Frank John Drews (May 25, 1916 – April 22, 1972) was a

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), ...

second baseman who played for the

Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

in 1944 and 1945. He stood and weighed 175 lbs. Drews is one of many ballplayers who only appeared in the major leagues during World War II. He made his

major league debut 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), ...

on August 13, 1944 in a road doubleheader against 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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

at Forbes Field. His last game for Boston was on August 5, 1945. He was a typical example of what Mike González termed "good field, no hit." Career totals include 95

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

, a .205 batting average (59-for-288), 29

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, and 27

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

. 41 walks and 1

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, however, did push his

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

up to .306. On defense, he had a .967

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

, which was just above the league average for his era. Drews died in his hometown of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

at the age of 55.

Trivia

*Drews was born in the same week as Braves

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

John Dudra John Joseph Dudra (May 27, 1916 – October 25, 1965) was a Major League Baseball infielder who played for the Boston Braves in 1941. A native of Assumption, Illinois, the 25-year-old rookie stood and weighed 175 lbs. Dudra put up some impre ...

. (May 21–27, 1916)

External links

Retrosheet
1916 births 1972 deaths Major League Baseball second basemen Baseball players from New York (state) Boston Braves players Leesburg Gondoliers players Leesburg Anglers players Jacksonville Tars players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Newark Bears (International League) players Indianapolis Indians players Syracuse Chiefs players Burials in Buffalo, New York {{US-baseball-second-baseman-stub