Hank McDonald

Hank McDonald was a pitcher for the Athletics and Browns in 1931 and 1933.

Henry Monroe McDonald was born January 16, 1911, in Santa Monica, California, the second child of Arnold McDonald and Nora Behen McDonald. In the 1920 census the family lived at 1538 18^th St. in Santa Monica, in a house they owned outright. Arnold, 37, was a machinist in a brickyard who was born in California, as were both his parents; Nora was 34 and was born in Louisiana, as was her mother, while her father was born in Ireland. Daughter Mabel was 11 and Henry was nine.

Hank grew to be quite large, and he was a star pitcher at Santa Monica High, class of ’29. He got a mention in the Van Nuys News on May 17, 1929, which reported that St. Louis Browns scout W.E. Butler “stated that the Browns are also after ‘Hank’ McDonald, star twirler at Santa Monica high school.” But instead Hank signed with the Portland Ducks (or Beavers, or Beaver-Ducks) of the Pacific Coast League. He made his debut with them on July 17, then pitched again two days later. On the 21^st the Portland Oregonian had this to say about him:

The huge young “Hank” McDonald, who has worked in parts of two games now, will make a sweet pitcher one of these not so far-off days. Funny how the grandstand has adopted this enormous 19-year-old. They call him “Hank,” shout encouragement at him, and seem to resent it if he is taken out. “Hank,” by the way, takes his pitching as seriously as if he were working for his old high school mates, for whom his strong arm won a championship this spring.

Another thing about big “Hank” is his confidence in himself. He seems astonished if Bill Rumler or Hank Severeid or any of the regular Hollywood sluggers makes a hit off him. Hank doesn’t see how they do it. You should have seen the big boy’s keen satisfaction Friday when he slipped over a third one on Hank Severeid and Mr. Severeid walked to the bench for a drink of water. Young Hank gazed after old Hank’s retiring form with a look which seemed to say, “Well, old-timer, you took your cut at that one, and what did you do with it?” Old Hank wasn’t nearly so pleased, but philosophically accepted the outcome of the duel with the youthful Hank.

On August 4 the Oregonian printed a close-up photo of Hank, with this caption:

TOO BIG TO GO TO WORK, SO HE PITCHES

HANK MCDONALD, DUCKS’ HUGE 18-YEAR-OLD FIND

This immense young man stands 6 feet 3 inches in his heelless baseball socks and weighs 188, and is only 18 years old and just starting to grow, so all the other baseball behemoths should watch out. Henry McDonald, commonly called “Hank,” is from one of the southern California high schools near Los Angeles, and quite a prospect he looks to be. He owns a fast ball that makes older Portland pitchers envious and he throws it seemingly without effort. Hank has pitched a no-run, no-hit game or two in amateur company. So far his professional endeavors are confined to batting practice pitching [not entirely true], but wait until he gains age, experience and just a little more heft.

On August 15 Hank got a brief mention in the Sporting News: “In George Snider and Hank McDonald, Portland has a pair of young pitching prospects.” And on September 1 the Oregonian said:

One of three mighty promising kids is Hank McDonald, the 19-year-old 6-foot 3-inch behemoth from Santa Monica. Hank has been bearing down on the hitters in batting practice and they haven’t done much to him.

Hank only got into five games for Portland, pitching 11 innings.

From a Ducks forecast in the Oregonian of January 28, 1930:

Hank McDonald—Set yourselves for a wow of a statement. Last season’s 17-year-old, 6-foot-3 ½, 198-pound phenom from Santa Monica high will report at San Jose an 18-year-old, 6-foot-5-inch, 210-pound phenom! Anyway, [Portland president Tom] Turner says so. He gets it direct from the young whale himself.

Yes, McDonald says he has grown an inch and a half and gained 12 pounds since baseball ended. Take well salted, if desired, but no doubt young Hank has grown. Anyway, he’s the first Duck to send in his signed contract. He actually returned it, fully signed and witnessed, by air mail, special delivery, and paid the postage himself! This is contrary to the peace and dignity and the constitution and all the by-laws of the amalgamated association of baseball unions, but Hank is very young yet.

Hank didn’t pitch much early in the season, and got his first start on July 13. From the next day’s San Francisco Chronicle:

HANK MCDONALD, OREGON GIANT, STOPS SEALS

Hank McDonald, an Oregon giant, who had been sticking around for several weeks without having much chance to work, pitched the game for Portland and he did well. Only two of the four runs made off him were earned…

McDonald had nice speed and pretty fair control and the Seals could not do much with him…

The Oregonian, August 31:

SACS DOWNED, 7-4, BY HANK M’DONALD

Youthful Duck Hurler Wild but Very Effective.

BATTERS KEPT ON JUMP

He Walks Five and Hits Four, but Very Wildness Helps, With Sacs Kept on Edge.

Young Hank McDonald, from Santa Monica, Cal., had the Sacramento batters leaping front, back and sideways last night to keep from getting beaned by his murderous fast ball, and he managed to pink four of them, at that. Portland won, 7 to 4, and Hank’s very wildness helped him. The Sacs were so intent on keeping Hank from hitting them that they couldn’t hit Hank. The 6-foot-3 inch ex-high school youngster limited them to six blows…

Hank pitched more after this, but not real well; he had a 2-0 record after the Sacramento game and ended up at 4-4, with a 5.20 ERA in 90 innings in 23 games, walking 52. But Connie Mack of the Philadelphia Athletics saw something he liked, and purchased Hank in November.

Hank got his photo in the Sporting News on February 19, 1931, along with two other new Athletics pitchers, and a good write-up, just the beginning of the press he would get that preseason:

Hank McDonald Is Quite a Hunk of a Pitcher

The most prominent of the recruits, for no other reason than his size, is the McDonald called Hank. Hank is quite a hunk. He promises to make us gasp. Picture a kid of 19, measuring six feet four inches and weighing 195 pounds.

And that, dear reader, was only his girth at the end of the 1930 season. Coast leaguers assure us the young monster is still growing, that when he reports to the champions he’ll probably measure six feet five inches and tip the beam at 210 pounds.

The youngster’s potentialities, rather than his accomplishments on the mound, are responsible for his shot with the world’s champions. His record for the Portland Beavers last season tallied only four victories and four defeats.

As a pitcher, McDonald is just a kid, with a boy’s naivete for rocking back on his heels and letting the horsehide fly with everything he has. Innocent of guile, Hank pitches with honest forthrightness. He conceals nothing up his sleeve but muscle.

But the raw material is there. Blessed with his size and a fast ball, said to welcome comparison with Grove’s and Earnshaw’s, it is a certainty that McDonald will be given a thorough trial. Nor is it beyond the realm of probability that he will be retained this year.

Hank’s fast ball is as likely as not to be used for mopping up details next season, for finishing out games. Mr. Firpo Marberry earned his living for a couple of seasons with nothing more than McDonald brings with him to the big house.

Portland discovered McDonald among the high school adolescents of Santa Monica, Cal., in the spring of 1929. He was only 17 then. But what a boy—six feet 2 ½ inches and 175 on the hoof…

(As is probably apparent by now, Hank’s height and weight, and age, jumped around quite a bit in different reports.) An AP filler item appeared in various papers on February 26:

Giant Rookie Lams Fast Ones at Mick

FORT MYERS, Fla., Feb. 26—(AP)—Hank McDonald, giant California right-hander who is trying out with the Philadelphia Athletics, has the entire camp wondering how much speed he possesses. Captain [Eddie] Collins spied him yesterday burning them into Mickey Cochrane.

“Hey,” shouted Collins, “don’t cut loose yet.”

“I’m not, boss,” replied the six-foot-four rookie. “This ain’t nothing. I can speed ‘em in a lot faster.”

McDonald worked out on the coast and is already in shape and anxious to get going.

Sporting News, March 5:

McDonald at once impressed everybody with his size. He is six feet four inches tall and weighs 200 pounds, yet has not an ounce of superfluous flesh because of his great height. He has a fast ball which rivals that of Bob Grove.

Various newspapers, March 6:

One of the first rookies to attract the trained Mackian eye this training season is Hank McDonald, a six-foot-four-inch pitching machine. In his first time out on the mound Hank bore down on the ball in a manner that caused Connie’s eye to twinkle. Hank’s been training for weeks at home.

