James Marcellin St. Vrain (June 6, 1871 – June 12, 1937), a native of

Ralls County, Missouri Ralls County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,355. Its county seat is New London. The county was organized November 16, 1820, and named for Daniel Ra ...

, was a

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 ...

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, ...

. The left-hander played for the Chicago Orphans in 1902. St. Vrain made his major league debut in a road game against 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 ...

at the

Palace of the Fans Palace of the Fans was a Major League baseball park located in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home of the Cincinnati Reds from 1902 through 1911. The ballpark was on an asymmetrical block bounded by Findlay Street (south), Western Avenue (northea ...

(April 20, 1902). He pitched well, but the Orphans lost 2–1. His first major league win came against 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 ...

on May 9. He pitched a 5–0

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

in front of the home crowd at

West Side Park West Side Park was the name used for two different ballparks that formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. They were both home fields of the team now known as the Chicago Cubs of the National League (baseball), National League. Both ballparks hoste ...

. St. Vrain pitched well during his only season but gave up a lot of unearned runs. He is also remembered for running the wrong way on the bases; although he was a left-handed pitcher, St. Vrain batted right-handed. One day, manager

Frank Selee Frank Gibson Selee (October 26, 1859 – July 5, 1909) was an American Major League Baseball manager in the National League (NL). In his 16-year Major League career, he managed the Boston Beaneaters (1890–1901) and Chicago Orphans / Cubs (1902 ...

suggested he try batting left-handed, and upon making contact with the ball, St. Vrain was confused enough to run to third base (he was thrown out at first base). In a total of 12 games, 11 starts, 10 complete games, and 95

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 ...

, he had 51

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and only 25 walks, and gave up just 22

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

. Though his record was 4–6, his

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

was a sparkling 2.08. St. Vrain died in

Butte, Montana Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the 2 ...

, in 1937.

References

External links

RetrosheetSABR biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:St. Vrain, Jim 1871 births 1937 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Orphans players Butte Smoke Eaters players Tacoma Tigers players Memphis Egyptians players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Seattle Siwashes players Portland Giants players Topeka White Sox players St. Joseph Saints players Baseball players from Missouri People from Ralls County, Missouri