Jesse Niles Tannehill (July 14, 1874 – September 22, 1956) was a

dead-ball era In major league baseball, the dead-ball era refers to a period from about 1900 to 1920 in which run scoring was low and home runs were rare in comparison to the years that followed. In 1908, the major league batting average dropped to .239, and ...

left-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, ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

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

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, and the Washington Senators. Tannehill was among the best pitchers of his era and was one of the best-hitting pitchers of all time, resulting in him being used in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

87 times in his career.

Biography and playing career

Tannehill was born in Dayton, Kentucky. He broke into the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

at the age of 19 with the

; however, he struggled in 29 innings and did not reappear in the major leagues until three years later. After a partial season with the

in 1897, Tannehill set a career high in both

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

() and wins (25) in 1898. Tannehill had several good years with the Pirates until his career year in 1901, when he led the

in ERA at 2.18. Tannehill posted an even better ERA in 1902 at 1.95, but as the league ERA had dropped even more precipitously, he did not lead the

in ERA. After six years with the Pirates of the

, Tannehill got involved in a salary dispute with Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss. As a result, Tannehill jumped to the startup

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

franchise the

. After the season, he was traded by the Highlanders to the

Boston Americans 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

for Tom L. Hughes. Tannehill still had some good years left, however; he was an important part of the

championship team of 1904. Tannehill pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against 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 ...

on August 17, 1904 (his brother Lee went 0-for-3 for Chicago) and continued to be an above average pitcher until 1907. After this however, Tannehill went into precipitous decline, as he was traded to the Washington Senators for Case Patten. Tannehill retired from baseball in 1911, with a career ERA of 2.79 and 197 career wins. Tannehill was also noted for his strong bat in his 15-year major league career, posting a career .255

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(361-for-1414) with 190 runs, 55 doubles, 23 triples, 5

home runs 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 ...

, 142 RBI and 105 bases on balls.

After baseball

After retiring as a player, Tannehill managed the Portsmouth Truckers of the Virginia League in 1914. He then served as an umpire in the Ohio State League,

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

, and Western League, before returning to the majors as a coach for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

in 1920 under manager Gavvy Cravath, a stint that lasted one season. In 1923 he managed the

Topeka Kaws Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

in the Southwestern League. In his last years, Tannehill worked in a Cincinnati machine shop and was a frequent visitor to

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) a ...

, the home of the

from 1912 to 1970. He suffered a stroke on September 16, 1956 at his home in Dayton, Kentucky and died six days later at the age of 82 at Speers Hospital.

References

External links

Baseball Reference
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tannehill, Jesse 1874 births 1956 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball outfielders Cincinnati Reds players Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Highlanders players Boston Americans players Boston Red Sox players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen National League ERA champions Philadelphia Phillies coaches Minor league baseball managers Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Birmingham Barons players South Bend Benders players St. Joseph Drummers players Portsmouth Truckers players 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen People from Dayton, Kentucky Baseball players from Campbell County, Kentucky Chillicothe Infants players Waterloo Jays players

Biography and playing career

After baseball

See also

References

External links