An AP feature about Hank appeared in papers on March 17:

KID HURLER WITH CHAMPS LEAVES FRIGHT TO OTHERS

Hank McDonald Is Only Two Years Out of High School But Gives Promise of Stardom

PITCHES RIGHTHANDED

BY ALAN GOULD

Associated Press Sports Editor

FORT MYERS, Fla.—Mar. 16.

Most rookies tremble to tread where world’s champions walk, but big Hank McDonald, 19 years old, 200 pounds and 6 feet 3 ½ inches, has stepped into the camp of the Athletics with a bundle of confidence and a lot of right handed pitching stuff.

Barely two years out of his high school athletic days at Santa Monica, Cal., McDonald has come up for a trial under the watchful eyes of Connie Mack after a year and a half of testing with the Portland club of the Pacific Coast League.

“I’m getting a lot of fun out of this,” McDonald said, in admitting this is his first trip east and his first sight of the ballplayers he has read about and dreamed about emulating. “But I guess it’s just a lot of hard work, anywhere, and that’s what I like.”

McDonald, in his first exhibition game test, at Miami, faced no less than the champion Cardinals of the National League. He was a trifle wild but steadied down in every pinch. He held the Cards to one safe hit in four innings, struck out five and looked the part of a great young pitcher in every move.

After the game, Manager Gabby Street of the Cardinals paid this compliment to the youngster: “He’s a big powerful boy and likely to make good. For a green kid, he showed a fine curve and kept it around the knees where it could do the most damage.”

McDonald was a tackle in high school football and looks the part but he prefers baseball. He pitched his school team to several district championships and compiled some unusual strikeout records.

Sporting News, March 26:

The Athletics have two schoolboys pitching for them, either of whom is so good that every visiting manager has looked at them and sighed.

“If that kid is a schoolboy,” said Uncle Robbie [Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson], looking Hank McDonald over, “I wonder what he will be when he has grown up.”

Sporting News, April 9:

A freckle-faced, fun-loving boy, 19 years old, standing six feet four inches, weighing 195 pounds and still growing, is one of the best looking of the many recruits the Philadelphia Athletics took to training camp this spring. Henry McDonald is his name and he comes up with only two years of professional experience, spent with Portland in the Pacific Coast League, but it seems certain he will stick with the A’s this season.

Hank has great possibilities, in the opinion of such a judge of players as Coach Bill Gleason. A beautiful delivery, as free and graceful as that of Grover Alexander, speed that at times makes the ball take off in a sail as it reaches the plate and other times hopping as if it had bounded off an obstruction, and a physique that knows no limit to its strength make him a glowing prospect. McDonald was a wildman on the Coast, but seems to be acquiring control with the Athletics and has looked impressive in the exhibition games he has pitched. While it seems to be asking a great deal of a youth with such brief experience to step right into big league competition, it begins to appear as if he will make the grade and his showing in the third game against the Phillies indicates he may win a regular berth.

From an article in the Worcester Evening Gazette under Connie Mack’s byline, April 11:

It looks as if we have added a starting pitcher to our staff in the giant Hank McDonald, who was last year with the Portland, Oregon team. Hank has a fast ball and a snappy curve and knows what he is doing when he is on the peak. He is Young America personified, always chock full of confidence.

After all that buildup, Hank did make the team, and on April 16 he started the third game of the season, following Grove and Earnshaw, in Washington. The first major league hitter he faced was Buddy Myer, who he struck out, but he gave up two runs in the fourth and one in the seventh before being relieved by Earnshaw with two outs, and got the loss, 5-4.

Hank got another start and a relief appearance in April, two starts and two relief appearances (including his first win) in May, and a start and three relief appearances in June, before getting a regular spot in the rotation from July 11 to August 2. On July 15, at home against the Tigers, he pitched a three-hit shutout as Philadelphia won 11-0. However, in his next start, at home against the White Sox on the 20th, he only lasted one inning, allowing six unearned runs, though the Athletics came back to win 12-7. He also allowed a triple steal, as reported in the next day’s Oregonian:

MACKS OVERCOME WHITE HOSE 12 TO 7

Athletics Spot Chicago Six Runs, Then Take Game.

TRIPLE STEAL SUCCEEDS

Fonseca Scores Standing Up While Hank McDonald Is Wiggling Through Windup Motions.

…The White Sox completed a triple steal with the bases full to score its fourth run. Fonseca, Watwood and Grube executed the theft while McDonald was winding up, Fonseca scoring standing up before the young hurler released the ball…

Five days later Hank lasted into the ninth inning, allowing just five hits but walking nine, and allowing two unearned runs while getting a no-decision when the A’s came back in the 9^th to beat Cleveland 3-2. In his next start, August 2 in Washington, he was removed after five batters and one third of an inning; he only made two appearances, both in relief, after that. He wound up with a 3.71 ERA in 70 1/3 innings in 19 games, ten of them starts, while walking 41. Meanwhile the Athletics won their third straight pennant. They lost the World Series to the Cardinals in seven games; Hank didn’t get into any of them, though his name was mentioned as a possible starter before game five.

On November 11 Hank was sent back to Portland on option. On December 11 the Oregonian quoted “Beaver-Duck” president Turner:

…and Hank McDonald, the big young pitcher, are lent us under option. Connie Mack doesn’t want them to get away from him. He considers McDonald especially a certain big league star after another year of seasoning. He believes McDonald will be a big winner for Portland this season, for the big kid looked very hot pitching for the Athletics. Connie liked him so well that for a time he worked him as a regular.

His one need, says Connie, is more experience.

On January 4, 1932, Hank, not quite 21, married 18-year-old Laura Mae Maples in Los Angeles. Three months later he was the Beaver-Ducks’ opening day pitcher, although he lasted only 3 2/3 innings in an 18-14 loss, getting no decision. He had a 5-0 record at the end of May, and 7-2 at the end of June, around which time he injured his right wrist during batting practice. On July 3 he pitched a six-hit shutout with his wrist hurting him with each pitch, and after the game it was discovered that the wrist was broken. He doesn’t seem to have missed much time, though, as on July 22 he lasted into the ninth inning before being removed because the wrist was bothering him. On July 31 he pitched a five-hitter, and on August 11 the story of his pitching the shutout without knowing the wrist was broken was disseminated via the AP.

On August 19 Hank pitched a two-hit shutout, and on August 28 his opposing starter was Kenso Nushida of Sacramento, listed at 4-foot-10, the difference in their sizes drawing some attention. Around that time it was announced that Hank would be returning to the Philadelphia roster after the season and was expected to be with them in 1933. He finished 1932 with a 13-10 record and 3.38 ERA in 192 innings in 36 games, and walked only 59.

From the Santa Monica Corsair, January 1, 1933:

BASEBALL BROUGHT BACK TO S.M.J.C.

Baseball has returned to Santa Monica Junior College after being discontinued last year because playing facilities were lacking…

In order to help all prospects in the intricacies of pitching, Coach Brown has secured the services of Hank McDonald, former Samohi star, and present member of the Philadelphia Athletics’ staff. McDonald will work out with the players four nights a week until he leaves for the Athletics’ training camp in Florida on the eighteenth of February.

On February 12 the Oregonian listed Hank as a member of the Beaver-Ducks, and gave his address as 1417 S Crescent Heights Boulevard in Los Angeles. On March 9 the Sporting News reported:

Hank McDonald, the big pitcher the Philadelphia Athletics obtained from Portland of the Pacific Coast League, is still a member of the A’s, despite the fact that he has been carried on the roster of the Beavers. It appears Connie Mack wanted to take another look at him and as a result McDonald has another chance to make good in big league company.

On March 30 the Sporting News reported that “The Athletics are not counting on Hank McDonald, who appears to have learned few new tricks with Portland last season.” On April 3 the Washington Evening Star named him as likely being one of the four young A’s pitchers to be sent down in the next few days, and mentioned that he has a sore arm. He did not get sent down, but also did not get into a game until April 28, when he got the win in relief of Tony Freitas, despite giving up three runs in three innings, as Philadelphia beat the Red Sox 9-8. He then got his first start on May 14, in Cleveland, lasting seven innings and losing 5-3. After two more relief appearances, on May 28 he was placed on waivers and claimed by the St. Louis Browns.

