Samuel R. Moffet (March 14, 1857 – May 5, 1907) was an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

and

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, ...

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 ...

. He played all or parts of three seasons between 1884 and 1888 for the Cleveland Blues and Indianapolis Hoosiers. Moffet stood at and weighed 175 lbs. His brother, Joe, also played in the major leagues."Sam Moffet Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-12-30.

Biography

Sam Moffet was born in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in Ohio County, West Virginia, Ohio and Marshall County, West Virginia, Marshall counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Ohio County, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mo ...

when it was still part of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. He played on amateur baseball teams as a teenager, and in 1882 he batted .404 for the Wheeling Standards.Olshavsky, Carole
"Sam Moffet"
''bioproj.sabr.org''. Retrieved 2010-12-30. The following season, Moffet started his professional baseball career with the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for six seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, 1886–1887, and 1891. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by t ...

Toledo Blue Stockings The Toledo Blue Stockings formed as a minor league baseball team in Toledo, Ohio, in 1883. They won the Northwestern League championship in 1883. Their home ballpark was League Park. The following year, they joined the major league American As ...

. He was a pitcher for Toledo and also played at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

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 1884, Moffet made it to the major leagues with the Cleveland Blues. The Blues finished in seventh place, and Moffet, as their third starter, went just 3–19. The three wins all came in a single week from August 11 to August 18. Moffet's .136

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score 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 to ...

is tied for the fifth-lowest by a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

in MLB history, and it was also the lowest winning percentage of any MLB pitcher during the 1880s. In addition to pitching, Moffet also played 42 games in the outfield that season. He batted .184 in 256

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. After the season ended, Moffet went to

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 ...

, and joined two of his brothers in a mining venture. They extracted over $200,000 worth of gold and silver over the next year, and Moffet was out of professional baseball in 1885 and 1886. In 1887, he returned to the majors with the Indianapolis Hoosiers, and he went 1–5 on the mound while batting .122. He didn't fare any better in 1888 and was released in mid-season. Moffet then returned to Montana. In March 1889, ''The Meriden Daily Journal'' reported that he had "struck so rich in mining in Montana that he cleared $40,000"."Base Ball News"
''The Meriden Daily Journal'', March 30, 1889, p. 2. Moffet was married to Mary Agnes "Minnie" Donaldson. He died in Butte, Montana, in 1907.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moffet, Sam Cleveland Blues (NL) players Indianapolis Hoosiers (NL) players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball pitchers Omaha Lambs players Omaha Omahogs players Sportspeople from Butte, Montana Baseball players from Wheeling, West Virginia Toledo Blue Stockings (minor league) players 1857 births 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen 1907 deaths