Peter Joseph Schneider (August 20, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1914–1918) and New York Yankees (1919). Schneider batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Born in Los Angeles, California, Schneider was a hard-throwing pitcher who struggled with injuries and control problems. At age 18, he made a promising debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1914, pitching a 1–0 shutout against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Despite a 5–14 mark in his rookie season he finished with a 2.92 earned run average. He recorded 14

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in 1915 while posting a 2.48 ERA but led all National League pitchers with 19 losses. His most productive season came in 1917 when he posted career-highs with 20 wins and

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 ...

, but he lost 19 games for the third consecutive year. On Opening Day 1918 against the

, Schneider threw a 1–0, one-hit shutout at

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) an ...

. In July, he pitched a 10–0 one-hitter against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

into the ninth inning, but walked the first six batters. Finally, Cincinnati won 10–9. Schneider pitched briefly for the Yankees in 1919. He injured his arm that season, converted to the outfield, and continued playing in the minor leagues until 1926. In a six-season MLB career, Schneider posted a 59–86 record with a 2.66 ERA in 1274 innings. He recorded 10 shutouts among his 59 victories and had a 0.977

strikeout-to-walk ratio In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted ...

(487-to-498). As a hitter, he had a .221 batting average (96-for-434) with five home runs and 26

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

. From 1919 to 1925, Schneider played for the Vernon Tigers 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 ...

. On May 11, 1923, he set league records by hitting five home runs with 14 RBI in a game, during a 35–11 romp over Salt Lake City. A sixth home run was missed by two feet when he belted a line-drive double off the center field fence. That season, Schneider hit 19 home runs and ranked third in the PCL with a .360 batting average.

Prison term

On February 16, 1935, Schneider became involved in a fight with a man named Gustave Schnabel at a bar in Los Angeles where Schnabel was employed. Schneider accused Schnabel of making improper advances towards his wife. The two men apparently resolved their differences and left together when the fight resumed, whereupon Schnabel collapsed after being hit by Schneider, fracturing his skull, leading to his death. Schneider was convicted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

and sentenced up to ten years in

San Quentin State Prison San Quentin State Prison (SQ) is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County. Opened in July 1852, San Quentin is the ...

. While incarcerated, he managed the prison's baseball team.

Death

Schneider died in Los Angeles at the age of 61.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Pete 1895 births 1957 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players New York Yankees players Vernon Tigers players Baseball players from Los Angeles