Walter Henry Ruether (September 13, 1893 – May 16, 1970) was an American baseball player who pitched for five different major league teams. In his 11-year career, Ruether played for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, the Brooklyn Robins, the Washington Senators, and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. He appeared in the

1919 World Series The 1919 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the 1919 Major League Baseball season, 1919 season. The 16th edition of the World Series, it matched the American League champion 1919 Chicago White Sox season, ...

with the Reds, in the 1925 World Series with the Senators, and in the 1926 World Series with the Yankees. Ruether was also a member of the 1927 Yankees. Though that team played in the 1927 World Series, Ruether did not participate in any of the games.

Early life

Ruether was born in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, United States, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is built on an informal archipe ...

to his mother Augusta and his father Frederick Ruether who were German immigrants. He was youngest of his family, having two older siblings. During his childhood, his father Frederick was a partner in a cigar manufacturing business in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. When he became an adult, Ruether attended St. Ignatius College. On March 10, 1913, St. Ignatius participated in an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

against the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

. Ruether, a left-hander, pitched in the game for St. Ignatius. In the ninth-inning, White Sox

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

Buck Weaver hit a 3-run

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

off Ruether. This secured the victory for the White Sox, and Ruether lost the contest 4–2. Ruether parlayed his strong outing into a try-out with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

of the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. After reporting to

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...

for the Pirates' training camp, he signed a contract. The contract stated that Ruether could opt out if the Pirates attempted to assign him to a

Minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

. The Pirates did just that, and consequently, Ruether left the organization. After he left the Pirates, Ruether went to play in the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

. He spent the 1914 season and the 1915 season with the Vancouver Beavers.Vancouver Baseball
(retrieved 15 May 2015) mentions only 1915. In 1916, Ruether moved to the Spokane Indians. That team went on to win the pennant.

Major League career

In 1917, Ruether signed with the Chicago Cubs. He made his Major League debut in April of that year. After he had appeared in 10 games for the Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds selected Ruether off waivers on July 17, 1917. After finishing the 1917 season, Ruether enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

due to the break out of World War I. He reported to Camp Lewis. In 1919, Ruether rejoined the Reds. He won nineteen games that season and the Reds made the

. Though Cincinnati won the series, it has become infamous for the

Black Sox Scandal The Black Sox Scandal was a match fixing, game-fixing scandal in Major League Baseball (MLB) in which eight members of the Chicago White Sox were accused of intentionally losing the 1919 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for p ...

. Ruether spent the 1920 season with the Reds. On December 15 of that year, the Reds traded Ruether to the Brooklyn Robins in exchange for Rube Marquard. He spent the next four seasons as a pitcher for the Robins. During the 1924 season, Ruether suffered from arm problems. After an apparent dispute with Charles Ebbets, the Robins owner, the Washington Senators purchased Ruether from the Robins. Ruether spent the next year and a half with the Senators before the team traded him to the New York Yankees on August 27, 1926 While with the Senators, Ruether appeared in the 1925 World Series. Although he was a pitcher, Ruether did not pitch in the series. Instead, he was used as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, A ...

and recorded one

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

. For his career, Ruether was a good hitting pitcher with a .258

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and 250 career hits. The Yankees earned a spot in the 1926 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and Ruether pitched in game three. The game did not go well for Ruether. The Cardinals won 4–0. In 1927, Ruether played for his third consecutive pennant winning team. However, Ruether did not appear in the 1927 World Series. The 1927 season was his last in the Major Leagues. Ruether recorded 137 wins and 95 losses, for a .591

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

. Ruether holds the National League record for most innings pitched in a season opening game. On opening day 1923, he pitched 14-innings for the Robins.

Post major league career

Ruether left the Yankees after the 1927 championship and then pitched in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

until 1933. In 1934, Ruether retired from active play and joined the Seattle Indians as the team

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. The league voted Ruether the

All-star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team manager in his first year. Ruether left the league in 1936. Later in his life, Ruether served as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

for the Chicago Cubs and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. He helped discover players such as Joey Amalfitano, Eddie Bressoud, Peanuts Lowrey and Mike McCormick. Ruether died in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

at age 76.

References & Footnotes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruether, Dutch 1893 births 1970 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Brooklyn Robins players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen New York Yankees players Baseball players from Alameda, California Minor league baseball managers Portland Beavers players Sacramento Sacts players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Salt Lake Bees players Spokane Indians players San Francisco Seals (baseball) players Mission Reds players Seattle Indians players Nashville Vols players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Chicago Cubs scouts New York Giants (baseball) scouts San Francisco Giants scouts St. Ignatius College Preparatory alumni Baseball players from Phoenix, Arizona Seattle Indians managers