Jerald Hal Lane (February 7, 1926 – July 24, 1988) 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 ...

player. He was a right-handed

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 ...

who appeared in 32

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

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), ...

for the Washington Senators () and the

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

(–), in addition to 429 games over 12 seasons (1948–1959)Minor league record
from

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

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 ...

. The native of Ashland, New York, stood tall and weighed . Lane graduated from

Ithaca College Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

in 1953. He did not play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Ithaca Bombers Ithaca College is a private college in Ithaca, New York. It was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music and is set against the backdrop of the city of Ithaca (which is separate from the town), Cayuga Lake, waterfalls, and go ...

but only attended classes during the baseball offseasons. Lane signed initially with the Boston Braves in 1948, but after two years of Class D ball he was acquired by Washington. Recalled from the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

in the middle of the 1953 season, Lane made his Major League debut at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

against 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 eight ...

on July 7 as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, but lost a low-scoring duel to

Hal Brown Hector Harold Brown (December 11, 1924 – December 17, 2015) was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from through for the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, ...

, giving up only one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

in eight

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is bot ...

of work. He started only one other game all season — on September 13 — and again lasted eight innings in a losing effort (this time against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

).1953 pitching log from Retrosheet
/ref> As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

, Lane compiled a 1–4 record in 20 games and innings, with an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 4.92. His lone victory, however, came against the eventual 1953 world champion

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) Amer ...

in relief on August 18. Sent back to Chattanooga for 1954, Lane posted a 13–8 record with a 2.97 ERA in 31 games and was purchased by the Redlegs on August 7. He made his

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

debut September 7 as 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 (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

and held the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

scoreless over two innings. Five days later, he relieved

Fred Baczewski Fredereric John "Lefty" Baczewski (May 15, 1926 – November 14, 1976) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs and Chicago Cubs. After some time in the independent minor leagues, Baczewski was purc ...

in the first inning of a game 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 ...

with Cincinnati already leading, 3–0. He worked the next frames to earn the win in a 13–2 Redleg victory,1954-9-12 box score from Retrosheet
/ref> which would represent his last MLB win and his only Senior Circuit triumph. Lane appeared in three games for Cincinnati in 1954 and eight more in relief at the outset of 1955 before returning to the minor leagues for the remainder of his career. In the Majors, he allowed 84 hits and 25

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

in innings of work. As a minor leaguer, he posted a 114–118 mark before leaving the game.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lane, Jerry 1926 births 1988 deaths Baseball players from New York (state) Bluefield Blue-Grays players Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cincinnati Redlegs players Havana Sugar Kings players Ithaca College alumni Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Vols players People from Chattanooga, Tennessee Vancouver Mounties players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Wellsville Nitros players People from Greene County, New York