John Dewey Adkins (May 11, 1918 – December 26, 1998) was an American
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 ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...
for the
Washington Senators and
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
in the 1940s. In a three-season career, Adkins won two games, lost four, and had an
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
(ERA) of 5.64.
Born in
Norcatur, Kansas
Norcatur is a city in Decatur County, Kansas, Decatur County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 159.
History
Norcatur was founded in 1885 near the Nebraska border. Norcatur ...
, Adkins made his major league debut on September 19, 1942, as a late-season call-up for the Senators, starting the only game he appeared in that season. He allowed 8 runs (7 earned) in 6 innings but did not figure in the decision. Adkins made a few more appearances for Washington the next season, all in relief, compiling a 2.61 ERA in seven games.
After eventually finding himself playing for Atlanta in the independent minor league Southern Association, Adkins did not make another appearance at the big league level until the age of 31. Reemerging with the Chicago Cubs in 1949, Adkins saw his most extensive major league action. He pitched in thirty games as both a starter and a reliever, completing one of his five starts and finishing fourteen of the 25 games in which he appeared as a reliever. Adkins also hit his only major league home run as a member of the 1949 Cubs. His 1949 record of 2–4 and ERA of 5.68 failed to get him a job the next season, and he never again appeared at the major league level.
Adkins died on December 26, 1998, in
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adkins, Dewey
1918 births
1998 deaths
Baseball players from Kansas
People from Norcatur, Kansas
Chicago Cubs players
Washington Senators (1901–1960) players
20th-century American sportsmen
Major League Baseball pitchers