John Charles Babich (May 14, 1913 – January 19, 2001) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Modern professional ...
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 ...
. He 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), ...
from 1934 to 1941 for the
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Boston Bees
The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta.
During ...
and
Philadelphia Athletics. Babich was of
Croatian descent.
Babich had his best season in 1940 with the Philadelphia Athletics when he went 14–13 with a 3.73
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 ...
. The Athletics finished the year with a record of 54–100 and a team of ERA of 5.22. Babich also earned five victories against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
that year, one of which took place on September 27 with New York riding an eight-game winning streak.
The Yankees, going for their fifth consecutive
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 ...
pennant, finished two games out of first place.
Babich played his final professional season at the age of 32 for the 1945 Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League and later coached on the team. In Charlie Metro's autobiography, he wrote this of his former Oaks coach: "Johnny Babich, who had pitched for the Athletics and the Dodgers, was a coach. I had a chance to talk to him about the slider or the 'nickel curve.' Supposedly he was the first big league pitcher to throw that pitch. They told me that he had a good one. He didn't last a long time, only five years, in the majors. But he taught that slider to a lot of pitchers. A couple of years later, I managed against him when he managed Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League."
[''Safe by a Mile ''by Charlie Metro, page 115']
References
External links
1913 births
2001 deaths
Baseball players from California
Major League Baseball pitchers
Brooklyn Dodgers players
Boston Bees players
Philadelphia Athletics players
Minor league baseball managers
Globe Bears players
San Francisco Seals (baseball) players
Mission Reds players
Tucson Lizards players
Jersey City Giants players
Hollywood Stars players
Kansas City Blues (baseball) players
Newark Bears (IL) players
Seattle Rainiers players
Oakland Oaks (baseball) players
American people of Croatian descent
Richmond High School (Richmond, California) alumni
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