Herman Charles Reich (November 23, 1917 – October 22, 2009) was an American

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 majori ...

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 the ...

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 ...

who played for three teams during the season. Listed at , , Reich batted right-handed and threw left-handed. A native of

Bell, California Bell is an municipal corporation, incorporated city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located near the center of the former San Antonio Township (abolished after 1960), its population was 33,559 at the 2020 United States census ...

, he attended

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

Biography

Reich has the rare distinction of being part of three transactions in his only major league season. He appeared in three games with the

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 ...

(1) and Washington Senators (2) before joining the

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 ...

, all during 8 days. He became the regular first baseman for the Cubs and also was among the team's nine right fielders. Before the 1950 season, he was sold by the Cubs to 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 ...

but did not play for them. In a one-season career, Reich was a .279 hitter (108-for-286) with 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 and 34 RBI in 111 games, including 43 runs, 18 doubles, two

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, four

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 ...

s, and a .306

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 ...

. Following his brief stint in major leagues, Reich resumed his career in the minors and also managed the 1961 Idaho Falls Russets of the Pioneer League.

Transactions

*Nov. 10, 1948 – Drafted by the Cleveland Indians from the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

( PCL) in the

rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. *Apr. 30, 1949 – Selected off waivers by the Washington Senators from the Indians. *May 10, 1949 – Returned to the Indians by Washington following previous waiver selection. *May 18, 1949 – Selected off waivers by the Chicago Cubs from the Indians. *Feb. 2, 1950 – Purchased by the Chicago White Sox from the Cubs.

Throws left/Bats right

*Notably, Reich also was one of those rare players who were not primarily

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, ...

s in major league history who threw left-handed but batted right-handed. Other such players include

Johnny Cooney John Walter Cooney (March 18, 1901 – July 8, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. He was a pitcher, outfielder and first baseman, then a longtime coach, in Major League Baseball. Listed at (178 cm) and 165 pounds (75&nb ...

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (December 25, 1958 – December 20, 2024), nicknamed "Man of Steal", was an American professional baseball left fielder who played 25 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, inc ...

Cleon Jones Cleon Joseph Jones (born June 24, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder. Jones played most of his career for the New York Mets and in 1969 caught the final out of the "Mir ...

Chucho Ramos Jesús Manuel Ramos García (April 12, 1918 – September 2, 1977) was a Venezuelan outfielder/first baseman in Major League Baseball who played briefly during the season. Listed at 5' 10.5", 167 lb., Ramos batted right-handed and threw l ...

Cody Ross Cody Joseph Ross (born December 23, 1980), nicknamed "Toy Cannon" and "Ross the Boss," is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons; with the Detroit Tigers (2003), Los Angeles D ...

Ryan Ludwick Ryan Andrew Ludwick (born July 13, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, an ...

and Jimmy Ryan.

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reich, Herman 1917 births 2009 deaths Bartlesville Bucs players Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox scouts Cleveland Indians players Eugene Emeralds players Loyola Marymount Lions baseball players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball right fielders Minor league baseball managers Modesto Reds players Portland Beavers players Sacramento Solons players Seattle Rainiers players Siloam Springs Travelers players Tacoma Tigers players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen Yakima Bears players Sportspeople from Bell, California