Jack Houston Rothrock (March 14, 1905 – February 2, 1980) was a utility player 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), ...

who played with four teams between the 1925 and 1937 seasons. Listed at , 165 lb., Rothrock was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. He was born in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. Rothrock was a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

hitter and aggressive baserunner. He entered the majors in 1925 with the

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 eigh ...

, playing with them through the 1932 midseason before 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 ...

(1932),

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 ha ...

(1934–1935) and Philadelphia Athletics (1935, 1937). In 1927 he was considered in the American League MVP vote, then in 1928 played all nine positions, plus pinch-hitting and pinch-running duties. He became just the second

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 ...

player ever to play all nine positions in one season. Rothrock hit a career-high .300 with 23 stolen bases for the 1929 Red Sox, then in 1933 hit .278 with 39

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

s and a .343 on-base percentage. His most productive season came with the 1934

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

champions Cardinals, when he posted career-numbers in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (11), runs (106), and RBI (72), while hitting .284 with a .336 OBP and leading the league with 154 games played. He also led the victorious Cardinals with six RBI in the

1934 World Series The 1934 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1934 season. The 31st edition of the World Series, it matched the St. Louis Cardinals against the Detroit Tigers. The Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" won in seven gam ...

. In an 11-season career, Rothrock was a .276 hitter (924-for-3350) with 28 home runs and 327 RBI in 1014 games, including 498 runs, 162 doubles, 35 triples, 75 stolen bases, and a .336 OBP. In 868 fielding appearances, he played at

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

(194),

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

(138), right field (311),

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

(78), second base (63),

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

(48) and first base (38), as well as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

(1) and

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 ...

(1). Rothrock died at the age of 74 in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 ce ...

External links

Jack Rothrock
- Baseballbiography.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rothrock, Jack Boston Red Sox players Chicago White Sox players Philadelphia Athletics players St. Louis Cardinals players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers Baseball players from Long Beach, California Sportspeople from Long Beach, California 1905 births 1980 deaths Arkansas City Osages players Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni Rochester Tribe players Columbus Red Birds players Hollywood Stars players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players San Bernardino Stars players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players