Hank made his Browns debut on June 1, starting at home against the Indians; he was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the seventh, behind 3-0, and the Browns lost 3-1 to Wes Ferrell. He then made two relief appearances, including one where he allowed eight earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, then started three games without getting through the third inning in any of them. He spent the rest of the season in the bullpen except for one start in late July; the most noteworthy thing that happened was his hitting Babe Ruth in the ankle with a pitch on August 18, causing Ruth to miss a few games. For the Browns Hank had an 8.64 ERA and an 0-4 record in 58 1/3 innings in 25 games, five of them starts—throw in the five games with Philadelphia and his season ERA goes down to 8.02.

In January 1934 Hank’s name appeared on the St. Louis roster, and in February it was reported that he had signed a new contract with them. He was still on the roster when the regular season opened in mid-April; the Browns were about to option him to the Milwaukee Brewers but that fell through when they sold the Brewers to a group of Milwaukee businessmen on the 21^st. They offered to sell Hank to the new Brewers owners for $5000 but were told that he wasn’t worth it. Instead, on May 2, they sold him to the Class AA Newark Bears, a Yankee farm team.

Hank spent the season with Newark, and had a 4.29 ERA in 109 innings in 24 games; the highlight of the season for him was probably an exhibition game on August 31 in which he defeated his former team, the Athletics, 13-2, and struck out ten. On October 8 Laura gave birth to a daughter, also named Laura, in Los Angeles. On October 11 it was reported that Hank would be pitching in a winter league in Bakersfield on Sunday afternoons.

In January 1935 Hank was listed on the Newark roster, but the Yankees invited him to spring training. On April 11 the Sporting News reported:

Pitcher Hank McDonald, who has been suffering from a sore arm, was allowed to return to his home in California. Should the arm respond to treatment, McDonald will join Oakland, a link in the Yankee chain.

Also TSN, May 23:

The Oaks’ chances of remaining in the thick of the race were greatly enhanced with the addition to the pitching staff of Hank McDonald, formerly with Portland, the Athletics, Browns, Yankees and Newark. He had a sore arm last fall and the member continued to bother him this spring at the Newark training camp. McDonald was sent to his Los Angeles home and later was instructed to report at Oakland to test the flipper. After hurling in batting practice for a week, McDonald tried his hand at actual pitching, and, on May 12, beat Sacramento, 8 to 4. For the first six innings he allowed only four hits and then, because of his long lay-off, he weakened a bit and Lou McEvoy was called upon to retire the final batsman. However, McDonald appears to have as much as he ever had and may become quite a winner for Oakland.

From the Oakland Tribune, May 25:

De Viveiros’ Baby Adopted By Oaks as Team Mascot

His birth certificate reads Donald de Viveiros. But his father and mother and the nurses at Merritt Hospital immediately dubbed him “the little shortstop,” and the Oaks promptly adopted him as a mascot.

Donald’s baseball career began last Wednesday afternoon.

“The kid was born during a ball game, and he’s brought us luck already,” declares Bernard de Viveiros, utility infielder of the Oaks and first assistant to Manager Oscar Vitt.

At the close of the game during which de Viveiros heard the news, “It’s a boy,” the new member of the Oaks received his first present—a baseball autographed by Hank McDonald, winning pitcher of the game.

“It’s just a coincidence that we already had named the baby Donald, but Hank is certain it makes him a godfather or something,” says Mrs. de Viveiros…

Hank had the most successful year of his career, ending up with a 14-11 record and 3.25 ERA in 216 innings in 36 games, walking just 49. After the season ended he was returned to the Newark roster, but in February the Oaks talked the Yankees into returning him to them for 1936. From the March 20 Oakland Tribune:

Prosperity had made itself evident here the past week which is a good sign that baseball on the Pacific Coast faces its most successful season in five years. Ken Douglas, Hank McDonald and Trainer Billy Burke have purchased latest model cars…

Hank started the season back in the Oaks’ rotation. On April 20 the Oakland Tribune reported:

…He [manager Bill Meyer] intended to start Henry “Hank” McDonald on the hilltop tomorrow night, but Hank suffered a puncture in his thigh when he found himself resting on the sharp point of a small oil can as he moved his frame on the training table for Trainer Bill Burke to give him a rubdown.

Meyer had Burke make a speedy examination of the wound and Burke stated he believed McDonald will be able to work tomorrow night according to plan.

The game of the 21^st was rained out, then on the 22^nd Hank was taken out at the start of the second inning after complaining of a sore arm. After that his appearances were a mixture of starting and relieving until, on June 8, he was sold to the Milwaukee Brewers, now a Tigers farm team, for $5000—the same amount the Brewers said was too much two years previously. The sale included an option for the Brewers to return him within 30 days.

It took until the 14^th for Hank to join his new team, and on the 20^th he made his debut, in relief. On the 24^th he made a start and pitched a four-hitter, but after that he was back in the bullpen. On August 3 the Milwaukee Journal reported that Hank had been instructed to leave for Newark, which had technically owned his contract despite the fact that the Yankees had sent him to Oakland, because the Brewers had opted not to keep him (though this was significantly longer than 30 days). On August 7 the Journal elaborated on the situation:

Hank’s Release

Several communications pertaining to Hank McDonald’s release by the Brewers Monday have been received by this motorman. The readers point out that Hank, in his only start, calcimined the Millers and that after that he was used only as relief man. The reason Hank was not returned was because of his lack of a fast ball. His slow motion delivery gave him the reputation of being a “soft ball” pitcher among rival clubs. As relief hurler, the good natured Californian was no enigma. When Hank left the majors a few years ago he was famous for his speed. An injury to his arm, however, cost him the smoke, which every good pitcher must include in his repertoire.

That was the last mention of Hank I found during the season, so I don’t know if he pitched for Newark, or anywhere else. The stats we have show a 3.99 ERA in 70 innings in 13 games for Oakland and a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings in 13 games for Milwaukee.

On December 4 Newark sold Hank to Oakland, one Yankee team to another, and he was immediately sold by Oakland to the Portland Beavers, where he had started in 1929. On December 13 the Oregonian quoted Beavers’ business manager Rollie Schefter:

“The only question in Hank’s case is what shape his arm is in. The Yanks assured us his arm is right, and it was on this assurance that we made the deal. It certainly looked strong enough in some of the games Hank pitched against us.”

Reports from spring training 1937 said that Hank’s arm was doing well, that over the winter he had gone to a specialist who had fixed something in his neck that was thought to have been the problem, and that his new manager had determined that he was tipping off his curve ball. 

So the Beavers were cautiously optimistic to start the season, but at the end of April they sent him back to the Yankee organization as damaged goods. I found no evidence that he pitched anywhere else before he was sold to the New York Giants on June 6. The Giants sent him to their Jersey City team, Newark’s rivals in the International League.

It took Hank a few days to report to Jersey City, and then the Giants didn’t think he was quite ready to pitch. He debuted with them on June 20, when he relieved and was hit on his throwing hand by a line drive. It was feared that he had a broken finger, but it turned out to be just a bruise. On the 23^rd he got his first start and lost 3-1; on the 30^th he got another start and lost 4-3. That was enough for the Giants, and on July 1 they returned him to the Yankees. But he wasn’t out of chances; from the July 18 San Francisco Chronicle:

Seals Try Out New Pitcher

Charley Graham Will Give Hank McDonald Trial With S.F. Club

The Seals need pitchers so badly that Charley Graham feels disposed to take a chance on Hank McDonald, a tall right hander who has failed with two clubs this year, because of a sore arm. Hank was turned back by [to] Newark, one of the Yankees chain, and Graham has asked the manager of that chain the privilege of seeing McDonald in an actual game before closing a deal. If Hank can pitch as he did a few years ago he would help, but if he is one of those “broken arm” pitchers the Seals can’t use him for they have plenty of throwers now who can’t win.

On July 25 the Denver Post listed Hank on the roster of the Bay Refiners, a Denver team participating in the Post’s big semipro tournament which attracted teams from around the country. On July 28 it was reported that he was coming to the Seals on option, and the Chronicle reported on August 3:

Hank McDonald, tall right handed pitcher, who is here on trial, will work this week and if he can pitch winning ball he will be a welcome addition to the Seals’ pitching staff, which is in a shaky condition. If Hank is not right he will be turned back to Newark. He has been on trial twice this year and his arm did not respond, but he thinks the flipper is all right now. Anyway he will get a chance to use it.

