Lincoln William "Link" Wasem (January 30, 1911 – March 6, 1979) was an American professional player. Wasem played for the

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 ...

in and 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 Nor ...

from 1933 to 1937. He batted and threw right-handed.

Early life and career

Wasem was born on January 30, 1911, in Birmingham, Ohio. Growing up, he played both baseball and basketball and was named to a

Northwest Ohio Northwest Ohio, or Northwestern Ohio, consists of multiple counties in the northwestern corner of the US state of Ohio. This area borders Lake Erie, Southeast Michigan, and northeastern Indiana. Some areas are also considered the Black Swamp are ...

all-star basketball team. He began his career with the

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a consid ...

Wakeman Red Caps of

Wakeman, Ohio Wakeman is a village in Huron County, Ohio, United States, along the Vermilion River. Its namesake was Jesup Wakeman, an early settler of Fairfield County, Connecticut, who was involved in western land speculation between 1800 and 1840. The p ...

, playing for the club in 1930 and 1931.

Minor leagues

In October 1932, he was scouted and signed by

Columbus Red Birds The Columbus Red Birds were a top-level minor league baseball team that played in Columbus, Ohio, in the American Association from 1931 through 1954. The Columbus club, a member of the Association continuously since 1902, was previously known as ...

' owner

Larry MacPhail Leland Stanford "Larry" MacPhail Sr. (February 3, 1890 – October 1, 1975) was an American lawyer and an executive in Major League Baseball. He served as a high-ranking executive, including club president and general manager, with the Cincinn ...

for Columbus' major league affiliate, the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, and reported to the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

of the Western League in April 1933. After losing his roster spot to

Herb Bremer Herbert Frederick Bremer (October 25, 1913 – November 28, 1979) was an American professional baseball player whose career included 70 games in Major League Baseball, primarily as a catcher, for the – St. Louis Cardinals.Joplin Miners The Joplin Miners was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Joplin, Missouri that played for 49 seasons between 1901 and 1954. Baseball Hall of Fame Inductees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Herzog played for Joplin. Professional baseba ...

in late April. Wasem spent the beginning of the 1933 season backing up veteran catcher Don Benn, but took over the starting role when Benn was released. He ultimately played in 86 games for Joplin in 1933, finishing the year with 80 hits and a .292

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. In November 1933, his contract was purchased by 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 Fiel ...

. In Buffalo, he took catching and

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

lessons from future

Baseball Hall of Famer The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

and Bisons' manager

Ray Schalk Raymond William Schalk (August 12, 1892 – May 19, 1970) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and scout. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox for the majority of his career. Known f ...

. He was optioned to the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different American leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playing in the American Basketball ...

for outfielder Jake Plummer in late-May 1934, but was returned to the Bisons on July 20. He batted .323 for Buffalo and, after a contract holdout in the offseason, resigned with the club in early-March 1935. In late-August, he married Marguerite Rickers at St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo and the couple were given a silver service set by Bisons' players and management before a game on August 26. He regressed to a .207 batting average in 63 games in 1935, but resigned for the 1936 season in late-February. Wasem was again optioned to Wilkes-Barre on May 19, where he transitioned and became a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. After hitting .332 with 12 home runs in 77 games with Wilkes-Barre, the Bisons recalled Wasem on August 12.

Boston Bees

Before the 1937 began, Wasem demanded that he be traded or sold and refused to report to Buffalo. In early April, the Bisons sold him to the

. He made his major league debut on May 5 against the

, taking over for catcher

Al Lopez AL, Al, Ål or al may stand for: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Al (''Aladdin'') or Aladdin, the main character in Disney's ''Aladdin'' media * Al (''EastEnders''), a minor character in the British soap opera * Al (''Fullmetal ...

on defense in the top of the sixth inning. He was removed for pinch hitter

Beauty McGowan Frank Bernard "Beauty" McGowan (November 8, 1901 – May 6, 1982) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder who appeared in 375 games over five seasons (1922–1923; 1928–1929; 1937) in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphi ...

in the bottom of the seventh inning without recording an at bat. The Bees' claim on Wasem was originally scheduled to end on May 15, but Buffalo agreed to extend it to June 1. He appeared in one final game with Boston on May 23 against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, taking over for Lopez in the seventh inning and flying out against

Charlie Root Charles Henry "Chinski" Root (March 17, 1899 – November 5, 1970) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago Cubs between 1923 and 1941. Root batted and threw right-handed. He holds the club record f ...

for the final out of the game in what would be his only career at bat.

Return to minor leagues

Boston retained Wasem's contract for the remainder of the 1937 season, and spent the remainder of the year with the club's

New York–Pennsylvania League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

affiliate, the

Scranton Miners The Scranton Miners, known as the Scranton Apollos from 1970 to 1977, were a professional basketball team based in Scranton, Pennsylvania that was a member of the American Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association. Arthur Pacht ...

. In January, his contract was sold to the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles-based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars (192 ...

in 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 ...

. He never appeared in a regular season game for Hollywood, and instead returned to the semi-professional Wakeman Red Caps.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasem, Link 1911 births 1979 deaths Major League Baseball catchers Boston Bees players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Joplin Miners players Scranton Miners players Wilkes-Barre Barons players Baseball players from Ohio