Charles Fred "Red" Lucas (April 28, 1902 – July 9, 1986) 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 professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the 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 dr ...

and

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

. He played 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 (A ...

(MLB) from 1923 to 1938 for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

Boston Braves 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 it ...

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

, and

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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He was a pitcher who contributed to his teams in several positions over the years. Red Lucas was one of the most recent two-way players, serving as a prolific pinch hitter throughout his career. He helped the Giants win the 1923 National League Pennant. Lucas finished 11th in voting for the 1927 National League MVP. That year, he had a won–loss record of 18–11, with 19 complete games, 4 shutouts, 2 saves, 239 innings pitched, and a 3.38 ERA. Lucas was 6th in voting for the 1929 NL MVP for leading the league in WHIP (1.204), hits allowed per 9 innings pitched (8.90), and 28 completed games. He had a 19–12 won–loss record, with 2 shutouts and a 3.60 ERA. Lucas finished 14th in voting for the 1931 NL MVP. While Lucas led the National League in shutouts with 4 in 1928, completing 28 games in 1932 and walks/9IP (1.33) in 1936. He appeared in 19 games as a fielder, mostly at second base, but occasionally at third base, shortstop, or the outfield. Lucas pinch hit 505 times over his 16 seasons; his 114 base hits as a pinch hitter rank him among the most prolific pinch hitters in Major League Baseball history. His total was, by far, the most ever for a player whose primary position was pitcher. As a pitcher, Lucas batted seventh in the lineup for the Reds on September 7, 1933, and was the last Reds pitcher to bat higher than ninth until

Jason Marquis Jason Scott Marquis (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Ariz ...

batted eighth in May 2015. Lucas posted a .281

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 ...

with 155 runs, 3

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 i ...

, 190 RBI and 124

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

in his major league career. Defensively, he was better than average, recording a .981

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

as a pitcher and a .977 fielding percentage overall. After his major league career, Lucas spent several seasons managing and occasional pitching in the minor leagues. He served as a minor league manager in 1941 with Grand Rapids (Michigan State League) and in 1942 Newport (Tenn.) of the Appalachian League. Lucas was a player/coach for the

Nashville Vols The Nashville Vols were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Nashville, Tennessee, from 1901 to 1963. Known only as the Nashville Baseball Club during their first seven seasons, they were officially named the Nashville Volunteers (often sh ...

in 1944 and 1945. He managed the Class D Lumberton Cubs of the Tobacco State League in 1947. In 1948, Lucas was the manager of the Decatur Ill. club in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League. His nickname, "The Nashville Narcissus," was coined by Colonel Bob Newhall, a reporter for the old Cincinnati Tribune, who may have thought the young pitcher was a blooming star. He died in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

on July 9, 1986.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, Red 1902 births 1986 deaths Baseball players from Tennessee People from Columbia, Tennessee Major League Baseball pitchers New York Giants (NL) players Boston Braves players Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players Minor league baseball managers Nashville Vols players Rome (minor league baseball) players Jackson Red Sox players Greenwood Indians players San Antonio Bears players Seattle Indians players Chattanooga Lookouts players Montreal Royals players Newport Canners players Lumberton Cubs players Lumberton Auctioneers players