Hank got the start in the second game of a doubleheader on August 8, at home against Sacramento. The game was scheduled for seven innings but was tied 4-4 after seven; Hank allowed seven runs in the eighth and lost 11-7. On August 26 the Sporting News reported:

The Seals are stringing along with Hank McDonald, long-geared right-hander, who looked good before he hurt his arm. He was taken on the recent trip north by the Seals, but he did not start a game, or even warm up. The plan is to give him a long rest, in the hope he will show something before the close of this season and prove his value for next year. He is with the club on option from Newark, with the Seals having the right to buy him if he shows enough to warrant purchase.

The last thing I found about Hank during the 1937 season was that on September 11 he hit a home run in a game in which he pitched 4 1/3 innings in relief. His PCL totals, between Portland and San Francisco, were 26 innings in seven games with a 0-1 record; in the International League for Jersey City he had a 0-1 record in three games. He didn’t pitch enough to appear in the more detailed stats for either league.

By February 1938 Hank was being referred to as property of the Yankees, so apparently the Seals had given up on him. He went back to spring training with the Oakland Oaks, who were no longer part of the Yankee system but independent; the San Francisco Chronicle said that “The Yankees own him and rather than pay fare on him from his home at Santa Monica they have turned him over to the Oaks for trial.” On March 22 he got the loss in an exhibition game, and on April 3 the Oregonian reported:

Far from being discouraged about his bad arm, which for the second year in succession caused his release back to the Yanks by the Oaks of Oakland, just as Portland turned him back last spring, Hank McDonald thinks his arm is coming back, and avers he had twice as much on his fast ball as a year ago…how Hank got that bad arm carries a lesson to every young pitcher—never bear down that you try to throw harder than the arm will stand…Hank did that at Newark in a tough spot four years ago, and the arm has been gone ever since…[ellipses part of original article]

This was apparently the end of Hank’s baseball career, at age 27. In the 1938 Los Angeles Index to Register of Voters he and Laura are shown as registered Democrats living at 1542 S Wooster St., and he is listed as a ballplayer. In 1940 they are at 5516 Hazeltine Ave, which is apparently now a Sherman Oaks address, and he is a policeman. On October 16, 1940, Hank filled out his draft registration, which showed the Hazeltine Avenue address but listed it as being in Van Nuys. He gave his employer as “20^th Century-Fox Film Corp., Fox Hills-Los Angeles-Calif,” his size as 6-4 205, and his appearance as hazel eyes, brown hair, and light complexion.

In 1942 Hank and Laura are still registered Democrats at 5516 Hazeltine, and Hank is still listed as a policeman. Perhaps he was actually a security guard at the film studio. In 1944 he is shown as a machinist; after that they stopped listing professions, but Hank and Laura continued at 5516 Hazeltine through 1954. Both of Hank’s parents passed away in 1961. I found no reference to Hank and Laura getting divorced, but the California Marriage Index has two listings for 56-year-old Henry M. McDonald getting married in Los Angeles on May 6, 1967, one to 42-year-old Viola G. Schill and one to 42-year-old Viola G. Pitcher. Hank passed away at age 71 on October 17, 1982, in Hemet, California.

Brian Omogrosso

 

Brian Omogrosso was a relief pitcher for the White Sox in 2012 and 2013.

Brian Scott Omogrosso was born April 26, 1984, in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania. At Blackhawk High School in Beaver Falls he starred in baseball, basketball, and football (at tight end and linebacker) and graduated in 2002; he was also an all-star in American Legion ball. 

He then went to Indiana State, where he pitched and also played first base. In 2006, after being named a relief pitcher on the second team of the All-Missouri Valley Conference team, he was drafted in the sixth round of the June free agent draft by the White Sox. He spent what was left of the season with the Kannapolis Intimidators of the Class A Sally League, relieving in 22 games with a 3.19 ERA in 36 2/3 innings.

In 2007 Brian moved up to the Winston-Salem Warthogs in the Carolina League, class Advanced A. He was moved into the starting rotation in mid-season, and wound up with a 3.74 ERA in 120 1/3 innings in 40 games, 14 of them starts; he struck out 108 while walking 57, hitting 14 batters, and throwing 15 wild pitches. For 2008 he graduated to the Class AA Southern League and the Birmingham Barons—I assume he spent some time on the disabled list, as he only pitched 39 innings in 17 games, five of them starts. His ERA was 3.69.

Brian returned to Birmingham in 2009 and had a 4.19 ERA in 13 starts, then finished the season with AAA Charlotte where he had a 15.88 ERA in four relief appearances, ending the year on the disabled list. Still, in November the White Sox purchased his contract from Charlotte, putting him on the 40-man protected major league roster. At some point he had shoulder surgery.

In March 2010 Brian signed a major league contract, then soon after was optioned to the Charlotte roster. The season began with him on the disabled list, still trying to recover from the surgery. In late August he was activated for a rehab assignment with Bristol of the Rookie class Appalachian League; he pitched two scoreless innings over two games, then reported back to Birmingham, where he allowed one earned run in three innings before the season ended.

Brian went back to Birmingham for 2011. He had a 2.53 ERA in 43 innings in 31 relief appearances, with 53 strikeouts, before being moved up to Charlotte on July 26. There his ERA was 4.03, in 22 1/3 innings in 11 games, including one start. On November 5 he got married. That winter he played for La Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League.

In 2012 Brian went to spring training to compete for a job in the White Sox’ bullpen, but was reassigned to the minor league camp in mid-March. He pitched for Charlotte until June 29, when he was called up when Brian Bruney was placed on the DL. Our Brian made his major league debut at home on July 3 against the Rangers, replacing starter Chris Sale with one out and one on in the eighth; he allowed the inherited runner and a runner of his own to score, then finished up a 19-2 Chicago victory.

Brian made four more appearances before being sent back to Charlotte on July 21. He finished up the season with the Knights (4.56 ERA, 33 games, 47 1/3 innings, 59 strikeouts, a career-high nine saves) and then returned to Chicago. He got into 12 more games, making 17 for the season with the White Sox, and got his ERA down to 2.57 over 21 innings.

Brian signed a new White Sox contract in February 2013 and went to spring training. From the March 22 Arlington Heights Daily Herald:

…Brian Omogrosso is an obvious candidate to replace [RH reliever Jesse] Crain.

“I got a chance to pitch up here last year, and I think I showed what I can do,” said Omogrosso, who had a 2.57 ERA in 17 games with the White Sox in 2012. “If I am Plan B, that’s fine with me.”

This spring Omogrosso has not allowed an earned run in 10 2/3 Cactus League innings.

But he’s not a proven commodity, so the Sox are hoping Crain finally gets healthy and stays that way…

Brian was optioned to Charlotte at the end of spring training, but was recalled on May 1. He made 11 relief appearances through June 5 with an ERA of 5.14, then was optioned back to Charlotte. On June 21 he was recalled again; on the 28^th he allowed nine earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, exploding his ERA from 5.14 to 9.37. The next day he was returned to Charlotte, but didn’t get into a game—on July 12 he was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to June 29 with a right triceps strain. The 15 days was optimistic, though, as on August 5 he had season-ending surgery “to remove loose bodies and shave down a bone spur in his throwing (right) elbow.” At the time it was reported that he was expected to start throwing in 8-10 weeks. On September 3 he was moved to the 60-day DL, and on October 3 the White Sox assigned his contract to Charlotte, meaning he would not be protected from the off-season draft.

In mid-January 2014 Brian signed a minor league contract, though he was invited to major league spring training. On March 5 he was reassigned to the minor league camp; eventually he was released. In early April he pitched in a showcase for other major league teams, but nothing came of it. He did pitch in seven games for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League, but his ERA was 13.50 and he retired in late May. Since 2017 he has been a sales executive for Doing Better Business, Inc., in Altoona, Pennsylvania.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/O/Pomogb001.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/o/omogrbr01.shtml

Fred Johnston

 

Fred Johnston played four games for the 1924 Brooklyn Robins. I’m not sure that Fred was actually how he was most frequently known—he was also known as Wilfred, Ivey, Ivy, Red, and Johnny.

