Peter Joseph Coscarart (June 16, 1913 – July 24, 2002) was a second baseman and

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 ...

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 from 1938 through 1946 for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Listed at 5' 11" , 175 lb. , Coscarart batted and threw right-handed. He was born in

Escondido, California Escondido is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San Diego County. It has a population of 151,038 as of the 2020 census. Et ...

. His older brother, Joe Coscarart, was an infielder who played for the Boston Braves from 1935 to 1936. Coscarart was a graduate of

Escondido High School Escondido High School (EHS) is one of three high schools in the Escondido Union High School District located in Escondido, California. Escondido High received a California Distinguished School award in 2007. History The first building to house E ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where the baseball field was named after him. He later was signed by the Dodgers, becoming the first big leaguer coming out of

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

Professional career

Considered the top defensive second baseman in the

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 ...

in 1939, Coscarart finished that season with a .277

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 22 doubles and 10 stolen bases. He followed with an

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

appearance the next year, while hitting 24 doubles with career-highs 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 (9),

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(58) and games played (143).Statistics and History
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on January 31, 2016. Coscarart also was a member of the Brooklyn team that faced the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in the 1941 World Series, but as his hitting declined, he was replaced by Billy Herman and then traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 1942 season. In his first year with Pittsburgh, Coscarart started at shortstop and switched to second base for the next three seasons. In 1944 he hit .264 with 30 doubles and 10 stolen bases in 139 games and also posted career-numbers in hits (146) and doubles (30). He then was named to the National League All-Star team but did not appear in the game. In a postwar era that foretold the sometimes rancorous relationship between major league players and owners, Coscarart was ahead of his time as he strongly supported efforts in 1946 to form a players union that could negotiate pension benefits. He voted, along with a minority of his Pirates teammates, to

strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

, but he found himself out of the major leagues, sold to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

of the Pacific Coast League. Although a pension plan was adopted in 1947, it was too late for Coscarart, who never gave up fighting for the benefits he believed he deserved.Obituary
''Amarillo Globe News''. Retrieved on January 31, 2016.

Late years

Following his baseball career, Coscarart scouted for the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees. While at Minnesota, he signed

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

. He later worked in

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for 30 years. In 1996, Coscarart was inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame. The same year, he joined

Frank Crosetti Frank Peter Joseph Crosetti (October 4, 1910 – February 11, 2002) was an American baseball shortstop. Nicknamed "The Crow", he spent his entire seventeen-year Major League Baseball playing career with the New York Yankees before becoming a coac ...

, Dolph Camilli,

Al Gionfriddo Albert Francis Gionfriddo (March 8, 1922 – March 14, 2003) was an American professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder. Career Gionfriddo made his major league debut on September 23, at the age of 22 with ...

, and 72 other players from his era, in suing major league baseball for lost benefits and rights of players to receive royalties for use of their images and memorabilia without the players consent. "There's no way of proving it, but I've always felt I was cheated", Coscarart said in an interview with ''

The San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

''. A California Appeals Court ruled against the players in December 2001 as Coscarart was informed by Commissioner

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as ...

that he was not entitled to $10,000 in annual pension benefits because of his suit against major league baseball. But many other pre-1947 major leaguers eventually received their benefits, in no small part thanks to Coscarart's efforts. After that, he received widespread media exposure in his appeals to Selig, but sympathy and support didn't translate into success.They're waiting for us to die
''USA Today''. Retrieved on January 31, 2016. A few months later, Coscarart died in 2002 of an

aneurysm An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus ( ...

in his home of Escondido, California at the age of 89.

Sources

External links

Baseball AlmanacPete Coscarart
- Baseballbiography.com

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coscarart, Pete 1913 births 2002 deaths American people of Basque descent Baseball players from California Brooklyn Dodgers players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Minnesota Twins scouts Nashville Vols players National League All-Stars Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Yankees scouts Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players Sacramento Solons players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Diego State Aztecs baseball players San Diego State University alumni Sportspeople from Escondido, California St. Joseph Saints players Yakima Bears players Burials at Oak Hill Memorial Park (Escondido)