Edward Frank "Moe" Burtschy (April 18, 1922 – May 2, 2004) was an American right-handed

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

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), ...

(

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), ...

) who played for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1950, 1951, 1954–56). He was listed as tall and . He was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. After graduating from high school in 1940, Burtschy signed a

minor league 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 ...

contract, but he joined the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

in September 1940 and served aboard the . Following his military service, he returned to the minors in 1946, and, on June 17,

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, he made his debut in 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 ...

with the Athletics. Burtschy made the only

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

of his MLB career that year on August 1 against 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 ...

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

; he allowed seven

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and six

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s in 2

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 ...

, and absorbed the 8–1 defeat, his only big-league decision of the 1950 season. He missed much of the 1951 season with elbow surgery, and was assigned to Triple-A for all of 1952 and 1953. He then spent all of with the Athletics, his only full year in the majors. In 46

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

, tied for fifth in the American League, Burtschy won five, lost four, and notched four saves for the 54th and last Philadelphia Athletics team. In one unusual appearance, on June 26, 1954, Burtschy replaced

Dutch Romberger Allen Isaiah "Dutch" Romberger (May 26, 1927 – May 26, 1983) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player. The right-handed pitcher had a 13-season career (1948–59; 1961) in minor league baseball, but made only ten games pit ...

in the tenth inning of an Athletics game against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. He walked Chuck Diering intentionally to load the bases. He then pitched wildly to Gil Coan which scored

Dick Kryhoski Richard David Kryhoski (March 24, 1925 – April 10, 2007) was an American professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different franchises between 1949 and 1955. Listed at and , he batted and threw lef ...

with the winning run. After two victories in seven relief stints in April and early May, Burtschy was optioned to the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

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 ...

by the relocated

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

in May , and he posted an effective 3.02

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 29 games to earn another audition with parent Kansas City for . He put up a 3–1 record in 21 games during the season's early weeks, hurling for a second-division team. On May 29, 1956, he pitched two innings of hitless relief against the White Sox, then fell apart in the 12th, yielding three walks and a sacrifice to give Chicago a 7–4 win. His last appearance for the Athletics came on June 9; despite facing the minimum three batters and holding Baltimore off the scoreboard, he allowed two hits, but each Oriole baserunner was erased

caught stealing In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

on throws from Athletics'

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

Joe Ginsberg Myron Nathan "Joe" Ginsberg (October 11, 1926 – November 2, 2012) was an American professional baseball player. A catcher, he played for seven Major League Baseball teams: the Detroit Tigers (1948 and 1950–53), Cleveland Indians (1953–54), K ...

. Five days later, he was traded with

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Bill Renna William Beneditto Renna (October 14, 1924 – June 19, 2014) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball, playing mainly as a right fielder for four teams in part of five seasons spanning –. Listed at , , Renna batted and threw right-handed. Nic ...

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 ...

in a four-player deal that brought veteran

first baseman 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 ...

Eddie Robinson back to the Athletics. The Yankees sent Burtschy back to Triple-A, where he played for two years before retiring from the game. In his 90-game MLB career, Burtschy compiled a 10–6 record, with 97

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, a 4.71

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

, and four saves in 185

. After retiring, he worked as a freight salesman in the trucking industry. In November 1999 Burtschy joined

Lou Limmer Louis Limmer (March 10, 1925 – April 1, 2007) was a Major League Baseball player in 1951 and 1954 for the Philadelphia Athletics. Limmer was born in the Bronx, New York, and was Jewish. He graduated from Manhattan High School of Aviation in ...

Gus Zernial Gus Edward Zernial (June 27, 1923 – January 20, 2011) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball, most notably for the Philadelphia Athletics with whom he remained when they moved west a ...

, Forrest "Spook" Jacobs,

Joe Astroth Joseph Henry Astroth (September 1, 1922 – May 3, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and remained with the team when they moved wes ...

Art Ditmar Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of what ...

and

Joe DeMaestri Joseph Paul DeMaestri (December 9, 1928 – August 26, 2016), nicknamed "Froggy", was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox (1951), St. Louis Browns (1952), Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1953� ...

for a reunion of members of the 1954 Philadelphia Athletics. The event was organized by the Philadelphia Athletics Historical Society.''A's players return for reunion and collectors show'',

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton, north of Center City, Philadelphia, southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City. As of the 2020 cen ...

Intelligencer Record, October 27, 1999, Page 88. Moe Burtschy died of heart failure in

Delhi Township, Ohio Delhi Township �dɛl.haɪis one of the twelve townships of Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 census found 29,510 people in the township. It is the only Delhi Township statewide. History The area of modern-day Delhi Township was ...

at the age of 82.

References

External links

Moe Burtschy
- Baseballbiography.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Burtschy, Moe 1922 births 2004 deaths Anniston Rams players Baseball players from Cincinnati Birmingham Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Columbia Reds players Columbus Jets players Dayton Ducks players Denver Bears players Kansas City Athletics players Lincoln A's players Major League Baseball pitchers Ottawa A's players Philadelphia Athletics players Portland Beavers players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Savannah Indians players United States Navy personnel of World War II