Wilfred Ivey Johnston was born July 9, probably in 1898, in Charlotte, North Carolina, to Zeb and Rosa Johnston. In the 1900 census the Johnstons are living at 207 N Caldwell Street in Charlotte; Zeb is listed as a broker and as 32 years old, Rosa is 25, older brother Lindsay is four and Wilfred is one. In the 1910 census the family is living in Pineville, south of Charlotte; Zeb is a general merchant, the boys are 14 and 11, and little sister Eileen, eight, has been added.

In 1918 Fred graduated from Fishburne Military Academy in Waynesboro, Virginia, where he starred in baseball and football. On September 12, 1918, he filled out his draft card, which showed him as a student at the University of Virginia, his permanent address as Pineville, and his appearance as medium height, medium build, blue eyes, and light hair. Just a couple of weeks later, on October 1, he entered the Army; apparently he hadn’t played any football at Virginia before that, as he had four more years of eligibility. The war ended on November 11, and Fred was discharged on December 10. I can’t say for sure that he went back to UV.

In the fall of 1919 Fred played football for Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and he may have played baseball there the following spring. The 1920 census showed the Johnston family at 1573 South Boulevard in Charlotte, with Zeb the vice president and treasurer of a tractor company and Lindsay no longer living at home. In the fall of 1920 Fred followed former Davidson football coach Bill Fetzer to North Carolina State, and the following year he transferred to the University of North Carolina when Fetzer did the same. A halfback, he had 265 rushing yards and 353 total yards in a 1921 game against VMI. He was best known for football in college but in the spring of 1922 he was the right fielder for the UNC baseball team.

1922 was a big year for the Tar Heel football team and for Fred in particular. They opened with a 62-3 win over Wake Forest, then traveled to Connecticut to play Yale. Lawrence Perry, in his syndicated “For the Game’s Sake” column for October 4, wrote: “Yale is likely to have a lot of trouble handling so meteoric a performer as ‘Red’ Johnston, who is today one of the most elusive young men in the world once he gets loose.” The Boston Globe reported on the 8^th:

Yale met a tough customer in the University of North Carolina this afternoon and did well to beat the Tarheels, 18 to 0…The Southerners came here with a strong team considering every angle of the game, and in the person of Red Johnston presented one of the best halfbacks seen in the Bowl since it was opened in 1914. Johnston’s end running, line bucking and open field work kept Yale on the jump all the time, and when he was taken out in the final quarter with hardly strength enough to hobble to the sidelines Yale breathed easier.

That was the Tar Heels’ only loss of the season as Fred led them to a 9-1 record; along the way his highlights included a 78 yard touchdown run against Maryland, and a 60 yard fumble return and a 30 yard touchdown reception in the final game against Virginia.

In January 1923 Dr. Foy Johnson, a Durham surgeon, was accused of paying Fred $100 a month to play football for UNC. From a January 29 AP story:

“I have never done anything financially for Johnston, in any way, shape, form or fashion. I have, however, admired him for the manly way in which he has conducted himself in the face of so much unpleasant notoriety,” Dr. Roberson emphatically states. Dr. Roberson admits that he gave Johnston professional attention when an inmate of Watts hospital here free of charge, but this has always been done by him for any of the university students, he said.

A story in the next day’s Greensboro Daily News bore the following headlines:

DR. ROBERSON DEMANDS PROOF OF THE CHARGES

Durham Physician Makes a Lengthy Statement Denying He Paid Johnston.

PRODUCE OR KEEP QUIET

The article reproduced the text of a signed statement sent by Dr. Roberson to another newspaper, which included the following:

…A great howl went up when he first entered the university after having attended Davidson and A. and E. previously. This, I think, was more or less natural, as when a star athlete goes from one institution to another it usually creates much comment. However, the fact remains that Mr. Johnston was acting entirely within his rights and within the rules. It has been established that he complied with all requirements, that he has made a satisfactory record in his studies, and that he had comported himself like a gentleman. Yet there had been an almost continuous stream of criticism of one kind or another directed toward Mr. Johnston ever since…

As to Johnston’s finances, I know he had a hard time getting enough funds to pay his way at the university. He certainly did not act like a student who had $100 a month to spend, but rather like one who had $100 a year…

I didn’t find any subsequent coverage of this issue, so apparently nothing came of it. In March it was reported that Fred had signed a baseball contract with St. Petersburg of the Class C Florida State League, after previous reports had had him signing with various other teams and leagues. He hit .264 in 405 at-bats, with 28 doubles, seven triples and four homers, playing a variety of positions, mostly second base, first base and outfield. In July it was announced that “Wilfred I. (‘Red’) Johnston, most famous and sensational back produced on the North Carolina gridiron for many college generations, has been signed to aid in coaching the Carolina freshmen football team this fall.” Then in September it was announced that he had been purchased by the Brooklyn Robins, to report in spring 1924. A November 11 story by James J. Murphy in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, under the headline “Uncle Robbie Has Landed Many Promising Recruits For Superbas Next Year,” read in part:

Wilfred Ivey (Red) Johnston, a second baseman bought from the St. Petersburg club of the Florida State League, may also assist in rounding out a well balanced infield, but Robbie is inclined to think that he will need another season in the minors to acquire more experience…

Johnston got his first taste of professional ball last spring with St. Petersburg. He was tried in every position on the infield and had his trial in the outfield when it was finally discovered that his natural post was second base. His batting and fielding were nothing to brag about, but he was picked up by Brooklyn scouts because he looked the part of a real player who will develop with more experience.

On March 7, 1924, a wire service story reported that “Ivy ‘Red Top’ Johnston is the second Brooklyn infielder to be injured this season at Clearwater, Fla.” On April 5 the Bridgeport Telegram named Ivy Johnston as one of three players that had been left at Clearwater by the Robins until they could be placed with a minor league team, and on April 11 the Pittsfield Berkshire Evening Eagle reported that “Ivy Johnston has been sent to his home at Charlotte, N.C., pending his assignment to some minor league club.” His assignment was back to St. Petersburg, where he played second base until he was recalled by the Robins, to whom he reported on June 23.

Ivy/Fred made his major league debut on June 29 at home against the Phillies, coming in at second base after Zack Wheat pinch-hit for second baseman Joe Klugman in the bottom of the ninth of a tie game. Fred had two assists and an error as the Phillies scored three runs in the top of the tenth, then was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the inning as the Robins scored four to win. His next appearance was not until July 17 at Cincinnati, when he pinch-hit for pitcher Art Decatur with two out in the ninth and a runner on first, down 10-8, but his at-bat and the game ended when the runner was caught stealing.

Then Fred sat until August 6, at home against the Pirates, when he got his only major league start. He played third base and batted sixth, going 1-for-4 with a run, a strikeout, and one putout in the field as Brooklyn’s Dazzy Vance defeated Arnie Stone, 5-3. On August 10 he completed his major league career at home against the Cardinals by pinch-running for Hank DeBerry at first base in the fifth and being thrown out at third on a single to center.

Fred seems not to have returned to his football coaching job that fall. For 1925 Brooklyn optioned him to Springfield of the Class A Eastern League. He played third base for them through most of the exhibition season, but on April 18 was sent to Waterbury of the same league, as reported in the next day’s Springfield Republican:

“RED” JOHNSTON IS TRANSFERRED TO WATERBURY CLUB

Bernard to Play Third Base—Best and Dolan Here, and With Becker Work Out

Gene McCann has settled on the makeup of his infield and as a result Infielder W. I. “Red” Johnston has been turned over to the Waterbury club and will join that outfit today or tomorrow…

Johnston is the property of the Brooklyn Nationals and has been the only optional agreement ball player on the Springfield squad. Brooklyn yesterday sent word that it had granted permission for the transfer of Johnston to Waterbury, which club takes over the optional agreement understanding. Johnston didn’t look the part in his period with the Hampdens, though he was given every opportunity and played in all the exhibition games until yesterday’s…

For Waterbury Red/Fred played second base for a few weeks; then, as the Sporting News reported on May 14:

Waterbury has released Infielder Red Johnson [sic] and Catcher Lester Patterson. Johnson was with the Brasscos on option from Brooklyn of the National League. When Brooklyn learned that he was to be returned, the National League club made him a free agent.

This seems to have ended Fred’s baseball career. He returned to Florida, where he married Harriet Holmes Endicott in St. Petersburg on October 27, 1926. Their son James was born November 21, 1927, in St. Petersburg, though Fred (as Wilfred) and Harriet appear in the 1927 Charlotte city directory at 502 Selwyn Avenue, Wilfred being listed as a salesman for the Republic Truck Sales Corporation. They appear in the 1928 and 1930 directories at the same address (and around that period daughter Jacqueline was born), then they’re back in Florida and in Jacksonville’s 1932-33 directory, where they’re at 4635 Hercules Avenue and Wilfred is a salesman for Claude Nolan, Inc.

Soon after that came a divorce, with Wilfred on his own in the 1934 Greensboro NC directory at 103 Lake Drive and Harriet and the kids back in St. Petersburg. By October 1936 “Red” had moved to New Orleans; he got mentioned in the New Orleans papers that month with the Tar Heels coming to town to play Tulane. From the October 23 New Orleans Times-Picayune:

“Red” Johnston, who was the outstanding backfield star for the Tarheels when they defeated Tulane 19-12 here in 1922, the last time the two teams met, will be among the Tarheel contingent welcoming the invaders. Mr. Johnston is now in business in New Orleans. He and Mrs. Johnston live on Metairie Road.

If there was in fact a Mrs. Johnston at this time I don’t know who she was. In 1937 Red was named to the all-time Tar Heel football team. The 1940 census found him alone in an apartment (though identified as married) at 1527 Antonine Street in New Orleans, which was listed as having been his residence in 1935 as well. He had worked 55 hours the previous week as a traveling salesman, at which job he had earned $2400 in 1939. Harriet and the kids were in Tallahassee; she was identified as widowed.

In 1942 “Winifred ‘Red’ Johnston” got newspaper mentions again as UNC came to play Tulane one more time. In 1949 he was again named to the all-time Tar Heel football team, as well as to a North Carolina all-time state team. At some point he married Rebecca Louise Wiley Dunn, originally from Texas, whose husband Peter Dunn had passed away in 1946. On August 24, 1950, Wilfred I. Johnston’s name appeared in the New Orleans States in a list of suits filed in First City Court: “Neiman Marcus Co. vs. Wilfred I. Johnston, claim. $121.63.”

On September 24, 1951, the caption on a photo of Rebecca and her mother in the San Antonio Light said that Mr. and Mrs. Wilfred Johnston were newcomers from New Orleans. They appear in the 1952 San Antonio city directory at 211 Thorain Boulevard, Wilfred’s business given as Johnston & O’Leary Motor Co.

That’s the last I found of Wilfred until he died on May 15, 1959, probably age 60, at Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler, Texas. Rebecca was the informant, and their address was 627 S. Fannin in Tyler. Wilfred’s usual occupation was given as “real estate business,” and the cause of death was myocardial infarction. Strangely, given his football stardom, I found no obituaries.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/J/Pjohnf104.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/j/johnsfr02.shtml

Pat Sheridan

 

Pat Sheridan was an outfielder for four teams, but mostly for the Royals and Tigers, from 1981 to 1991.

Patrick Arthur Sheridan was born December 4, 1957, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His father, Art, had been a minor league pitcher in the 1950s. In 1976 Pat graduated from Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, between Ann Arbor and Detroit, where he starred in baseball, basketball and football. He was drafted that June in the 36^th round by the Cincinnati Reds, but opted to go to college. He had scholarship offers in all three sports, but mostly in football, where he was a speedy wide receiver; he thought baseball was his best chance for success, though, and opted for Eastern Michigan University. He played outfield for three years at EMU, making the All Mid-America Conference first team his junior year, then signed with the Kansas City Royals in June 1979 after being drafted in the third round.

The Royals sent Pat to Fort Myers in the Class A Florida State League, where he hit .281/.354/.323 with 14 stolen bases in 235 at-bats. After the season he filled out a questionnaire, giving his hobbies as hunting and coins and his greatest thrill as “hitting two consecutive homers in a college league game.” He returned to Fort Myers for 1980, but after hitting .405/.466/.456 in 20 games he was promoted to the Jacksonville Suns of the Class AA Southern League. For the Suns he hit .305/.358/.431 in 367 at-bats, showing more extra-base power with 17 doubles, seven triples and five homers, and stealing 14 bases.

During spring training 1981 Pat was called up to play in an exhibition game with Kansas City, in which he got four hits. He opened the regular season playing center field and batting eighth for AAA Omaha, and on April 19 he got a feature article in the Omaha World-Herald:

Omaha Rookie Pat Sheridan Gives Royals Speedy Threat

By Howard Brantz

World-Herald Associate Sports Editor

When baseball people start talking about speed in the field or on the base paths, the name of Kansas City’s Willie Wilson usually surfaces quickly.

When Omaha Royals players talk quickness, Pat Sheridan, the rookie from Michigan, has center stage.

“He’s by far the fastest in the organization, except for Wilson,” said Omaha veteran Bobby Detherage, no slouch on the bases either.

Sheridan, a 6-3, 175-pounder, has been clocked in 6.45 seconds for 60 yards—in baseball gear.

As a high schooler at Wayne, Mich., he ran the 100 in 9.9 seconds—in tennis shoes—and was the fastest boy in school. So he can fly.

The 23-year-old center fielder wants to develop his base-stealing ability.

“I want to steal,” said Sheridan…

Before long Pat was moved into the leadoff spot. In early May, at which point he was hitting .342, he missed some time with the flu, then on May 18 he “fell on the steps at home taking laundry to the basement and injured his elbow.” At first it was thought to be just a bruise and that he would only miss a few games, but eventually it was found to be a cracked bone and he was out until June 24. 

From Howard Brantz of the World-Herald on August 12:

Hitless Nights Don’t Bug Royal Rookie

Pat Sheridan is glad he isn’t a pitcher.

“If you have a bad game when you’re pitching, you have to wait four or five days to get rid of the feeling,” Sheridan, the rookie speedster of the Omaha Royals, said.

His roomie at home is Bill Laskey, the elongated pitcher. Looking at the twosome, you get the idea quickly that neither is a gourmet cook. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Sheridan said:

“I fry bacon and eggs and can cook hamburgers,” he said. “And that’s about all.”

Laskey, 6-5 and 190, isn’t much better around the kitchen, Sheridan said.

“My mother sent me some easy recipes, but so far we haven’t had much time to try them,” Sheridan said.

“We aren’t really as hungry as we look. We’re not starving, I’ll tell you that.”

Most of the time they eat out for their main meal, Sheridan said.

He did say that he was looking forward to a visit from his parents and a real home-cooked meal.

Unlike his roomie, Sheridan said he can rid himself of the distress caused by an “0-fer”—a hitless night.

“I try to forget the bad night when I leave the park,” the Michigan native said. He rejected scholarship offers to become a wide receiver at several major schools, including Michigan.

“You can’t let a bad night bother you. If you do, it’s really wearing on the mind and hurts you even more. I just think of the next night when I can come back and redeem myself.

“Pitchers. Wouldn’t that be awful to have to wait so long for your next start?”…

“Pat has shown a lot of improvement,” Omaha Manager Joe Sparks said. “He was a bit too cautious early, but he is becoming more aggressive. He has a lot of potential. Nobody can tell how much.”

A native of Wayne, Mich., he has a .309 average, with 10 doubles, a team-high eight triples and five homers this season…

Sheridan hasn’t fully utilized his speed as a base stealer. But he really flies when he hits the ball, frequently stretching hits an extra base with head-long dives…

Pat ended up hitting .298/.365/.444 with 12 stolen bases in 315 at-bats; Omaha finished with the best record in the league and while winning their first-round playoff series (they lost in the championship) Pat’s contract was purchased by Kansas City, effective at the end of the playoffs. On September 16 he made his major league debut, replacing Clint Hurdle in right field in the ninth inning of a victory at California. On the 21^st, at home against Minnesota, Pat pinch-ran for Willie Wilson, which has to have been a rare event, in the bottom of the sixth with the Royals down 7-2. He stayed in the game in left field, and got his first at-bat in the eighth, striking out against Albert Williams. He made his last appearance of the season on the 27^th at home against Seattle, replacing Cesar Geronimo in right in the ninth inning of a 15-3 Royals win. After the season the Royals played 17 games on a tour of Japan, and Pat was part of the squad.

In 1982 Pat was invited to major league spring training as a non-roster player and almost made the team—he was the last player cut and was sent back to Omaha. But he had injured his hamstring in an exhibition game and he reinjured it in Omaha’s opening game, then he reinjured it two more times trying to come back. It was mid-July before he was back for good, and he finished with just 135 at-bats in 41 games, hitting .252/.327/.326 with no home runs and no stolen bases.

Pat was on the Royals’ protected roster over the 1982-83 off-season, but the team picked up outfielders Joe Simpson and Leon Roberts and Pat was sent back to Omaha in April again. 

From the April 6 Omaha World-Herald:

“I knew when they got Simpson and Roberts that my future was with Omaha,” Sheridan said. “They never had any plans for me this spring. They didn’t give me a chance to make the team because if they did I would have made it.

“Last year I probably had the club made but they sent me to Omaha because they wanted me to play everyday. They didn’t want me to sit up there and just be a utility outfielder.”

…Sheridan hasn’t given up, and the Royals haven’t given up on him. Dick Balderson, the Royals’ director of scouting and player development, said Sheridan is still considered one of the organization’s top outfield prospects.

On May 14 Pat was called up to Kansas City after hitting .307/.388/.653 with four doubles, five triples and four homers in 20 games. On the 15^th he made his first appearance in a major league starting lineup, playing right and batting 7^th in a home game against the Tigers, as reported in the May 30 Sporting News:

Sheridan Living Ultimate Dream

KANSAS CITY—Pat Sheridan was in a dream world in mid-May, and he didn’t want anyone to pinch him.

He figured he would be playing all season at Omaha (American Association), but the Kansas City Royals called him up May 14 when right fielder Jerry Martin’s problems with his right wrist persisted.

On May 15, Sheridan was in the lineup, and in the ninth inning against the Detroit Tigers he got his first major-league hit—a solo home run that sent the game into extra innings. “That’s the ultimate dream—a homer on your first hit,” he said.

Two nights later, in Boston, Sheridan made a spectacular diving catch in right-center and another outstanding catch after a long run to the foul line, helping preserve a 2-1 victory. The press swarmed him. Who was this thin, fleet, spectacled youngster?...

“I’m usually a guy who scores a lot of runs, not knocks in a lot,” he said. “And I can run pretty good, so I’ve gotten to some balls in the outfield that others couldn’t

“I’m not off to a great start with the stick (2-for-10), but I think I can help. I’ve never ben pegged as a Judy.”

…Manager Dick Howser said when Sheridan was recalled, “He’ll be a regular player with us against most righthanded pitching. We didn’t bring him up to have him sit around.”

Pat missed some time in June with a shoulder injury, and continued to hit around .200 until getting hot in July and August. Meanwhile, he was moved from right to left as Amos Otis moved from center to right and Willie Wilson from left to center; he also spent some time in center during an injury to Wilson. The Sporting News said on September 12:

Pat Sheridan has earned his spurs, easing gradually from platooning against righthanded pitching to full-time status because of injuries, and batting close to .300. He has turned plays in center field that border on the spectacular.

Pat played in 109 games for Kansas City, hitting .270/.312/.381 with 12 stolen bases in 15 attempts.

After the season Wilson was sent to prison for attempting to purchase cocaine, and in January 1984 he was suspended by major league baseball, so with his future up in the air Pat went into spring training as the presumed center fielder. He kept the job until Wilson’s return in mid-May, at which point he became the right fielder against right-handed pitchers. From the July 30 Sporting News:

Sheridan Has Done a Lot for Royals

KANSAS CITY—Locating a Kansas City Royals player among the American League leaders this year has been nearly impossible. Sure, Dan Quisenberry is the saves’ master. But offensive leaders?

The most noticeable absentees are center fielder Willie Wilson and third baseman George Brett. Each missed the first six weeks of the season, so each has fewer than 300 at-bats this year. And another who regularly has been among the A.L. leaders, designated hitter Hal McRae, is far off his normal pace.

So the situation left open the door for someone else to take the lead. That has been outfielder Pat Sheridan, a new name on the offensive charts. Sheridan began the second half of the season fourth in the league with a .323 batting average.

The reason? Sheridan acknowledges that it has helped hitting second in the order, between Wilson and Brett. Coming up between two former batting champions would figure to be something of a hitter’s paradise.

“I think any time when you’re sandwiched between two of the better hitters in the league, you’re going to get better pitches to hit,” Sheridan said. “I know if a pitcher gets behind on me (in the count) he’s going to come in with something because he’d rather face me than George. I think that helps. You get a better selection of pitches hitting between them. I don’t think they’re ever going to pitch around me to get to George. Nobody is going to do that.

“Then, if Willie gets on in front of me, I know they’re going to throw fastballs. If the pitcher throws a curveball, there’s almost no chance to throw Willie out. So I get a lot of high fastballs when he’s on first base.”

Pat’s hitting fell off later in the season, and he ended up hitting .281/.338/.399 in 481 at-bats, with 24 doubles, four triples, eight home runs and 19 stolen bases. The Royals won their division but got swept by the Tigers in the playoffs, as Pat went 0-for-6 in the three games.

1985 found Pat platooning in right again. He missed several games in May with a stiff neck, and went on the disabled list for the second half of June after pulling a hamstring. Meanwhile he was not hitting well, and he lost his spot in the right field platoon to Dane Iorg in July, though he got it back the last week of the season. He hit just .228/.307/.335 in 206 at-bats, with 11 stolen bases. The Royals won the Western Division again and this time they beat Toronto in seven games; Pat had just three hits in 20 at-bats, but two of them were home runs. Then the Royals beat the Cardinals in seven games in the World Series, while Pat was 4-for-18 with two doubles.

During the off-season Pat took the Royals to salary arbitration and lost, then late in spring training 1986 he was released. A week later the Tigers signed him to a minor-league contract; they sent him to AAA Nashville, where he had ten hits in 35 at-bats before being called up to Detroit on April 23 when Kirk Gibson was placed on the disabled list. Gibson returned in early June, but Pat stayed with the Tigers for the rest of the season, starting in one of the outfield spots in the majority of the games against right-handers, and hit .237/.300/.360 in 236 at-bats in 98 games. After the season the team sent Pat to free-lance hitting instructor Harry Walker.

Pat filed for arbitration again, but he and the Tigers came to a settlement before the hearing. From the Sporting News, March 30, 1987:

[Manager Sparky] Anderson called left fielder Pat Sheridan the most improved player in camp. Sheridan is switching from right field to left and will platoon with Larry Herndon. “Pat is making the most of the chance,” said Anderson, “because he has a new lease on life. Pat knows what it’s like not to be wanted by a club (Sheridan was released by Kansas City after the 1985 season) and he is going to make sure it doesn’t happen again. He’s got the best arm in the outfield, plus he’s the second best runner on the team. I think he’s a tremendous talent.”

With Kirk Gibson starting the season on the disabled list, Pat actually was playing right field, and when Gibson returned Anderson moved him to left and kept Pat, and various platoon partners, in right. From the June 1 Sporting News:

Spraying Beats Pulling

DETROIT—The transition would be complete, if it was a transition at all. But Pat Sheridan said it isn’t, that he’s only going back to the style of hitting he once knew.

Whether it’s something new, something old or something in between, the style was working for the Detroit Tigers outfielder. In mid-May, Sheridan had hiked his batting average to .331, fourth best in the American League.

Most of the hits were singles, but once in awhile he reminded pitchers of the power lurking behind those line drives up the middle, such as when he slammed a 431-foot home run to dead center field in Arlington Stadium on May 18.

It was Sheridan’s first home run of the season, after 115 at-bats, and along with it came a test. Would he revert to bad habits, such as pulling the ball for extra power?

“Maybe last year I would have. Or two years ago. But not anymore,” said Sheridan. “That’s not me. I have the strength to hit home runs, but that’s not what I’m up there trying to do.”

The left-handed hitting Sheridan never considered himself a home run hitter. But he did have a tendency in the last two years to pull the ball instead of spray it. Last winter, the Tigers sent him to hitting instructor Harry Walker to correct the habit.

“It’s funny,” Sheridan said. “This isn’t a new style for me, just an old one rediscovered. It’s what I was in the minors and early in the majors. I hit the ball up the middle, and also to left. I didn’t try to pull the ball back then.”

Sheridan hit .270 for Kansas City in 1983 and followed that up with a .283 average the next season as he became the Royals’ starting right fielder.

“After that year, I had a lot of people wanting me to change my style,” he said. “I did, but the people who make you change never get the blame. Only the player does.

“Now I’m just getting back to what I was, putting the ball in play. I can hit home runs, but I don’t try to. That’s not my role. Getting on base and scoring runs is.”…

Pat was hitting .300 as late as June 21 and .290 as late as August 25, but then slumped and didn’t get many starts the last few weeks of the season. He wound up hitting .259/.327/.361 in 421 at-bats in 141 games, with 18 stolen bases. The Tigers won the East Division but lost in five games to the Twins in the playoffs; Pat, who got his job back for the series, was the star of the Tigers’ lone win in game 3, hitting a two-run homer off Twins relief ace Jeff Reardon in the bottom of the 8^th for a 7-6 victory.

Pat filed for salary arbitration again for 1988, and again agreed to a settlement before the hearing. He had an excellent April, back in left field against righthanders, then missed some time with an injury. From the May 23 Sporting News:

Leftfielder Pat Sheridan hit the second grand slam of his career May 6 against Seattle, in a game he wasn’t scheduled to play. Bothered by a pulled groin muscle, Sheridan wasn’t in the starting lineup, but when the Mariners made four pitching changes in the eighth inning, Tigers Manager Sparky Anderson inserted an equal number of pinch-hitters. Sheridan was the fourth pinch-hitter of the inning and belted the grand slam on the first pitch from Mike Jackson. “That’s one way to keep from running hard,” he said.

On June 8 Pat went 4-for-5 with two homers and six RBI; at that point in the season he was hitting .298/380/.553. On July 6 it was announced that he had been named the AL Player of the Week for the previous week, during which he was 11-for-22 with three doubles, two triples, two homers, 10 RBI and a 1.091 slugging percentage. He faded some after that, but still ended up with career highs in home runs, on-base and slugging, going .254/.339/.403 with 11 homers in 347 at-bats in 127 games.

For 1989 Pat once again filed for salary arbitration and once again settled before the hearing. On February 22 Joe Falls, in his Detroit News column, asked “Why is there always talk about trading Pat Sheridan?” Four days later Falls, in a column on his early impressions of the Tigers, said:

Pat Sheridan: A personal favorite because he is so quiet and so friendly. He will give them a .250 average with some power and won’t be a problem if he sits.

Pat lost his outfield spot to Fred Lynn and opened the season as the DH against righthanders. He bounced around between DH and the three outfield spots as needed until on June 16 he was traded to San Francisco for outfielder Tracy Jones. From the next day’s Detroit News:

Sheridan traded to Giants for Jones

By Tom Gage

Pat Sheridan didn’t want to go. But he always knew there was a chance…

This was the first trade, however, for Sheridan, who was picked up by the Tigers after he was released by Kansas City in April, 1986.

“It was a dream come true to play here, not only for me, but for my family,” said the former Eastern Michigan star. Sheridan and his wife are building a house in Farmington Hills, and they’re also expecting their first child next month.

“This is going to be tough on my wife,” he said. “Maybe it’ll turn out to be the best thing for my career, but I can’t say that now. I’m shocked, disappointed, sad, just about everything.”

Sheridan was in the midst of batting practice, “when Sparky called me into his office and told me I’d been traded. It’s the last thing I expected.”

And the last thing he wanted.

The Giants put Pat into a right field platoon with Candy Maldonado. Meanwhile, he was getting into horse racing, as shown in this item from Al Coffman’s racing column in the June 26 Detroit News: “’Yankee,’ claimed recently for $12,500 by ex-Tigers outfielder Pat Sheridan, won with a sparkling 1:55 2/5 mile, only 1 3/5 seconds off the track record.” He missed a couple games in July when his daughter was born. In August manager Roger Craig, unhappy with the right field platoon’s production, started mixing in some other starters, but Pat still got the bulk of the time against righties. His season totals, combining both teams, were .221/.295/.335 in 281 at-bats in 120 games, with eight stolen bases in nine attempts.

Meanwhile, the Giants were winning their division. They beat the Cubs in five games in the playoffs, as Pat went 2-for-13 with a triple, then moved on to the World Series against Oakland. Craig played a hunch and started Maldonado in the first two games even though the Athletics started righthanders, so Pat only got two at-bats as Oakland swept the series. Game three was delayed for ten days following the Loma Prieta earthquake, and Pat got a little media attention when the AP surveyed the players on both teams and he was the only one who said he thought the series should be called off.

After the series Pat filed for free agency, while the Giants signed Kevin Bass to play right field. In February 1990 Pat signed with Kansas City. From the February 16 Detroit News:

Sheridan signs with Royals

By Tom Gage

Not all free agents find a pot of gold. Pat Sheridan, for instance, found a ticket back to the minors.

The former Tiger signed a Double-A contract Thursday with the Memphis affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. However, he will be invited to spring training with the Royals with a chance to make the team if and when there is a spring training.

“There were a couple of other teams interested,” Sheridan said, “but with no guarantees at all. Cleveland and Seattle showed some interest. Seattle showed a lot of early interest, in fact, but it cooled down.

“I’m not going to the minors. If I don’t make the major-league team, I’ll probably come home, but maybe I should keep an open mind on that.”

At the end of spring training the Royals released Pat after he refused to go to Memphis. On April 26 he signed a minor league contract with the Cubs and reported to Iowa of the AAA American Association. He hit .329/.420/.543 in 23 games; an article in the April 6, 1991, Jersey Journal described what happened next:

…Sheridan had a verbal understand [sic] with the Cubs that if he was playing well in Iowa, and the team was ready to call him up [sic], he would be free to leave.

Early in June, Sheridan was hitting .329, but the Cubs had no plans to bring him up. Sheridan, citing the verbal agreement, told them he was leaving. But the Cubs told him he couldn’t go anywhere. After a week of acrimonious negotiations, Sheridan left the team on June 18. The Cubs immediately put him on the suspended list, making it impossible for him to talk to other teams. Chicago kept him on the list until the season ended.

In January 1991 Pat signed a minor league contract with the Yankees and was invited to major league spring training to compete for a backup outfielder job. He seemed to have won a spot until, a few days before the season opener, the Yankees picked up Scott Lusader on waivers. From the same April 6 Jersey Journal article:

To make room for Lusader, Yanks [sic] asked Sheridan to accept an assignment to Triple A Columbus. The 33-year-old Sheridan, who was an unsigned non-roster player, hit .263 in 38 at bats this spring. He said he would talk to his wife and agent before deciding whether to accept the demotion. If he chooses not to go to Columbus, Sheridan will become a free agent.

“It’s tough for Sheridan. I feel bad for him,” said manager Stump Merrill. “I told him the chances of getting back are better when you’re playing than when you’re sitting.”

But Sheridan is probably still reluctant to take a step down after suffering through a bad experience last year…

When he arrived in the Yankee camp this spring, Sheridan thought he was with an organization that would give him a fair chance to win a job. But yesterday, Sheridan was again dealing with the hurt of being let go.

“I’m really surprised,” he said. “It’s the last day (of spring training) and everybody told you you made the team. Everybody but the right people.

“It’s disheartening when do [sic] the job they want you to do and you still come up short. It’s not a very happy feeling. It’s hard when you feel you made the team and at the last hour you didn’t make the team.”

Pat did accept the Columbus assignment. He was hitting .271/.363/.457 in 70 at-bats when on May 13 he was brought up to New York when Lusader was put on the DL. He stayed with the Yankees for the rest of the season, getting some starts in right field for a while but then being used almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter over the final several weeks. 

He hit .204/.286/.336 in 113 at-bats in 62 games; after the season the Yankees exercised the buyout clause in his contract, paying him $20,000 and releasing him.

Since 1992 Pat has had an insurance business, PAS Insurance Services, in Canton, Michigan. In January 1995 he was on the list of players receiving damages as part of the collusion settlement between the players’ union and the owners; he got $13,600.62. In October 1998 he was inducted into the Eastern Michigan University Athletic Hall of Fame.

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/S/Psherp001.htm

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sheripa01.shtml