James Otis Crandall (October 8, 1887 – August 17, 1951) was an American right-handed

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, ...

and

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

. He was the first player to be consistently used as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. Consequently, he was given the nickname Doc by

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American journalist and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway theatre, Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Proh ...

who said Crandall was "the physician of the pitching emergency". He played from 1908 to 1918, debuting with 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. He was traded to the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in 1913, but made only two pinch-hitting appearances for them before being sold back to the Giants 13 days later. He also played for the St. Louis Terriers in the

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

in 1914 and 1915, the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in 1916, and for the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

in 1918. That same year he flirted with a no-hitter in the morning game of a double-header in Los Angeles against Salt Lake City 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 ...

. He carried the no-hitter into the 9th inning when, with two out, his outing was spoiled by Karl Crandall, his brother.R.J. Lesch, "Doc Crandall," SABR Baseball Biography Project, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/93ccb646, accessed May 10, 2020
/ref> While Crandall frequently started, he led the league in number of relief appearances for five consecutive seasons while with the Giants. In the period from 1910 to 1912, he also led in relief victories going 45–16 overall in that time period. The Giants won three consecutive pennants from 1911 to 1913 with Crandall's help. Even with his bulky frame, Crandall was a quick fielder and thus played infield positions. With his .285 lifetime hitting average, he was often used as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) 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, A ...

and in 1910 he led with a .342 batting average. When the Giants sent him to the Cardinals in 1913 public outcry in New York was so big that the Giants bought him back after only two games. However, he ended up in St. Louis again a year later in the Federal league where he played more at second base than as pitcher. In 1915 he led the Federal League winning six times as relief pitcher out of his total 21 wins in that league. After sitting out the 1917 season, he made an abbreviated comeback in 1918 with the Braves. Crandall is a charter member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Crandall, Doc New York Giants (baseball) players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Louis Terriers players 20th-century American sportsmen St. Louis Browns players Boston Braves players Pittsburgh Pirates coaches Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball second basemen Baseball players from Indiana 1887 births 1951 deaths Minor league baseball managers Cedar Rapids Rabbits players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Wichita Larks players Sacramento Senators players People from Benton County, Indiana