Merritt Patrick "Sugar" Cain (April 5, 1907 – April 3, 1975) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

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 worked in 178 games in the major leagues as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics (–),

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1935–) and

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 ...

(1936–). The native of Macon, Georgia, batted left-handed and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Over three-quarters of Cain's

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), ...

appearances came as a starting pitcher, and during his career, he amassed 58 complete games and two

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 ...

. Although his won–lost record was only 53–60 ( .469) with an

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 ...

of 4.83, he posted seasons of 13 () and 15 (1936) wins. However, Cain exhibited poor control of his repertoire, allowing more than 100 bases on balls for three straight seasons (1933–1935), leading the American League in walks issued (123) in 1935, and averaging 5.2 walks per nine innings pitched over his big-league career. Altogether, in 987 innings, Cain allowed 1,119 hits and 569 bases on balls, with 279 strikeouts. His pitching career ended in the

minor leagues 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 No ...

in 1943, although he returned to the game to manage the Vidalia-Lyons Twins in the Class D

Georgia State League The Georgia State League was an American Class D minor league in professional baseball that existed in 1906, 1914, 1920–1921 and 1948–1956. During its last incarnation, it existed alongside two nearby Class D circuits, the Georgia–Florida Le ...

for part of the 1948 campaign. He died in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

on April 3, 1975, only two days before his 68th birthday.

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* 1907 births 1975 deaths Anniston Rams players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Birmingham Barons players Carrollton Champs players Chicago White Sox players Harrisburg Senators players Knoxville Smokies players Major League Baseball pitchers Minor league baseball managers Philadelphia Athletics players St. Louis Browns players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Sportspeople from Macon, Georgia {{US-baseball-pitcher-1900s-stub