John Richard Joseph Hutchings (April 14, 1916 – April 27, 1963) 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 ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

, 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 worked in 155 Major League games, mostly 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, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

, for the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves during the 1940s. The native of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

stood tall and weighed .

Baseball career

Cincinnati Reds

Hutchings' professional career began in 1935 and he reached the Majors after winning 22 games in 1939 for the Pensacola Pilots in the Class B

Southeastern League The Southeastern League was the name of four separate baseball leagues in minor league baseball which operated in the Southeastern and South Central United States in numerous seasons between 1897 and 2003. Two of these leagues were associated wit ...

. As a 1940

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 ...

playing for the defending

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 ...

champion Cincinnati Reds, he appeared in 19 games, including four starting assignments, for a team that ultimately won the 1940 world championship. Hutchings started one of the most tragic games in Cincinnati club history, the second game of a doubleheader on August 3, 1940, in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, against the "Bees" (the Braves' official name from 1936–40). Hutchings lasted only 1 innings of the nightcap, and Boston won, 5–2, for a split of the twin bill. But the result of the game proved insignificant in light of the off-field misfortune that beset the Cincinnati team. Willard Hershberger, temporarily the Reds' starting

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 ...

due to injury, had not reported to the

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

for the day's doubleheader and stayed behind in his hotel room. During that second game, the Reds learned that Hershberger, despondent over what he perceived as his poor play, had committed suicide earlier that afternoon. Hutchings worked in six more games during the regular season, and was on the Reds' roster for the

1940 World Series The 1940 World Series matched the Cincinnati Reds against the Detroit Tigers, with the Reds winning a closely contested seven-game series. The victory secured the Reds the second championship in their franchise history and came 21 years after th ...

against the Detroit Tigers. He appeared in the eighth inning of Game 5, an 8–0 Detroit victory, and allowed two hits, a

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 str ...

, and one

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

. But the Reds went on to win the Series in seven games for their second Major League Baseball championship.

Boston Braves

On June 12, 1941, the Reds traded Hutchings to the Braves for veteran

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

and future Baseball Hall of Fame member

Lloyd Waner Lloyd James Waner (March 16, 1906 – July 22, 1982), nicknamed "Little Poison", was a Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. His small stature at and 132 lb (68 kg)

. Hutchings lost six of his seven decisions for the second-division Braves in 1941 and then was sent to the

minor-league 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 ...

Indianapolis Indians 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 ...

during 1942. Hutchings would become a stalwart member of the Indianapolis team, pitching for the Indians for eight seasons between 1942 and 1951, and compiling a win–loss mark of 59–37. He also returned to the Majors with the Braves during 1944, near the height of the World War II manpower shortage. In his best MLB season, 1945 for Boston, he appeared in a team-high 57 games, 45 in relief and 12 as a starter. He won seven games and lost six, with three saves, three complete games and two

shutouts 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 ...

. He also led the National League in home runs allowed with 21, including Hall of Famer

Mel Ott Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed an ...

's 500th blast on August 2. Hutchings returned to the Indianapolis Indians in April 1946. During his Major League career, he allowed 474 hits and 180 bases on balls in 471 innings pitched; he

struck out 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 denote ...

212. After his active career ended, he managed in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

' farm system and coached for and briefly managed (in 1960) the Indianapolis Indians. He died in Indianapolis of

uremia Uremia is the term for high levels of urea in the blood. Urea is one of the primary components of urine. It can be defined as an excess of amino acid and protein metabolism end products, such as urea and creatinine, in the blood that would be no ...

at the age of 47.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchings, Johnny 1916 births 1963 deaths Baseball players from Chicago Baseball players from Indianapolis Birmingham Barons players Boston Braves players Burials in Indiana Cincinnati Reds players Clinton C-Sox players Deaths from kidney failure Indianapolis Indians managers Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball pitchers Pensacola Pilots players Peoria Tractors players Portsmouth Cubs players