James Marcellin St. Vrain (June 6, 1871 – June 12, 1937), a native of Ralls County, Missouri, 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), ...

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 ...

. The left-hander played for the

Chicago Orphans The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in 1902. St. Vrain made his major league debut in a road game against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

at the Palace of the Fans (April 20, 1902). He pitched well, but the Orphans lost 2–1. His first major league win came against the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

on May 9. He pitched a 5–0

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in front of the home crowd at

West Side Park West Side Park was the name used for two different ballparks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League. Both ballparks hosted baseball championships. The ...

. St. Vrain pitched well during his only season but gave up a lot of unearned runs. He is also remembered for running the wrong way on the bases; although he was a left-handed pitcher, St. Vrain batted right-handed. One day, manager

Frank Selee Frank Gibson Selee (October 26, 1859 – July 5, 1909) was an American Major League Baseball manager in the National League (NL). In his 16-year Major League career, he managed the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901) and Chicago Orphans / Cubs (1902 ...

suggested he try batting left-handed, and upon making contact with the ball, St. Vrain was confused enough to run to third base (he was thrown out at first base). In a total of 12 games, 11 starts, 10 complete games, and 95

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

, he had 51

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and only 25 walks, and gave up just 22 earned runs. Though his record was 4–6, his

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 ...

was a sparkling 2.08. St. Vrain died in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...

, in 1937.

References

External links

RetrosheetSABR biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Vrain, Jim 1871 births 1937 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Orphans players Butte Smoke Eaters players Tacoma Tigers players Memphis Egyptians players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Seattle Siwashes players Portland Giants players Topeka White Sox players St. Joseph Saints players Baseball players from Missouri People from Ralls County, Missouri