Guy Jackson Hecker (April 3, 1856 – December 3, 1938) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

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) ...

. He was born in Youngsville, Pennsylvania. His debut game took place on May 2, 1882. His final game took place on September 30, 1890. During his career he played for the Louisville Eclipse/Colonels and Pittsburgh Alleghenys. Hecker is considered by some baseball historians to be the best combination pitcher and hitter to play in the 19th century. He remains as one of the only two pitchers in major League history to hit three

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 is ...

s in one game, alongside Jim Tobin, and the only pitcher to win a batting title. In addition, he is the only pitcher in baseball history to get six hits in a nine-inning game. Hecker was the second pitcher ever in the American Association to pitch a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

. He did this as a rookie with Louisville on September 19, 1882. He narrowly missed becoming the first pitcher in the AA by a week, as his teammate Tony Mullane threw one. He also set a

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...

record of 0.77, which remained the MLB record until 2000, when it was broken by Pedro Martínez' mark of 0.74; yet Hecker's mark remains the rookie record. In 1884, Hecker won the pitching version of the triple crown by compiling 52 wins, a 1.85

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 numb ...

, and 385 strikeouts. In 1886, he won the batting title by hitting .341 for the season. He finished his career in 1890 by managing and playing for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. Hecker died in

Wooster, Ohio Wooster ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Wayne County. Located in northeastern Ohio, the city lies approximately south-southwest of Cleveland, southwest of Akron and west of Canton. The population was 27,232 at ...

, and was buried at Wooster Cemetery.

External links

Article on Hecker
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hecker, Guy 1856 births 1938 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball player-managers Major League Baseball pitchers Louisville Eclipse players Louisville Colonels players Pittsburgh Pirates players Minor league baseball managers Springfield Champion City players Fort Wayne (minor league baseball) players Jacksonville Lunatics players Oil City Oilers players Baseball players from Pennsylvania

See also

External links