Otto George Denning (December 28, 1912 – May 25, 1992) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

. His 20-year (1932–51) career was confined to minor league baseball except for 129 games at the Major League level during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

manpower shortage for the 1942–43

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. He was a native of Hays, Kansas, and attended high school in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Nicknamed "Dutch," Denning was a ,

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. He began his pro baseball career in 1932 with the Davenport Blue Sox in the Class D Mississippi Valley League. In 1938, he joined 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 ...

of the top-level

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

and finished second to teammate

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1 ...

in the league's batting race. He hit over .300 for Minneapolis for four consecutive seasons, then was selected by the Indians in the 1941 Rule 5 Draft. Denning made his big-league debut on April 15, 1942 against the Detroit Tigers, and lashed two hits in four

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, including a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, off

Dizzy Trout Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout (June 29, 1915 – February 28, 1972) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team that finished ...

in a 6–2 Cleveland defeat. He started at catcher again the following day, and went one for two, with another double (off

Tommy Bridges Thomas Jefferson Davis Bridges (December 28, 1906 – April 19, 1968) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career with the Detroit Tigers from 1930 to 1946. During the 1930s, he used an outstanding cu ...

). But, although he was the Indians' most-used catcher (playing ahead of

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

and eventual Cleveland stalwart

Jim Hegan James Edward Hegan (August 3, 1920 – June 17, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and scout. He played for 17 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to and to , most notably for the Cleveland Indians w ...

and veteran Gene Desautels), Denning's production declined as the season wore on. He batted only .210 in 92 games, and, in he served as the Indians' reserve first baseman (backing up Mickey Rocco) through June 4, when he returned to the minor leagues for the remainder of his on-field career. In the Majors, Denning collected 76 hits, with 20 doubles and one

home run 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 i ...

, struck on May 4, 1942, at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

off Dick Newsome of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. He became a

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

in the minors in 1948 in the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

organization, retiring as an active player in 1950 before spending a final season, 1951, as a non-playing skipper.

Personal

Denning was the uncle of outfielder

Chris Bourjos Christopher Bourjos (born October 16, 1954) is an American former professional baseball player who played part of one season for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He has worked as an Arizona-based scout (sport), scout. Playing c ...

and great-uncle of outfielder

Peter Bourjos Peter Christopher Bourjos (born March 31, 1987) is an American former professional baseball center fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim / Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia P ...

.Baseball Reference
/ref>

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Denning, Otto 1912 births 1992 deaths Baseball players from Chicago Baseball players from Kansas Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Colorado Springs Sky Sox managers Cleveland Indians players Elmira Colonels players Davenport Blue Sox players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first basemen Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Pensacola Fliers players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Waterloo White Hawks players People from Hays, Kansas