Louis Henry Fiene (December 29, 1884 – December 22, 1964) was a

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 ...

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), ...

. He played for 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 p ...

from 1906 to 1909."Lou Fiene Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-26.

Biography

Fiene was born in

Fort Dodge, Iowa Fort Dodge is a city in, and the county seat of, Webster County, Iowa, United States, along the Des Moines River. The population was 24,871 in the 2020 census, a decrease from 25,136 in 2000. Fort Dodge is a major commercial center for North Ce ...

. Known as "Big Finn," he started his professional baseball career in 1904. That season, he led the

Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League The Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League was a Minor League Baseball organization that operated for the better part of 60 seasons, with teams based in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin. The league began pla ...

in wins (23) and

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 ...

(2.45). He joined 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 ...

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, and in 1905, he went 11–13."Lou Fiene Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-26. Fiene was then purchased by the White Sox. In

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

of 1906, he claimed to have mastered the

spitball A spitball is an illegal baseball pitch in which the ball has been altered by the application of a foreign substance such as saliva or petroleum jelly. This technique alters the wind resistance and weight on one side of the ball, causing it to m ...

pitch. He pitched in just six games that season, going 1–1, while Chicago won 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 ...

. Fiene didn't pitch much in 1907, either. He spent most of 1908 back in the American Association with the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

, and he won 20 games. That performance earned him a roster spot on the White Sox again. In 1909, he pitched a career-high 72 innings in the major leagues and went 2–5. In 1910, Fiene went back to Minneapolis and compiled a record of 15–6. He hurt his arm after that"There is Gratitude in Baseball - Fiene's Case Proves It"
''The Milwaukee Journal'', April 19, 1914, p. 23. and ended up playing at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and in the

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 a ...

for a few years. Fiene died in

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

, at the age of 79.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiene, Lou 1884 births 1964 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago White Sox players Cedar Rapids Rabbits players Toledo Mud Hens players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Mobile Sea Gulls players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Baseball players from Iowa Sportspeople from Fort Dodge, Iowa