Adam Anthony Comorosky (December 9, 1905 – March 2, 1951) was an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player. Comorosky started working in the coal mines of

Swoyersville, Pennsylvania Swoyersville is a borough in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,008 in the 2020 census. Swoyersville is located within the Wyoming Valley West School District. History Originally a part of Kingston Township, whe ...

, at the age of 12, where he worked as a breaker boy. His lesson from the experience was that it "teach syou values. If you're ever lucky enough to get a good job outside, you value that job." His best season in the majors came in 1930, when he drove in 119 runs, hit 47 doubles, and led the National League with 23 triples, a total that has not been surpassed since. His health declined the following year, and he was never the same ballplayer. He was traded to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

November 1933 along with

Tony Piet Anthony Francis Piet, born Anthony Francis Pietruszka (December 7, 1906 – December 1, 1981) was an American professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball from 1931 to 1938. Biography Piet played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnat ...

for

Red Lucas Charles Fred "Red" Lucas (April 28, 1902 – July 9, 1986) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pinch hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1923 to 1938 for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and Pi ...

and

Wally Roettger Walter Henry Roettger (August 28, 1902 – September 14, 1951) was an American professional baseball player who was an outfielder in the major leagues from to . He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Giants and Pittsb ...

. His minor league career included stops with the

Williamsport Grays The Williamsport Grays were a minor league baseball team in Williamsport, Pennsylvania between 1923 and 1962. The club began play in 1923 in the New York–Pennsylvania League and were a charter member of the Eastern League in 1938. The team wa ...

in 1926 and the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

in 1936 After his baseball career was over, he owned a store in the town of

, until his death at the age of 45.

Pro career

Comorosky made his pro debut for the

of the New York-Penn League. With the Grays, Comorosky appeared in a handful of games and batted just .196. However, he also earned a trip to play for Waynesboro Villagers of the

Blue Ridge League The Blue Ridge League was the name of two minor league baseball organizations that operated in the first half of the twentieth century in the United States. History The first league operated for the better part of sixteen years, from 1915 throu ...

. On September 13, 1926, Comorosky made his major league debut for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

appearing in one at bat, going hitless versus the New York Giants. Over the course of the next few seasons, Comorosky split his time between the parent club Pittsburgh, and the minors, playing in cities like Wichita and Indianapolis. In 1929, he made the Pirates roster to stay. That season, he appeared in 127 and batted .321 with six home runs. He made the starting outfield, after platooning with former starter

Clyde Barnhart Clyde Lee Barnhart (December 29, 1895 – January 21, 1980) was an American right-handed outfielder and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He attended Cumberland Valley State Normal School (now Shippens ...

the previous season. In the outfield, he played alongside Paul and Lloyd Warner, two brothers and future Hall of Famers. The Pirates ended the 1929 season in second place. The next season Comorosky lead the team in games played, appearing in 152 games that season. Along with the Warners, each outfielder batted over .300, with Comorosky hitting .316. However, under manager

Jewel Ens Jewel Winklemeyer Ens (August 24, 1889 – January 17, 1950) was an American infielder, manager and coach in Major League Baseball. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Ens served the Pittsburgh Pirates as a utility infielder (1922–25), player-coach ( ...

. the Pirates slipped from second place down to 5th. Statistically, it was a great season for Comorosky. He was 4th in the league with doubles (47), led the league in triples (23) and sacrifice hits (33). he followed up his best season with one of his worst. Appearing in only 99 games the following season, Comorosky also saw his batting average dip to, down 70 points to .243. While he rebounded the next two season, he could not duplicate the success he had in 1930. After the 1933 season was over, the Pirates traded Comorosky to the

along with infielder

in exchange for pitcher

and outfielder

. Comorosky played for the Reds the next two seasons before drawing his release from the big league club at the conclusion of the 1935 season, ending his time in the major leagues. It was back to the minors and playing in cities like Toronto and Wilkes-Barre before retiring at the end of the 1938 season. However, his career wasn't exactly over. In 1940 he signed a contract to play for the

Clinton Giants Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given na ...

, a farm club of the New York Giants. In 813 games over 10 seasons, Comorosky posted a .285

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(795-for-2787) with 404 runs, 134 doubles, 51

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, 28

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, 417 RBI, 57

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

and 214

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

. Defensively, he recorded a .972

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

playing at all three outfield positions.

References

External links

Wyoming Valley Sports Hall of Fame, 1971
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comorosky, Adam 1905 births 1951 deaths People from Swoyersville, Pennsylvania Baseball players from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Major League Baseball outfielders Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players Waynesboro Villagers players Wichita Larks players 20th-century American sportsmen Clinton Giants players Indianapolis Indians players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Wilkes-Barre Barons (baseball) players Williamsport Grays players

Pro career

See also

References

External links