Henry Hack Eibel (December 6, 1893 – October 16, 1945) was a

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

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 (AL) ...

who played for the

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() and

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

(). Listed at and 220 lb., Eibel batted and threw

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

. He was born in

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to emigrant parents of German extraction. Eibel first played in the majors at the age of 18. During his brief major league career, Eibel did almost everything a player was asked to do, appearing in 30 games, as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

(3 games),

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering sy ...

(3),

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

(3),

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

(1), 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, American ...

pinch-runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been subs ...

(20). In a two-season career, Eibel was a .174 hitter (8-for-43) with four runs and six

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, including two doubles and one stolen base. He did not hit a

home run 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 is ...

. In three relief appearances, he posted a 3.48

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with five strikeouts and three walks in 10⅓

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). Innings, in cricket, and rounders, is ...

and did not have a decision. Eibel shot himself to death in Macon, Georgia at age 51. Macon was also the town of Eibel's final professional ball club team. Eibel retired from baseball in 1924.

References

Sources

Baseball Reference
Boston Red Sox players Cleveland Naps players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball pitchers 1893 births 1945 suicides 1945 deaths Minor league baseball managers Dayton Veterans players Saginaw Ducks players Atlanta Crackers players Memphis Chickasaws players Richmond Climbers players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Shreveport Gassers players Galveston Sand Crabs players Macon Peaches players Baseball players from Brooklyn American people of German descent Suicides by firearm in Georgia (U.S. state) {{US-baseball-pitcher-1890s-stub