Harold Burton "Rabbit" Warstler (September 13, 1903 – May 31, 1964) was a

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 ...

infielder. He played all or part of 11 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

as a

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 ...

and second baseman for 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 ...

(1930–33), Philadelphia Athletics (1934–36),

Boston Bees The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During ...

(1936–40) and Chicago Cubs (1940).

Early life

Warstler was born on September 13, 1903, to postmaster and village treasurer Edwin W. Warstler and his wife Ella in North Canton (formerly New Berlin), Ohio. Known as Rap, Warstler was the oldest of five children. Warstler graduated from North Canton High School in 1921. Warstler married Grace Mohler, on November 11, 1921 and had three children. Warstler worked for and played on the Hoover Company sandlot baseball team from 1921-22. Playing on an Ohio based traveling semi-pro baseball team, Warstler was discovered in 1927 a scout for the Indianapolis Indians AA club of the American Association.

Minor League Career

In 1927, Warstler played 23 games for the Indianapolis Indians with a .208 average with 1 home run. Warstler spent the bulk of 1927 playing 128 games for the Quincy Red Birds of the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League with a .351 average and 8 home runs. Warstler returned to the Indianapolis Indians for the next three years where he compiled a .285 average with 19 home runs in 408 games. During his minor league career, Warstler compiled a fielding percentage of 92.9%. When Warstler joined the Boston Red Sox in 1930, he flew from Indianapolis to Boston became "first ball player rookie to ride to the big show in an airship".

Major League Career

In his career, Warstler played in 1,205 games and had 4,088 at bats, 431 runs scored, 935 hits, 133 doubles, 36 triples, 11 home runs, 332 RBI, 42 stolen bases, 405 walks, a .229 batting average, a .300 on-base percentage, a .287 slugging percentage, 1,173 total bases, and 107 sacrifice hits. Warstler was a member of the “All Americans” exhibition team assembled by

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

players that toured Asia-Pacific in 1934. Exhibition games were played in Honolulu, Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka, Hakodate, Kokuru, Sendai, Kyoto, Omiya, Utsunomiya, Toyama, Shizuoka, Yokohama, Shanghai, and Manila. Warstler was joined by

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, Frank Hayes,

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, Joe Cascarella, and

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. Warstler then joined Ruth, Gehrig, Gomez and other players for a circumnavigation cruise stopping in Java, Fiji, Singapore, Ceylon, and Marseilles. Warstler died of lung cancer in his hometown of

North Canton, Ohio North Canton is a city in central Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 17,842 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon metropolitan area. History In 1831, the Community of North Canton first began as the Villag ...

at the age of 60.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Warstler, Rabbit Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball second basemen Boston Red Sox players Philadelphia Athletics players Boston Bees players Chicago Cubs players Quincy Red Birds players Indianapolis Indians players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Fort Worth Cats players Baseball players from Ohio People from North Canton, Ohio 1903 births 1964 deaths