Joseph Henry Astroth (September 1, 1922 – May 3, 2013) was an American professional

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. He played his entire career 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), ...

as a

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 ...

for the Philadelphia Athletics and remained with the team when they moved west and became the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

in 1955. He batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Early life

Astroth was born in

East Alton, Illinois East Alton is a village in Madison County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,301 at the 2010 census. History East Alton was incorporated as a village in 1893 (some say 1894). William Cobb, namesake of Cobb Street, was one of the fir ...

and attended Wood River High School in

Wood River, Illinois Wood River is a city in Madison County, Illinois. The population was 10,657 according to the 2010 census. Geography Wood River is located at (38.863047, -90.088527). According to the 2010 census, Wood River has a total area of , of which (or 9 ...

. After graduating from high school in 1940, he attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

where he competed in baseball, football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. Astroth joined the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

in 1942 where, he served during World War II until his Honorable Discharge in 1945.

Baseball career

Immediately after his discharge from the Coast Guard, Astroth signed a contract with the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent and, made his major league debut with the team on August 13,

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, ...

at the age of 22 without ever having played 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 ...

. He played the majority of the 1946 season with the

Lancaster Red Roses The Lancaster Red Roses baseball team, originally known as the Maroons, changed its name at the start of the 1906 season during a bitter match with the York, Pennsylvania-based White Roses. Some sources indicate that the rival teams were named fo ...

of the

Interstate League The Interstate League was the name of five different American minor baseball leagues that played intermittently from 1896 through 1952. Early leagues Earlier versions of the Interstate League, with years active: *1896–1901: an unclassified ...

before being promoted back to the Athletics for four games in September. After two more seasons spent in the minor leagues, Astroth rejoined the Athletics in 1949 where he served as reserve catcher behind

Mike Guerra Fermín "Mike" Guerra Romero (October 11, 1912 – October 9, 1992) was a Cuban professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators (1937; 1944–46; 1951), Philadelphia Athletics (1947–50) and ...

. On September 23,

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

Astroth had 6

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 ...

during the 6th inning of a game against the Washington Senators when, he hit a grand slam home run then followed with a two-run single later in the inning. In

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, Astroth had a career-high 30 runs scored in 64 games played. The following season, he posted his highest RBI total with 36 and in addition his high in home runs was five in the 1955 season. Athletics pitcher

Bobby Shantz Robert Clayton Shantz (born September 26, 1925) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , and won the 1952 American League Most Valuable Player Award as a ...

won 24 games in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

with Astroth as his catcher for 23 of the 24 games. Shantz cited Astroth as one of the biggest reasons for his success that year. Astroth led the

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 ...

catchers in

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

with a 72.1% caught stealing percentage and 13 double plays. On May 16,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

, Astroth's contract was purchased from the Kansas City Athletics by the

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 ...

of the Pacific Coast League. After one season in San Diego, he played two more seasons in the minor leagues for the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

of the International League. He played in his final professional baseball game in 1958 at the age of 35.

Career statistics

In a ten-year major league career, Astroth played in 544 games, accumulating 401 hits in 1,579

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for a .254 career batting average along with 13 home runs, 156 runs batted in and a .334 on-base percentage. He ended his career with a .987 fielding percentage. Astroth played in more than 100 games in two seasons, 1952 and 1955.

Personal life and death

After his baseball career, Astroth ran two family businesses—a bowling alley and a dairy bar—before working for General Copper and Brass in

Collingdale, Pennsylvania Collingdale is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 8,908, at the 2020 census. Local governance Donna Matteo-Spadea is the current mayor of Collingdale. Frank Kelly served twelve consecutive four-year terms as Mayor of ...

. He died on May 3, 2013 in Boca Raton, Florida at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Astroth, Joe 1922 births 2013 deaths United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II Baseball players from Illinois Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Illinois Fighting Illini baseball players Kansas City Athletics players Lancaster Red Roses players Major League Baseball catchers Memphis Chickasaws players People from Wood River, Illinois Philadelphia Athletics players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Savannah Indians players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players

Early life

Baseball career

Career statistics

Personal life and death

See also

References