Charles Carl "Heinie" Berger (January 7, 1882 – February 10, 1954) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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 ...

. Berger played in

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), ...

(MLB) for four seasons for the

Cleveland Naps 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 ...

from 1907 to 1910.

Biography

Berger, a native of

Greenfield, Indiana Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Hancock County, Indiana, United States, and a part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The population was 20,602 at the 2010 census, and an estimated 23,006 in 2019. It lies in Center Township. ...

, started his professional baseball career with the Spring Lake Park semi-pro team. In 1905 and 1906 he won 25 and 28 games respectively with the

Columbus Senators The Columbus Senators Minor league baseball team was created in as a founding member of the Tri-State League. After that, the Senators played in the Western League (1897-1899), Interstate League (1900), Western Association (1901), and America ...

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 ...

before coming to the majors. He made his major league debut May 6, 1907, and played his final game on July 22, 1910. His best years were 1908 and 1909, with Berger winning 13 games in each of those seasons. He started 68 games for the Naps and ended his career with a 32–29 win loss record and a 2.60 earned run average. In 1909, he led all

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

pitchers, striking out an average of 5.90 batters per 9-innings pitched. He struck out a total of 162 batters in 1909, 3rd in the American League. Berger also led the league in

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third stri ...

es in 1909 with 13. Berger died of a heart attack in 1954 in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. He was buried at

Lake View Cemetery Lake View Cemetery is a privately owned, nonprofit garden cemetery located in the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, and East Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio. Founded in 1869, the cemetery was favored by wealthy families during the Gil ...

Cuyahoga County, Ohio Cuyahoga County ( or ) is a large urban county located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is situated on the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the Canada–United States border, U.S.-Canada maritime border. As of the 2020 U ...

References

External links

* 1882 births 1954 deaths People from LaSalle, Illinois Sportspeople from LaSalle County, Illinois Cleveland Naps players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Illinois Sportspeople from Lakewood, Ohio Baseball players from Cuyahoga County, Ohio Columbus Senators players Mobile Sea Gulls players Nashville Vols players Burials at Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland {{US-baseball-pitcher-1880s-stub