Robert Frank Roth (August 28, 1892 – September 11, 1936), nicknamed Braggo, was an American professional

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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played in

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 ...

over parts of eight seasons with 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, Washington Senators, and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

Early life

Robert Frank Roth was born in

Burlington, Wisconsin Burlington is a city in Racine and Walworth counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, with the majority of the city located in Racine County. The population of the city was 11,047 as of the 2020 census. History Prior to the arrival of Europea ...

, on August 28, 1892. Roth's parents resided in Chicago, but vacationed in Burlington each summer at his mother's brother's house on the Fox River. Roth's brother, Frank, was 14 years older than Bobby. He was a catcher in the major leagues between and .

Baseball career

Braggo began his minor league career in 1910 with the Green Bay Bays of the Class-D

Wisconsin–Illinois League The Wisconsin State League was a class D level baseball league that began in 1905, changing its name to the Wisconsin–Illinois League in 1908 and operating through 1914. The league re–organized under that name in 1926. Another Wisconsin Stat ...

. After less than three months, Roth was released and he signed with the Red Wing Manufacturers of the Class-D

Minnesota–Wisconsin League The Minnesota–Wisconsin League, known as the "Minny" League, was a professional minor baseball league that existed from 1909 to 1912. It was a Class D league in 1909, 1910 and 1912 and a Class C league in 1911. As its name suggests, it featured ...

. In 1912, he played for the St. Joseph Drummers of the Western League. He played for the Kansas City Blues of the American Association in 1913 and 1914. Roth played

third base 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 ...

for the first four years of his career, but was converted into an

in 1914. He also earned the nickname "Braggo" during the 1914 season due to his boastful attitude about hitting. Roth made his MLB debut with the

of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

, when they purchased him from the Blues in August 1914. He was switched back to third base, but his playing time decreased in 1915 due to his poor defensive play and the acquisition of

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

, resulting in the White Sox trading Roth with a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

(later decided to be

Larry Chappell La Verne Ashford "Larry" Chappell (February 19, 1890 – November 8, 1918) was an American professional baseball player who played from 1913 to 1917 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and Boston Braves. Chappell died of Spanish Flu whil ...

), Ed Klepfer and $31,500 to the

for

Shoeless Joe Jackson Joseph Jefferson Jackson (July 16, 1887 – December 5, 1951), nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 20th century. His .356 career batting average ...

in August 1915. Roth hit three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in the final week of the 1915 season to increase his season total to seven, one more than

Rube Oldring Reuben Henry "Rube" Oldring (May 30, 1884 – September 9, 1961) was a professional baseball player who played outfield in the major leagues from 1905 to 1918. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics and New York Yankees. Early life Oldring was ...

. Braggo

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

often, leading the American League in strikeouts in 1917, and finishing among the leaders four other times. However, he also drew decent numbers of walks for the times, with a lifetime .367

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

. He was several times among the

stolen base 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 ...

leaders, finishing as high as second in the league in 1918. He led the league in hit-by-pitch in 1918 and was two other times among the leaders. With the Indians seeking pitching, they traded Roth to the Philadelphia Athletics for

Larry Gardner William Lawrence Gardner (May 13, 1886 – March 11, 1976) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1908 through 1924, Gardner played for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. He was a four-time W ...

Charlie Jamieson Charles Devine "Cuckoo" Jamieson (February 7, 1893 – October 27, 1969) was an American baseball player, an outfielder for the Washington Senators (1915–17), Philadelphia Athletics (1917–18) and Cleveland Indians (1919–32). Professional ...

and

Elmer Myers Elmer Glenn Myers (March 2, 1894 – July 29, 1976) was an American professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as a pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseb ...

before the 1919 season. However, Roth's loud personality clashed with the reserved

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. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

, so Mack traded Roth with Red Shannon to the

for Jack Barry and

Amos Strunk Amos Aaron Strunk (January 22, 1889 – July 22, 1979) was a center fielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1908 through 1924. A member of four World Series champion teams, Strunk batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Philadelphi ...

in June 1919. Before the 1920 season, the Red Sox traded Roth and Shannon to the Washington Senators for

Eddie Foster Edward Cunningham Foster (February 13, 1887 – January 15, 1937) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1910 to 1923 for the New York Highlanders, Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox ...

Harry Harper Harry Clayton Harper (April 24, 1895 – April 23, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher, businessman, and politician. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and Brookly ...

, and Mike Menosky. Roth had his best season of his career with the Senators, with 92 RBI. After the season, he was traded by the Senators to the New York Yankees for

Duffy Lewis George Edward "Duffy" Lewis (April 18, 1888 – June 17, 1979) was an American professional baseball left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, the New York Yankees, and the Washington Senators from 1910 to ...

and

George Mogridge George Anthony Mogridge (February 18, 1889 – March 4, 1962) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (1911–12), New York Yankees (1915–20), Washington Senators (1921–25 ...

. Roth missed a substantial portion of the 1921 season with a knee injury. Before the 1922 season, Roth declared his knee fit for play, but the Yankees released him due to his knee injury, which did not respond to treatment. In 1923, Roth played for the Blues and

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

, also of the American Association. He played for the

Hollywood Stars The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels. Hollywood Stars ( ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

in 1928. In 811 games over eight seasons in the major leagues, Roth posted a .284

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 ...

(804-for-2,831) with 427 runs, 30

s, 422

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

, and 190

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 ...

Death

Roth died in an automobile accident with a newspaper truck at the age of 44 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on September 11, 1936.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roth, Braggo 1892 births 1936 deaths Major League Baseball right fielders Philadelphia Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Boston Red Sox players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players New York Yankees players American League home run champions St. Joseph Drummers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Hollywood Stars players Baseball players from Racine County, Wisconsin People from Burlington, Wisconsin Road incident deaths in Illinois Virginia Ore Diggers players Racine Malted Milks players Baseball players from Walworth County, Wisconsin

Early life

Baseball career

Death

See also

References

External links