Carl Alvin Scheib (January 1, 1927 – March 24, 2018) was a professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher for the

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, the team became the Oaklan ...

(1943–45 and 1947–54) and St. Louis Cardinals (1954) of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Biography

Born in

Gratz, Pennsylvania Gratz is a borough in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 743 at the time of the 2020 census, a decline from the figure of 765 in 2010. It is part of the Harrisburg metropolitan area. History Gratz was named after th ...

, Scheib led the American League in wild pitches with 9 in 1950. He was one of the best-hitting pitchers of his time. In 1948, he registered 31

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 104

at bat 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 ...

s, for a batting average of .298 with two home runs and 21 runs batted in. He appeared in 32 games as a pitcher, and 20 more as a

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

. In 1951, Scheib appeared in 46 games as a pitcher, two more as a pinch hitter, and batted .396 (21 for 53). His .396 mark was the highest for a pitcher with that many at bats since 1925. During his MLB career, Scheib batted an even .250, with five home runs, 59 RBI and 117 hits in 468 at bats. In 11 seasons, Scheib had a 45–65 win–loss record, in 267 games, with 107 games started, 47 complete games, 17 saves, 1,070 innings pitched, 290 strikeouts, and a 4.88 ERA. When Scheib made his first appearance in 1943 at age 16, he was the youngest player in the modern era until Joe Nuxhall debuted with the Cincinnati Reds the following season. Scheib remains the youngest player in American League history. A biography of Scheib entitled "Wonder Boy – The Story of Carl Scheib: The Youngest Player in American League History" by Lawrence Knorr was released May 26, 2016. It was published by Sunbury Press.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheib, Carl 1927 births 2018 deaths American people of German descent Baseball players from Dauphin County, Pennsylvania Major League Baseball pitchers Philadelphia Athletics players Portland Beavers players St. Louis Cardinals players San Antonio Missions players