Eugene Abraham "Red" Desautels (June 13, 1907 – November 5, 1994) was an American

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player.Gene Desautels at Baseball Reference
/ref> He played most of his

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), ...

career as a backup

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

with four teams between and . Desautels was a light- hitting player, but was known for his superior defensive ability as a catcher, and for his handling pitching staffs. After his playing career, he served as a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in minor league baseball.

Playing career

Born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

, to French Canadian parents, Desautels was a protégé of Crusaders coach Jack Barry during his playing days at the College of the Holy Cross. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in philosophy, he went directly to the major leagues, making his debut with the Detroit Tigers on June 22,

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

at the age of 23. He served as a reserve catcher for the Detroit Tigers, playing behind

Ray Hayworth Raymond Hall Hayworth (January 29, 1904 – September 25, 2002) was an American professional baseball player, manager and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team ...

and veteran

Muddy Ruel Herold Dominic "Muddy" Ruel (February 20, 1896 – November 13, 1963) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and general manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1934. One of the top defensive ca ...

. When catcher Mickey Cochrane joined the Tigers as a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

, Desautels was sent to 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 ...

to play for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. He then spent two seasons in the Pacific Coast League with the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars (192 ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

. Desautels came back to the major leagues in 1937, playing for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

as a back up to

Rick Ferrell Richard Benjamin Ferrell (October 12, 1905 – July 27, 1995) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and executive. He played for 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red So ...

. When Ferrell was traded to the Washington Senators in June that year, Desautels became starting catcher for the Red Sox. Desautels enjoyed his most productive season with Boston in 1938, when he posted career-highs in batting average (.291), home runs (2), runs batted in (48), runs (47), doubles (16), and games played (108). However, his offense declined in 1939 and he was traded to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

for Frankie Pytlak after the

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

season.Gene Desautels Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
/ref> As a member of the Indians, Desautels played as a reserve catcher behind

Rollie Hemsley Ralston Burdett Hemsley (June 24, 1907 – July 31, 1972) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for 19 seasons from to . Born in Syracuse, Ohio, he was nicknamed "Rollicking Rollie". Hemsley ...

. At the beginning of the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

season, Indians' manager, Lou Boudreau, named Desautels as the Indians starting catcher, but by the middle of the year he was replaced by

Buddy Rosar Warren Vincent "Buddy" Rosar (July 3, 1914 – March 13, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1939 to 1951 for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Athletics, an ...

, who was hitting above .300. He entered the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

in February 1944 and was discharged in July 1945 at the age of 38, losing two years from his baseball career. He rejoined the Indians in August

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

but, saw little playing time and was released in September of that year. He was hired by

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

to play for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1946, where he once again played as a reserve catcher behind Buddy Rosar. Desautels retired as a player at the end of the season, at the age of 39.

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin spe ...

, the former American League President, was once asked if he had ever seen a player win an argument or an umpire change his decision. Cronin said, "Gene Desautels, then a rookie, young catcher with Detroit, was a cocky young fellow and was giving umpire Cal Hubbard a hard time. On a play at second, Desautels slid in and Hubbard called him out as he peered through a cloud of dust. I think Hubbard was hoping Desautels would complain so he could throw him out of the game, too. Desautels said sweetly, 'You can't call me out.' Hubbard blustered, 'Oh no? Why not?' 'Because,' Desautels said, 'I'm sitting on the ball.'"

Career statistics

In a thirteen-year major league career, Desautels compiled a major league career

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 ...

of .233, including 461 hits, three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 187

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 ba ...

. At the time of his retirement, his .989 career fielding percentage was the second highest by a catcher in major league history behind Frankie Pytlak. He led American League catchers in 1937 with a .993 fielding percentage and a 5.69 range factor. Desautels allowed only 19 passed balls in his career, the third fewest all-time among major league catchers.

Managing career

Following his playing retirement, Desautels managed the Williamsport Tigers of the Eastern League for three years from to . He then managed the Class-A Flint Arrows, a Tigers

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

.Gene Desautels minor league manager record at Baseball Reference
/ref> In , he managed the Double A

Little Rock Travelers The Little Rock Travelers were an American minor league baseball team located in Little Rock, Arkansas, and members (1902–1910, 1915–1958, 1960–1961) of the Southern Association, which as a Class A, A1 or Double-A circuit was typically two ...

to their first

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

pennant in nine years. Desautels moved on to manage the Indianapolis Indians in , and the Triple-A

Sacramento Solons The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began pl ...

from to . Later in life, he served as a special counselor for Flint, Michigan high schools. He was inducted into the Holy Cross Athletics Hall of Fame in 1981. Desautels died in Flint, Michigan, at the age of 87.''Deaths of Former Major League Players, Managers, Executives, Scouts and Umpires'', Baseball Digest, April 1995, Vol. 54, No. 4

References

External links

*
Gene Desautels
- Baseballbiography.com
Sons of Sam Horn
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desautels, Gene 1907 births 1994 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American people of French-Canadian descent Baseball players from Worcester, Massachusetts Boston Red Sox players Cleveland Indians players College of the Holy Cross alumni Columbus Red Birds players Detroit Tigers players Hollywood Stars players Holy Cross Crusaders baseball players Indianapolis Indians managers Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball catchers Milwaukee Braves scouts Philadelphia Athletics players Sacramento Solons managers San Diego Padres (minor league) players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Williamsport Tigers players United States Marines