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,

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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'

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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 {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub