Dode Criss
Encyclopedia
Dode Criss was a former right-handed Major League Baseball
pitcher
and pinch hitter
who played his entire career from 1908
to 1911
with the St. Louis Browns
of the American League
. He is considered by historian Bill James
as the first player to be used as a pinch hitter regularly.
Criss was born in Sherman, Mississippi
. Criss started out in the Texas League
where he was a key player for the Cleburne, Texas
championship team in 1906. Criss signed with the Browns in the beginning of the 1908 season, where his father told Criss, not to sign for them for less than a dollar a day. In his first season on the big leagues, Criss became the first player to pinch hit at least 40 times in a season, with 41 out of 82 at bats, making 12 pinch hits, (28 overall) for a .341 batting average, higher than the league leader, Ty Cobb
.
A minor controversy ensued as St. Louis fans were outraged that the then Commissioner of Baseball, Ban Johnson
, declared Cobb as the batting average winner instead of Criss. He led the American League in pinch at-bats and hits in every season of his four year career. After his career with the Browns, Criss went back to the Texas League, where he led the league in batting three times, and pitched three no-hitters for Houston
.
Overall, Criss played in 227 games, getting 304 at bats, 84 hits, for a .276 lifetime average. Pitching wise, Criss had a three win and nine losses in his career with a 4.38 earned run average
and 70 strikeouts.
Criss died in Sherman in 1955. He is a member of the Texas League Hall of Fame
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
and pinch hitter
Pinch hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead ; the manager may use any player that has not yet entered the game as a substitute...
who played his entire career from 1908
1908 in baseball
-Statistical leaders:-American League final standings:-National League final standings:-January-March:*February 27 - The sacrifice fly rule is adopted. No time at bat is charged if a run scores after the catch of a fly ball...
to 1911
1911 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: Philadelphia Athletics over New York Giants -Awards and honors:*Chalmers Award**Ty Cobb, Detroit Tigers, OF**Wildfire Schulte, Chicago Cubs, OF-MLB statistical leaders:-American League final standings:...
with the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
of the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
. He is considered by historian Bill James
Bill James
George William “Bill” James is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics...
as the first player to be used as a pinch hitter regularly.
Criss was born in Sherman, Mississippi
Sherman, Mississippi
Sherman is a town which straddles Lee, Pontotoc, and Union counties in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The population was 548 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
. Criss started out in the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
where he was a key player for the Cleburne, Texas
Cleburne, Texas
Cleburne is a city in Johnson County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Fort Worth. According to 2007 United States Census Bureau estimates, the population is 29,050. It is the county seat of Johnson County. Cleburne is named for a Confederate General, Patrick Cleburne...
championship team in 1906. Criss signed with the Browns in the beginning of the 1908 season, where his father told Criss, not to sign for them for less than a dollar a day. In his first season on the big leagues, Criss became the first player to pinch hit at least 40 times in a season, with 41 out of 82 at bats, making 12 pinch hits, (28 overall) for a .341 batting average, higher than the league leader, Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...
.
A minor controversy ensued as St. Louis fans were outraged that the then Commissioner of Baseball, Ban Johnson
Ban Johnson
Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson , was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League ....
, declared Cobb as the batting average winner instead of Criss. He led the American League in pinch at-bats and hits in every season of his four year career. After his career with the Browns, Criss went back to the Texas League, where he led the league in batting three times, and pitched three no-hitters for Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
.
Overall, Criss played in 227 games, getting 304 at bats, 84 hits, for a .276 lifetime average. Pitching wise, Criss had a three win and nine losses in his career with a 4.38 earned run average
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
and 70 strikeouts.
Criss died in Sherman in 1955. He is a member of the Texas League Hall of Fame
Texas League Hall of Fame
The Texas League Hall of Fame was started in 2004 to honor the stars of the double-A Texas League. Elections are done by the board of directors at a meeting prior to the baseball league's All-Star Game.-2004:*Jake Atz - Manager*Ike Boone - Outfielder...
.