John Joseph "Jake" Caulfield (November 23, 1917 – December 16, 1986) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player whose career lasted for six seasons (1943–1948), including one campaign () in

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) ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

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 Oakl ...

. Born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . After attending the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The ...

, Caulfield began his pro career during World War II at the relatively advanced age of 25 for the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: * Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...

of the top-level

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

, appearing in 152

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

in 1943. He would be the Oaks' regular shortstop for three seasons, through 1945, until his acquisition by the Athletics for 1946. In his lone MLB season, Caulfield appeared in 44 games, including 31 games at shortstop and one at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. In 94

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, he registered 26

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 s ...

, including eight doubles, and he scored 13 runs. He was the club's third-most-used shortstop, behind

Pete Suder Peter Suder (April 16, 1916 – November 14, 2006), nicknamed "Pecky", was an American professional baseball player, a utility infielder for the Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics (1941–43, 1946–55). Born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, Sud ...

and Jack Wallaesa. In Charlie Metro's autobiography, this is what he wrote about the 1946 trade that brought Jake Caulfield from the Oakland Oaks to the Philadelphia Athletics: "The Athletics needed a shortstop, so they traded Charlie Gassaway, Ed Busch, and me to Oakland for Jake Caulfield, all the way across the continent in the Pacific Coast League. After I had hit 3 home runs! I pleaded with Mr. Mack, 'My gosh, Mr. Mack, you couldn't have sent me any farther.' I was on my way west. Every time I'd see Jake Caulfield, who later retired from the San Francisco police force, at spring training at Phoenix, I'd tell him, 'I'm going to punch you right now.' He lasted only one year with the Athletics. I said, 'If you'd quit one year sooner, I'd still have been in the big leagues.' And we'd have a laugh over that." ''Safe by a Mile ''by Charlie Metro, pages 104-105' Caulfield returned to the minor leagues for his final two professional seasons at the Triple-A level, playing for the Sacramento Solons and Columbus Red Birds in 1947 and for the Rochester Red Wings and San Diego Padres in 1948.

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1917 births 1986 deaths Baseball players from Los Angeles Columbus Red Birds players Major League Baseball shortstops Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Philadelphia Athletics players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Solons players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Francisco Dons baseball players {{US-baseball-infielder-stub