two-run double (scoring Senators’ 1B Joe Kuhel and 3B Ossie Bluege) to left-center off Miller – and two batters later he came around on a double by LF Heinie Manush to complete Washington s scoring for the day. Quite a momentous first start for the rookie.
So ,why did this game catch BBRT’s eye? Well, as I noted earlier, McColl truly exemplified playing for the love of the game. The rookie was called up to the majors after going 14-11, 3.36 for the Chattanooga (Single-A) Lookouts that season. More important, the Senators’ rookie was 39-years-old and in his 18th minor-league campaign (never pitching above Double A). At the time, McColl already had more than 240 minor-league victories (including four seasons of 20 or more wins) under his belt. (He had gone 21-8, 3.05 at Chattanooga in 1932.)
In a September 25, 1933, Associate Press story (Asbury Park Press), McColl’s rise to the majors was described in a reporter’s recounting of a September 1933 call from Clark Griffith (owner of the Washington Senators) to Joseph Engel (President of the Chattanooga Lookouts).
“Griffith called Engel by telephone a few week ago and said “Send me a pitcher.” Engel want down to the station and bought Alex McColl a ticket to Washington.
“Now, Mr. McColl is 39-year-old, which is considered aged as pitchers go, and has never seen the inside of a big league ballpark except as a spectator. The wise boys grieved and said old Joe was slipping, but Alex has done right well with the Senators and is likely to see some World Series service.”
McColl, as predicted, did see World Series service. He topped of his less-than-meteoric rise to the big leagues by pitching two scoreless (perfect) frames against the Giants in Game Two of the 1933 World Series (October 4). So, after nearly two decades in the minor leagues, McColl found himself not only in the big leagues, but on the mound in the Fall Classic. Well worth the effort and wait, I’d say.
McColl spent time the big leagues in 1934, finishing the season at 3-4, 3.86, in 42 appearances (two starts) for the Senators. The forty-year-old made his final major league appearance on September 29, 1934. His career major-league record was 4-4, 3.70, with 46 appearances (three starts), two complete games, two saves, 112 innings pitched, 36 walks and 29 strikeouts,
But wait, remember I said McColl played for the love of the game. He may have been in his forties and his major league career may have been behind him, but McColl wasn’t done yet., In 1935, he was back at Chattanooga, where he went 21-12, 3.50, tossing 258 innings in 41 appearances. McColl would, in fact, continue his professional pitching career through 1941 (age 47) – never again pitching above A-Level and serving as a player-manager in each of his final four seasons.
McColl’s final professional season saw him as a player-manager with the independent Class D Warren Buckeyes in the Pennsylvania Association, where he was the club’s “ace” going 12-6, 3.22 and putting a final 137 innings on his resilient right arm. (He managed the team to a 46-62 record.) He also batted .264 on the season. Notably, at the time, the average player age in the Pennsylvania was 22-years-old.
Baseball-Reference.com credits McColl with 332 minor-league wins (262 losses), a 3.42 earned run average and 5,262 minor-league innings pitched.
Primary Resources: Baseball-Reference.com; “Hardball History: 1941 Buckeyes were Warren’s most recent team,” Warren Times Observer, April 6, 2020, by Josh Cotton; “McColl Makes Major League Pitching Debut: Aging Rookie Turns in Victory for Washington Over Chisox, ” San Bernardino Sun, September 7, 1933.
John Paciorek Award
If you are interested in a look at some other players with brief, but significant career achievements, you may want to check out Baseball Roundtable’s John Paciorek Award honorees.
2014 – Brian Scott Dallimore
In his first start (not his first game) for the 2004 Giants, Dallimore had two singles, a Grand Slam (his first MLB hit and only MLB home run), a walk and a hit by pitch. For the full JPA take on Dallimore’s 27- game MLB career, click here.
2015 – Roy Gleason
Gleason played in just eight MLB games, had a double in his only MLB at bat – but also earned a World Series ring (1963) and a Purple Heart. Ultimately, he was the only ballplayer with MLB experience to serve on the front lines in Vietnam. For the full JPA take on Gleason, click here.
2016 – John Allen Miller
Miller played just 32 MLB games (during the 1966 and 1969), taking the field (at 1B/LF/3B/2B) for the Yankees and Dodgers. Miller collected ten hits in 61 MLB at bats (.164 average) and hit just two home runs – but he made those long balls count. Miller made his MLB debut with the Yankees on September 11, 1966 and hit a two-run homer in his first big league at bat – making him (surprisingly) the first Yankee ever to homer in his first MLB at bat. Miller’s final at bat came as a Dodger (September 23, 1969) and he stroked a solo home run. That narrow “body of work” made Miller one of just two players in MLB history to homer in their first and final official appearances in a major league batter’s box. For more on Miller, click here.
2017 – Chris Saenz
RHP Chris Seanz’ big day came on April 24, 2004 – when he was called up from Double A Huntsville (where he was 1-1, 3.86) to make a spot start against the Saint Louis Cardinals, whose powerful lineup included the likes of Albert Pujols, Scott Rolen, Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders. The rookie went six innings, giving up just two hits, three walks and no runs, while fanning seven. There was some speculation (primarily among sportswriters and fans) that Saenz’ performance might earn him another start or two, but two days after his debut, he was on his way back to Huntsville. Unfortunately, his minor league season included a September elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery and he never returned to the majors. Statistics before 1900 can be sketchy, but baseball-reference.com shows that Saenz is the only pitcher to complete a one-game MLB career of at least five innings pitched, without giving up a single run (earned or unearned). For more details on this JPA honoree, click here.
2018 – Keith McDonald
Keith McDonald’s MLB career (Cardinals 2000-2001) covered just eight games and 11 plate appearances (nine at bats) and three hits – but he made them count. All of McDonald’s safeties were home runs – making him the only MLB player with more than one career hit who can look back on major league career in which his every hit was a home run. McDonald is also one of only two players – and the only National Leaguer – to homer in his first two major league plate appearances. For the full story, click here.
2019 – Harley Hisner
Harley Hisner’s MLB tenure encompassed the day of September 30, 1951. That’s when the 24-year-old righty faced the New York Yankees – and a lineup that included five future Hall of Famers: Mickey Mantle in RF; Joe DiMaggio in CF; Phil Rizzuto at SS; Johnny Mize at 1B; and Yogi Berra behind the plate. In is very first MLB inning, Hisner faced five batters, four of them future Hall of Famers, and gave up two singles and no runs. His place in history? One of those singles was Joe DiMaggio’s last MLB safety. He faced Mickey Mantle four times in the game – walking him once, fanning him twice and getting him to hit into a double play. For more on Harley Hisner and his ongoing involvement in and love of the game (he went on to earn the Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Colin Lister Award for “dedication to the game of baseball and its historic legacy,” click here.
2020 – Bert Shepard
Pitcher Bert Shepard had four minor-league seasons on his resume, when World War II and military service interrupted his baseball career. He became a P-38 Lightning (fighter) pilot and logged more than thirty combat missions before being shot down, being taken prisoner and losing his right leg below the knee. After being released a part of a prisoner exchange, Shepard came back to the states with a desire to get back into baseball. To make a long story short, Shepard eventually became the only one-legged pitcher in MLB history. For the full story on Shepard, click here.
Finally, regarding those earlier events used as examples, here are the links.
Twins’ two triple plays in one game (and more triple play tidbits), click here.
White Sox’ Eleven-run, one-hit inning, click here.
Jim Palmer’s two bases-loaded walks in one World Series’ game (and more on Palmer), click here.
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