Bernard McLaughlin (1862 – February 13, 1921) was an Irish born
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player. He played three seasons in the majors, spaced at three year intervals, for three teams, in three leagues, at three positions.
McLaughlin made his major league debut in for the
Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys:
*Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884
*Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...
of the short-lived
Union Association. With the Cowboys, he was an
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
, playing in about half their games—more than any other Cowboys outfielder except
Taylor Shafer.
After playing in the minor leagues with Waterbury of the
Eastern League in , where he was the team's starting
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...
, McLaughlin returned to the majors in with the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
's
Philadelphia Quakers. With the Quakers, McLaughlin played primarily as a
second baseman, splitting time at the position with
Charlie Bastian
Charles A. Bastian (March 2, 1858 – November 10, 1943) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Wilmington Quicksteps, Kansas City Cowboys, Philadelphia Quakers, Chicago White Stockings ...
and
Charlie Ferguson (who was also one of the Quakers' starting pitchers).
After two more seasons away from the majors, McLaughlin resurfaced in . This time, he was playing shortstop for the
Syracuse Stars of the
American Association American Association may refer to:
Baseball
* American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891
* American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997
* American Association of Profe ...
in their only major league season. McLaughlin's double-play partner with the 7th-place Stars was 22-year-old rookie
Cupid Childs, who would go on to a fine career. For McLaughlin, however, it was the end of the road.
McLaughlin's brother,
Frank McLaughlin, was also a major league player. The two were teammates on the Cowboys, with Frank ending his career as Barney was starting his.
Sources
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Barney
Major League Baseball infielders
Kansas City Cowboys (UA) players
Philadelphia Quakers players
Syracuse Stars (AA) players
Pottsville Antarcites players
Reading Actives players
Jersey City Skeeters players
Trenton Trentonians players
Waterbury Brassmen players
Charleston Quakers players
Lowell Chippies players
Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players
Lowell Lowells players
Major League Baseball players from Ireland
Irish baseball players
Baseball players from Massachusetts
1862 births
1921 deaths
19th-century baseball players
Irish emigrants to the United States