Claude Elliott Corbitt (July 21, 1915 – May 1, 1978) 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 ...

, an infielder who appeared in 215 Major League games over four seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1945) and the Cincinnati Reds (1946; 1948–1949). The native of Sunbury, North Carolina, attended Duke University. He 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 ...

, stood tall and weighed . Corbitt's professional career began in minor league baseball in 1937, and was interrupted by almost four full seasons of military service with the

United States Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

during World War II. He joined the military in January 1942, was commissioned a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

, and earned his wings.Baseball in Wartime.com
/ref> He was discharged late in the Major League season, but was able to make his big-league debut, at age 30, on September 23 as a defensive replacement for Dodger

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Augie Galan August John Galan (May 23, 1912 – December 28, 1993) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager and coach. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, New ...

. Seven days later, he started at third base against the Philadelphia Phillies, and singled twice against

Hugh Mulcahy Hugh Noyes Mulcahy (September 9, 1913 – October 19, 2001) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1935–40 and 1945–46) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1947). Mulcahy ...

in the season's final game. On March 18, 1946, the Dodgers sold his contract to Cincinnati, and Corbitt spent the remainder of his MLB career with the Reds, including the full seasons of and . In 1946, Corbitt nearly split the Reds'

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

job with Eddie Miller, starting 69 games to Miller's 86. But Corbitt batted only .248 and spent all of 1947 with the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. He won a roster spot with the 1948 Reds, however, and was one of four players who shared the second base job that year. Corbitt started 45 games at second (behind

Bobby Adams Robert Henry Adams (December 14, 1921 – February 13, 1997) was an American professional baseball third baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 1946 through 1959 for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs, Chicago White Sox, ...

and Benny Zientara), and batted .256. In 1949, his final season in the Majors, Corbitt got into 44 games for Cincinnati, starting 25 defensively, but hit only .181 and spent part of the year with Triple-A Syracuse. All told, Corbitt registered 153 hits in the Major Leagues, including 22 doubles and one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

. His lone

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 ...

, a solo blast, came September 13, 1946, off Johnny Gee of the New York Giants.1946-9-13 box score
from

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major ...

Corbitt retired after the 1953 minor league season and died in Cincinnati on May 1, 1978 at the age of 62.

References

External links

RetrosheetVenezuelan Professional Baseball League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbitt, Claude 1915 births 1978 deaths Akron Yankees players Augusta Tigers players Baseball players from North Carolina Brooklyn Dodgers players Cincinnati Reds players Duke Blue Devils baseball players Major League Baseball infielders Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Montreal Royals players Newark Bears (IL) players Norfolk Tars players Palatka Azaleas players Sabios de Vargas players San Antonio Missions players Syracuse Chiefs players United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II