Milton Arnold "Mickey" Haefner (October 9, 1912 – January 3, 1995) was an American

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 ...

-throwing

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

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 played eight seasons 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), ...

between and , six and a half of them with the Washington Senators (1943–), later joining 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 ...

(1949–1950) and

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 ...

(1950). He was known as one of four knuckleball hurlers who were regular

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

s for the 1945 Senators, the last Washington team to seriously contend for the

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. He was born in

Lenzburg, Illinois Lenzburg is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA. The population was 521 at the 2010 census. Geography Lenzburg is located at . According to the 2010 census, Lenzburg has a total area of , of which (or 91.82%) is land and (or 8.18%) is ...

, and was listed as tall and , leading to his baseball moniker, ''Itsy-Bitsy.''

Baseball career

Haefner's

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career did not begin until 1937, when he was 24. After five straight seasons of double-digit victories in minor league baseball, he was acquired by Washington in February 1943. As a

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 ...

, he worked in 36

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, with 13 starts, and put up an 11–5 won–lost record and a 2.29

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 ...

in 165

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. He was third in the Junior Circuit in ERA and fourth in

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

(.688), while the Senators ended up second in the league to 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 ...

—albeit by a distant, 13-game margin. His workload increased in , the first of three straight seasons in which he exceeded more than 225 innings pitched. In , knuckleball aces Haefner, Dutch Leonard,

Johnny Niggeling John Arnold Niggeling (July 10, 1903 – September 16, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 184 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of nine seasons (–) with the Boston Bees / Braves, Cincinnati Reds ...

and

Roger Wolff Roger Francis Wolff (April 10, 1911 – March 23, 1994) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed knuckleball pitcher, he appeared in 182 games pitched, games over all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball between ...

started 111 of the Senators' 154 games and accounted for 60 of the club's 87 victories, as Washington contended for the American League title up until the closing day of the season, before finishing 1 lengths behind the

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 ...

. Haefner went 16–14 (3.47) with 19

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and three saves. In , the first

postwar In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

season with many military veterans returning to major league service, Haefner continued his effective pitching, winning 14 games in 25 decisions and posting a 2.85 earned run average with 17 complete games. He won ten more games in before his performance declined to a poor 15–32 record over his final three

MLB 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), ...

seasons. However, on May 10, 1949, against the defending

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Indians at

Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Stadium, commonly known as Municipal Stadium, Lakefront Stadium or Cleveland Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball an ...

, Haefner threw a complete game one-hitter for a 1–0 victory. Only

Baseball Hall of Fame 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-r ...

Larry Doby Lawrence Eugene Doby (December 13, 1923 – June 18, 2003) was an American professional baseball player in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball (MLB) who was the second black player to break baseball's color barrier and the first black pl ...

's first-inning

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prevented Haefner from throwing a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

. A little over two months later, on July 21, the Senators sold his contract to the White Sox. In eight seasons and 261 career games pitched, Haefner compiled a 78–91 record with an earned run average of 3.50. He had 91 complete games, 13

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 ...

and 13 saves. Haefner allowed 1,414 hits and 577

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 508

strikeout 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 deno ...

s, in 1,466 MLB innings pitched.

1946 exhibition game

Although never formally selected to an All-Star team, Haefner was part of a select American League squad that played a "scrimmage" against the league champion

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 ...

prior to the

1946 World Series The 1946 World Series was played in October 1946 between the St. Louis Cardinals (representing the National League) and the Boston Red Sox (representing the American League). This was the Red Sox's first appearance in a World Series since their c ...

. The Red Sox were idle while 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 ...

and

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 ...

engaged in the best-of-three

1946 National League tie-breaker series The 1946 National League tie-breaker series was a best-of-three playoff series that extended Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1946 regular season to decide the winner of the National League (NL) pennant. The games were played on October 1 and Octo ...

to determine the championship of the Senior Circuit. Haefner earned a measure of notoriety when, during the tune-up exhibition game at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

on October 1, he accidentally plunked Red Sox superstar

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

on the elbow with an errant knuckleball.Olbermann, Keith (2012): "So, Are We Sure About These Tigers' Scrimmages?" ''Baseball Nerd,'' MLB.com
/ref> The injured Williams was ineffective in the ensuing World Series,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

only .200 with five singles, as the underdog Cardinals defeated Boston in seven games. Mickey Haefner's professional career ended in 1951, ironically in the Red Sox' minor-league system, after 15 seasons. He died in

New Athens, Illinois ::''See also Athens, Illinois and Athens (disambiguation) for more places called "Athens".'' New Athens () is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. Based upon common usage, the 'A' is always sounded with a long vowel, rather t ...

, the hometown of Hall of Fame

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 wit ...

, at age 82 on January 3, 1995.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haefner, Mickey 1912 births 1995 deaths Birmingham Barons players Boston Braves players Chicago White Sox players DeLand Red Hats players Knuckleball pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Baseball players from St. Clair County, Illinois Seattle Rainiers players Tallahassee Capitals players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players