Joseph Paul Ostrowski was a 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...

 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...

. He played all or part of five seasons in the majors, from -, for 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...

 and New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

.

Ostrowski did not enter professional baseball out of college, instead opting to teach for three years, leading to his being nicknamed "Professor" and "Specs" as a player. He was finally picked up at the age of 25 by the Boston Red Sox

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...

 as an amateur free agent in 1941. The 6', 180 lb. left-hander began his professional career that season with the Centreville Red Sox. After missing the 1943-45 seasons while serving in the military during World War II, he played the 1946-47 seasons for the Louisville Colonels, the Red Sox' top farm team. In November 1947, he was part of an eight-player trade sending him to the Browns.

After starting the season in the minors with the Toledo Mud Hens

Toledo Mud Hens

The Toledo Mud Hens are a minor league baseball team located in Toledo, Ohio. The Mud Hens play in the International League, and are affiliated with the major league baseball team the Detroit Tigers, based approximately 50 miles to the north of Toledo. The current team is one of several...

, Ostrowski made his MLB debut on July 18, 1948 with the Browns. He was traded to the Yankees on June 15, 1950 as part of a seven-player trade, and pitched for them through 1952. After pitching for the Los Angeles Angels

Los Angeles Angels (PCL)

The Los Angeles Angels were a team based in Los Angeles, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1957, after which they transferred to Spokane, Washington to become the Spokane Indians. Los Angeles would later become the host city to a Major League Baseball team, the...

 of the Pacific Coast League

Pacific Coast League

The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...

 in , he retired from professional baseball and returned to teaching.

External links

• Joe Ostrowski at Find a Grave
  Find A Grave
  Find a Grave is a commercial website providing free access and input to an online database of cemetery records. It was founded in 1998 as a DBA and incorporated in 2000.-History:...