Welcome to the Baseball History Podcast: Featuring This Week in Baseball History, baseball dictionary and a tour of baseball cities. I’m your game announcer Bob Wright.
This is game 17 of the 2009 baseball season
In the first inning let’s take a look at This Week in Baseball History for the week of April.
April 16
1929 Indian Earl Averill homers on an 0-2 pitch off Tigers’ hurler Earl Whitehill becoming the first American League player to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat.
Howard Earl Averill, nicknamed “The Earl of Snohomish”, was born May 21, 1902 in Snohomish, Washington.
The first American League player to hit a home run in his initial Major League at-bat, Earl Averill became a nimble fielder and outstanding offensive performer during his 13-year playing career, primarily with the Cleveland Indians.
Averill broke into the major leagues with the Cleveland Indians in 1929, at the age of 27. He played for Cleveland for over ten years, and remains the all-time Indian leader in total bases, runs batted in, runs, and triples.
He grew up in the state of Washington and played semi-pro ball before signing with San Francisco of the Pacific Coast League in 1926.
After three .300 seasons in the League, including .354 with 36 home runs and 173 Runs Batted In in 1928, Averill was purchased for a reported $50,000 by Cleveland.
On Opening Day, 1929, he became the first American League player to homer in his initial big league at-bat. His 18 Home Runs and .331 Batting Average, in his rookie season, helped establish him as one of the Indian’s most popular players. A graceful but unspectacular centerfielder, he led all American League outfielders that year with 388 putouts, but his arm, injured in high school, was not strong.
In 1930, Averill hit .339, and on September 17 walloped three home runs in the first game of a doubleheader and another in the second game to become the first Major League player to hit four homers in a twin bill. His 11 Runs Batted In that day set an American League record.
A dead pull hitter, he slammed 32 homers in both 1931 and 1932. He became one of the most feared hitters in the league; on August 29, 1932, Red Sox pitchers walked him five consecutive times.
He had an off-year in 1935 batting only .288, largely because he burned his hand testing Fourth of July fireworks.
He bounced back in 1936 to lead the American League with 232 hits, and hit .378, second only to Luke Appling’s .388.
He’s famous for hitting the line drive that broke Dizzy Dean’s toe in the 1937 All-Star Game. That same year, just before a June game, Averill suffered temporary paralysis in his legs. X-rays revealed a congenital spinal malformation which forced him to change his batting style. His Batting Average and home run output slipped.
He was showered with gifts, including a new Cadillac, on “Earl Averill Day” in Cleveland in 1938.
However, Averill was traded to the Detroit Tigers in the middle of the 1939 season for marginal pitcher Harry Eisenstat and cash; Cleveland fans were outraged.
The following season his playing time was limited, but the Tigers reached the World Series. In the seven-game series against the Cincinnati Reds, the 38 year old Averill went 0-for-3 in three pinch-hit attempts. The Reds won the series 4 games to three.
Averill hit .280 in a part-time role for the 1940 pennant-winning Tigers. He retired in 1941 after struggling in April with the Boston Braves.
He is still the Indians’ all-time home run leader with 226, thanks in part to the short fence in old League Park, and holds Cleveland career records in six offensive categories.
After his career, he was very outspoken on being elected to the Hall of Fame. While he didn’t campaign for induction, he did make the statement that if he was ever to be inducted, he didn’t want it to be posthumously, and if that was the case, he wanted his family to decline the honor.
Earl Averill was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975, 34 years after his final season but 8 years before his passing; so he got his wish.
His number 3 is one of only three retired by the Indians.
His son, Earl Jr., also played in the majors from 1956 through 1963. He was mainly a catcher but also played left field and a few games at infield.
Earl Averill died August 16, 1983 in Everett, WA
In this inning we’ll open up the Baseball Dictionary
Under the letter: B
Beat a tag
To reach a base before being touched by the ball in the gloved or bare hand of the fielder covering that base.
If you would like to a part of Baseball History Podcast, submit your written contribution for the tour segment. I will only be doing the tour when one is sent in by a listener. You can do the segment on any stadium or team; past or present; Minor League, Major League, Negro League or any league outside of the US. Write about 1 page in a conversational tone, send it to me, I will record it, and you will get the credit.
You can email me at baseballhistory@gmail.com.
You can follow me on Twitter; I’m BaseballHistory.
Look for the new BHP web site at Baseball History Podcast at baseballhistorypodcast.com.
Well, that’s it for today’s game of Baseball History Podcast. I’ll see you later at the ballpark.
