Edward Russell Hobaugh (born June 27, 1934) is a retired American
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. The
right-handed
In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
appeared in 61 big league
games pitched between 1961 and 1963 for the
Washington Senators. Born in
Kittanning, Pennsylvania
Kittanning ( pronounced ) is a borough in, and the county seat of, Armstrong County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is situated northeast of Pittsburgh, along the east bank of the Allegheny River.
The name is derived from ''Kithanink' ...
, he was listed as tall and . He attended
Michigan State University.
Hobaugh signed with 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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
in 1956, and threw a
no-hit game in the Class B
Three-I League during his first pro season. He then spent two years (1957–58) serving in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
. After toiling at the
Triple-A level for the ChiSox in 1959–60, he was taken by the Senators in the 12th round of the
1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft.
Hobaugh then spent the full season of 1961 and parts of 1962–63 as a member of the Washington MLB pitching staff. He was the
starting pitcher in the expansion Senators' fifth official game on April 19, 1961, against the White Sox. Although he lasted only 2
innings in his maiden start, Hobaugh recovered to pitch effectively and hold a spot in Washington's rotation through late July, winning six of 11
decisions and hurling three
complete games. He then switched to the
bullpen and was primarily a
relief pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...
for the remainder of his big-league career. In 1963, Hobaugh began the season in the
minor leagues
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 No ...
, and apart from a nine-game call-up with the Senators in September, he spent the rest of his pro career in the minors.
In his 61 big-league games pitched, 21 as a starter, Hobaugh compiled a 9–10
win–loss record
In sports, a winning percentage 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 total number of matc ...
, allowing 228
hits and 95
bases on balls in 211 innings pitched. He struck out 115 and was credited with one
save.
The native of Western Pennsylvania was eventually acquired by the
Pittsburgh Pirates and he spent the remainder of his minor-league pitching career with the Pirates, except for a temporary return to the White Sox system. After retiring from the mound in 1969, Hobaugh briefly managed at
Class A in the Pirates' organization.
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet o
SABR Biography Project
1934 births
Living people
Atlanta Crackers players
Baseball players from Pennsylvania
Columbus Jets players
Indianapolis Indians players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Michigan State Spartans baseball players
Minor league baseball managers
People from Kittanning, Pennsylvania
Rapiños de Occidente players
Rochester Red Wings players
San Diego Padres (minor league) players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
Tucson Toros players
Washington Senators (1961–1971) players
Waterloo White Hawks players
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