George Blaeholder
Encyclopedia
George Franklin Blaeholder (January 26, 1904 – December 29, 1947) was a pitcher
in Major League Baseball
. Blaeholder began his career in 1925 with the St. Louis Browns
, but he pitched in just two innings that season. Back in the minors in 1926, he returned to the majors with the Browns in 1927, where he again saw limited duty, pitching only 9 innings. In 1928, he became a regular full-time pitcher, posting a 10-15 record and a 4.04 ERA in 214 innings. He won 10 or more games in 7 seasons with the Browns, but the Browns were a perennial losing team, and Blaeholder had only one non-losing season with the Browns (in 1932 when he went 14-14). During the 1935 season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics
, and the next year, he played his final season with the Cleveland Indians
, where he went 8-4, the only winning season of his career. He finished his career with a 104-125 record and a 4.54 ERA; despite this record, Hall of Famer
Jimmie Foxx
said for him that Blaeholder was the toughest pitcher to hit in the American League
.
Blaeholder is most noted for popularizing the slider
pitch. Pitchers had previously used the pitch, but not nearly as extensively as Blaeholder threw it, as the pitch was considered by pitchers at the time to ruin the arm.
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...
in Major League Baseball
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...
. Blaeholder began his career in 1925 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...
, but he pitched in just two innings that season. Back in the minors in 1926, he returned to the majors with the Browns in 1927, where he again saw limited duty, pitching only 9 innings. In 1928, he became a regular full-time pitcher, posting a 10-15 record and a 4.04 ERA in 214 innings. He won 10 or more games in 7 seasons with the Browns, but the Browns were a perennial losing team, and Blaeholder had only one non-losing season with the Browns (in 1932 when he went 14-14). During the 1935 season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
, and the next year, he played his final season with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
, where he went 8-4, the only winning season of his career. He finished his career with a 104-125 record and a 4.54 ERA; despite this record, Hall of Famer
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....
said for him that Blaeholder was the toughest pitcher to hit in 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...
.
Blaeholder is most noted for popularizing the slider
Slider
In baseball, a slider is a pitch that breaks laterally and down, with a speed between that of a curveball and that of a fastball....
pitch. Pitchers had previously used the pitch, but not nearly as extensively as Blaeholder threw it, as the pitch was considered by pitchers at the time to ruin the arm.