Malachi Jeddidiah Kittridge (October 12, 1869 – June 23, 1928) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He played 16 seasons in

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 ...

(MLB) between 1890 and 1906, for six different teams, predominantly the

Chicago Colts The following is a franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, before joining t ...

of 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 ...

. He batted and threw right-handed.

Biography

Kittridge was not a good hitter—he had a .219

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 ...

for his major-league career—but in his career he was regarded as having one of the best throwing arms. In 1904, he was hired as

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

of the Washington Senators of the

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 ...

, but the team started the season , and Kittridge was replaced by

Patsy Donovan Patrick Joseph Donovan (March 16, 1865 – December 25, 1953) was an Irish born right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from to , most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted .301 lifetime and set a m ...

. The Senators finished with a record for the season. Kittridge was traded to the

Cleveland Naps 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) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

in the middle of the 1906 season, but he only had five

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s for the Naps before retiring from baseball. In 1910, Kittridge served as player-manager of the

Elgin Kittens Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manito ...

in the Class D level

Northern Association The Northern Association was a Class D level minor league baseball league. The eight-team league had franchises based in Illinois and Iowa. The league began and ended play in 1910, disbanding on July 19, 1910. The Joliet Jolly-ites moved to Ste ...

. The team's "Kittens" moniker was in honor of Kittridge. The team finished in first place.

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
* 1869 births 1928 deaths 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Boston Beaneaters players Chicago Colts players Cleveland Naps players Louisville Colonels players Major League Baseball catchers Sportspeople from Clinton, Massachusetts Washington Senators (1901–1960) players 20th-century American sportsmen Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Washington Senators (1901–1960) managers Baseball players from Worcester County, Massachusetts Portsmouth Lillies players Quincy Black Birds players Worcester Farmers players Montreal Royals players Montreal Royals managers Dayton Veterans players Scranton Miners players Elgin Kittens players Saginaw Krazy Kats players Major League Baseball player-managers {{US-baseball-catcher-1860s-stub

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

External links