Ralph Austin Savidge (February 3, 1879 – July 22, 1959), nicknamed "Human Ripcord""Ralph Savidge Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-24. and "the finger nail artist","Southern League"
''Sporting Life'', August 8, 1908, p. 23.Bailey, W. A
"In Southland"
''Sporting Life'', February 25, 1911, p. 12. was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("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, who attempts to e ...

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) ...

. He played for the

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

in 1908 and 1909 and also had an eight-year minor league career. He stood at 6' 2" and weighed 210 lbs.

Career

Savidge was born in Jerseytown, Pennsylvania. He started his professional baseball career in 1904 and played four seasons in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

."Ralph Savidge Minor League Statistics & History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-24. He went 17-13 during his first year, with 185 strikeouts in 33 games.Wright, Marshall D.
The South Atlantic League, 1904-1963: A Year-by-Year Statistical History
' (McFarland, 2009), pp. 4-19. He then slumped to

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

s of 10-13 and 14-17, but rebounded in 1907, going 19-12 for the Jacksonville Jays. Savidge's 216 strikeouts that year ranked second in the league to

Bugs Raymond Arthur Lawrence "Bugs" Raymond (February 24, 1882 – September 7, 1912) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1904 to 1911. He played for the Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York Giants. Biography Raymond was born in Chicago. H ...

's total. Savidge went to the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), ...

's Memphis Egyptians in 1908. On April 28, the ''

Pittsburgh Press ''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...

'' reported that he had developed a new pitch called the "finger nail curve" and would be using it during the season:"The Finger Nail Curve is Latest"
''The Pittsburgh Press'', April 28, 1908, p. 15.

"Savidge has introduced the finger-nail ball, so called because it is pitched with the nails of the thumb and the first three fingers penetrating the leather sphere. The finger-nail ball is thrown with all the force possible, but the Southern pitcher has mastered it so that it floats slowly toward the plate and breaks fast as it passes the batter."

Savidge started off hot, and on July 16, he was purchased by the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

's Cincinnati Reds for $3,500.Chadwick, Henry, Foster, John Buckingham, and White, Charles D.
Spalding's Official Base Ball Record
' (American Sports Publishing Co., 1908), pp. 15-185. He stayed in Memphis for the next two months, however, and ran his record to 20-11. The 20 wins led the entire league. Savidge also had a record of 67 consecutive scoreless innings pitched that season."Chip Off Old Block is New Solon Hurler"
''The Lewiston Daily Sun'', November 25, 1929, p. 9. Savidge was called up to the Reds in September. In four major league games (including one start), he went 0-1 with a 2.57

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 numb ...

. He started off 1909 with Cincinnati, as well, but allowed 10 earned runs in 4 innings. He made his last MLB appearance on May 19. That month, it was reported that Memphis was "making strenuous efforts" to try to re-acquire Savidge, but he was eventually purchased by the Eastern League's

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league baseball, minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm system, farm club (Triple-A (base ...

. Savidge pitched well in May. However, his overall record that year was just 11-15. He was a holdout in early 1910 and eventually pitched for the Rochester Bronchos, going 13-12. Savidge was purchased by Montgomery of the Southern Association for 1911. On February 25, '' Sporting Life'' reported that his addition made the Montgomery pitching staff "look unusually strong" and that he was expected to give his team a "brilliant chance of winning the pennant." He ended up going 7-8. In 1912, Savidge had a hard time getting into shape, was released in July, and subsequently retired from professional baseball. Over his eight-year minor league career, he compiled a win–loss record of 111-101 to go along with his major league record of 0-1. His son, Don Savidge, made it to the majors in 1929 with the Washington Senators."Don Savidge Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-24. Ralph Savidge died in 1959 in

Berwick, Pennsylvania Berwick is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located southwest of Wilkes-Barre. As of the 2020 census, Berwick had a population of 10,355. It is one of the two principal co ...

. He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savidge, Ralph 1879 births 1959 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Savannah Pathfinders players Charleston Sea Gulls players Macon Brigands players Jacksonville Jays players Memphis Egyptians players Montreal Royals players Rochester Bronchos players Montgomery Billikens players Baseball players from Columbia County, Pennsylvania People from Columbia County, Pennsylvania