Eddie Gaedel
From BR Bullpen
Edward Carl Gaedel
- Bats Right, Throws Left
- Height 3' 7", Weight 65 lb.
- Debut August 19, 1951
- Final Game August 19, 1951
- Born June 8, 1925 in Chicago, IL USA
- Died June 18, 1961 in Chicago, IL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
"Pitch him low." - Bob Swift, Tigers catcher, telling his pitcher, Bob Cain, how to pitch to Gaedel
Eddie Gaedel was the shortest and lightest man to ever play a major league inning. In 1951, St. Louis Browns owner Bill Veeck, as desperate for ticket sales as his spirit was entrepreneurial, decided to pinch hit one day one Eddie Gaedel, circus midget. After producing a valid contract for an incredulous home plate umpire, Gaedel - replacing Frank Saucier in the lineup and sporting uniform number 1/8 - dug in and managed to draw a 4-pitch walk, thanks to a diminutive strike zone. Gaedel scampered off to first base, where he was replaced by pinch runner Jim Delsing, before waddling up the dugout tunnel and back into the oblivion from whence he came. The next day, AL President Will Harridge banned Gaedel from appearing in future games.
Gaedel died after being beaten in a bar fight in 1961.
His great-nephew Kyle Gaedele was drafted in 2008 by Tampa Bay.
