James Anthony Tobin (December 27, 1912 – May 19, 1969), known as "Abba Dabba", 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 ...
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), ...
with 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 ...
,
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 it ...
/
Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
and
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 ...
from 1937 to 1945. With the Boston Braves in 1944, he pitched two no-hitters, although one of them was five innings, which was considered a no-hitter until 1991 when the MLB officially defined a no-hitter as having to be nine innings or longer.
Professional baseball career
Tobin was born in Oakland, California, where the hometown
Oakland Oaks of the
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...
picked him up. They sent him to their Bisbee-Douglas farm team in the
Arizona–Texas League
The Arizona–Texas League was a Class D level American minor league baseball league that existed for nine seasons, from 1931–32, 1937–41, 1947–50 and 1952-54. In 1951, the Arizona-Texas loop merged with the Sunset League (based primarily ...
. The
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 ...
signed him shortly thereafter. He played for them in Binghamton and Wheeling in 1933 and 1934. The Yankees sent him back to Oakland in 1935, where he compiled an 11–8 record before tearing the cartilage in his left knee. Appendicitis kept him off the Yankee roster the following year, and he went 16–8 for the Oaks.
Rather than return to the Oaks in 1937, he arranged a deal with 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 whom he made his major league debut on April 30, 1937.
In 1940, Tobin joined the
Boston Braves
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 it ...
. On May 13, 1942, he became the only pitcher in modern major-league history to hit three home runs in one game (
Guy Hecker
Guy Jackson Hecker (April 3, 1856 – December 3, 1938) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was born in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. His debut game took place on May 2, 1882. His final game took place on September 30, 1890. Dur ...
hit three homers in a game in the 19th century). He finished the 1942 season with 12 wins and a league leading 21 losses and allowed a league leading 20 home runs to opposing batters. He also hit 6 home runs that year as a pitcher and pinch-hitter.
Still with the Braves in 1944, Tobin began throwing a
knuckleball
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...
, and that season he threw his two no-hitters. The first was April 27, 1944, when he beat the
Brooklyn Dodgers
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
2–0. The second was a five-inning game on June 22, 1944, in which the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
fell 7–0 (officially, this game is no longer considered a true no-hitter, as it lasted fewer than nine innings).
In another interesting event in 1944, Tobin drew a walk against
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 ...
pitcher
Clyde Shoun
Clyde Mitchell Shoun (March 20, 1912 – March 20, 1968) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, he was born in Mountain City, Tennessee, and known as "Hardrock", due to his fastball. He was the younger brother of pro ...
in the third inning of what would otherwise have been a perfect game for Shoun (who settled instead for a no-hitter).
[
Tobin was with the Tigers in 1945, when they won the American League pennant and the ]World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
. He pitched in Game 1 of the series, on October 3, which was his final major league game.
He was back in the Pacific Coast League the following year, pitching for the Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a Minor League Baseball team in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1906 and 1919 to 19 ...
and the San Francisco Seals. He was released in 1947, but the Oaks re-signed him in August 1948. That year he pitched the last out against the Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began pl ...
in a game that clinched the pennant for the Oaks.
Tobin was the brother of 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 ...
third baseman Jackie Tobin
John Patrick Tobin (January 8, 1921 – January 18, 1982) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 84 games, primarily as a third baseman, during his one season in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox. Born in Oaklan ...
.
Career statistics
While Tobin played only one major league game at a position other than pitcher -- in 1943, when he played first base -- he pinch-hit over 100 times in his major league career. The fine-hitting hurler batted .230/.303/.345 in the majors. He totaled 35 doubles, 17 homers and 102 RBI in 796 at-bats. He also drew 80 walks.
Tobin went 105–112 in the majors with a 3.44 ERA. He completed 156 of 227 career starts and led the league in complete games twice in 1942 and again in 1944 with 28 games completed each season. In 1942 workhorse Tobin lead the league in innings pitched with 287. Although not leading the league, he pitched 299 innings in 1944
In the minors, Tobin won 81 games and lost 51.
See also
*
* List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. In addition, all no-hitters that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games are listed, although they are no ...
References
External links
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Jim
1912 births
1969 deaths
Major League Baseball pitchers
Pittsburgh Pirates players
Boston Bees players
Boston Braves players
Detroit Tigers players
Baseball players from Oakland, California