Ruth Matlack

agrati Agrati was an Italian motorcycle company who built Scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds between 1958 and 1965. In 1961 Agrati was merged with Garelli Motorcycles, and from 1965 all bikes were produced under the Garelli name.Erwin Tragatsch, “ ...

(January 13, 1931 - August 11, 2017) was an

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

player. Listed a 5' 2", 127 lb., she batted and threw left handed.All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Official Website
/ref> Ruth Matlack was a more efficient hitter than pitcher during her only season in the league. Born in Cromwell Heights, Pennsylvania, Matlack grew up learning to play baseball from her father. She started to play organized softball while attending eighth grade. After her graduation from Bensalem High School in 1949, she played for a team based in Norristown, where she read about the league in a newspaper and went to a tryout in Allentown. In 1950, she was invited to

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 ...

in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and was assigned to the Fort Wayne Daisies as a pitcher.Madden, W. C. ''The Women of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League: A Biographical Dictionary'' (2005). Matlack was used as a relief pitcher. The left-hander threw a natural

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

and a changeup, but not much of a fastball. In 14 pitching appearances, Matlack posted a 0–4 record with a 3.54 ERA in 61.0 innings of work. But since she had solid plate discipline and good contact skills, she often was used as a reliable

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

, totaling a .361 average with a .477 OBP and driving in two runs, while scoring three times in 21 games. In the playoffs, she had a

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in three at-bats for the second place Daisies. Madden, W. C. (2000) ''All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Record Book''. McFarland & Company. The AAGPBL shipped Matlack to the Kalamazoo Lassies before the 1951 season, but she was feeling homesick and did not want return to the league. Following her baseball career, Matlack worked briefly at a restaurant before becoming a factory supervisor in 1952, staying with that organization in various capacities until her retirement in 1985.Heaphy, Leslie A.; May, Mel Anthony (2006). ''Encyclopedia of women and baseball''. McFarland & Company. In the same year, she married John Sagrati. After retiring, Matlack moved to Quakertown, Pennsylvania, where she golfed, bowled and waterskied. Matlack is part of the AAGPBL permanent display at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum 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 ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

opened in 1988, which is dedicated to the entire league rather than any individual figure. The same year, she gained induction in the Bensalem High School Hall of Fame.Bensalem High School Hall of Fame Inductees
''Bensalem Owls Organization Website.'' Retrieved on April 4, 2017.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matlack, Ruth 1931 births 2017 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League players Baseball players from Bucks County, Pennsylvania People from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania People from Quakertown, Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportswomen