Wally Schang

Walter Henry Schang (August 22, 1889 – March 6, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns and the Detroit Tigers. Schang was the starting catcher for six American League pennant winning teams (Philadelphia Athletics (–), Boston Red Sox (), New York Yankees (–), and was considered one of the best major league catchers of his era, performing well both offensively and defensively. He was a switch-hitter who batted above .300 six times during his playing career and posted a career .393 on-base percentage, second only to Mickey Cochrane among major league catchers. In he became the first Major League Baseball player to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same game. Standing 5-foot-10 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds, Schang was one of the new breed of catchers that emerged from the Deadball Era who used speed and agility to field their position. His reputation as a defensive stand out is enhanced because of the era in which he played. In the Deadball Era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling every type of pitch imaginable, such as shine balls, spitballs, knuckleballs, and emery balls. Career Schang was born on August 22, 1889, in South Wales, New York, a small town approximately 25 miles southeast of Buffalo where, his parents worked as farmers. In 1912, while he was playing in the sandlots of upstate New York for the Buffalo Pullmans, he was discovered by George Stallings, who went on to manage the 1914 Miracle Braves. Schang began his major league career with the Philadelphia Athletics on May 9, 1913 at the age of 23. He played in 79 games and had a slashline of .266/.392/.415 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) while walking 34 times to 44 strikeouts. He also finished eighth in the MVP voting. That year, the Athletics won the American League pennant and played in the 1913 World Series (the first of six appearances for Schang). In the five game defeat of the New York Giants, he hit .357 with five hits and seven RBIs in four games played, which included a home run in Game 3 (as it would turn out, this was the only postseason home run he ever hit).