Nick Altrock
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Nicholas Altrock (September 15, 1876 - January 20, 1965) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Louisville Colonels (1898), Boston Americans (1902-03), Chicago White Sox (1903-09) and Washington Senators (1909, 1912-15, 1918-19, 1924, 1931, 1933).
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Altrock was one of the better pitchers in baseball for a brief period from 1904 to 1906 with the White Sox. He was instrumental in the White Sox World Series championship in 1906, going 20-13 with a 2.06 ERA in the regular season and 1-1 with a Series-best 1.00 ERA against the Chicago Cubs.
An arm injury after 1906 ruined his career, but he hung on with the White Sox and Senators until 1924, though he pitched very little after 1908 and made sporadic pinch-hitting appearances after that, including one in 1933 at 56 years of age.
Altrock became a coach for the Senators in 1912 and remained on the staff until 1953. During that time, he was noted for his antics in the coaching box and teamed with Al Schacht, the "Clown Prince of Baseball," for a dozen years to perform comedy routines on baseball fields in the days before official mascots. Schacht and Altrock also took their antics to the vaudeville stage where they appeared in a comedey routine.[1]
Altrock was the last player to have played major league baseball in the 19th century to play in a game. He was the second oldest pitcher to ever play Major League Baseball when he played his last season in 1933.
Altrock died at age 88 in Washington, D.C.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- Member of 1903 World Series Champion Boston Americans team.
- Member of 1906 World Series Champion Chicago White Sox team.
- Member of 1924 World Series Champion Washington Senators team.
- Ranks 61st on MLB Career ERA List (2.65).
- Ranks 47th on MLB Career WHIP List (1.141).
- Ranks 31st on MLB Career Walks/9IP List (1.62).
- Chicago White Sox Career Walks/9IP Leader (1.49).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Laurie, Joe, Jr. Vaudeville: From the Honky-tonks to the Palace. New York: Henry Holt, 1953. p. 127.
[edit] Sources
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
