James Vernon Handrahan (November 27, 1936 – November 2, 2016) was a Canadian 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 ...

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, ...

who played for the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became the ...

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) in 1964 and 1966. He is noted for being one of only three major-league players from

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

, the others being 19th-century

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 ...

George Wood and

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 ...

Henry Oxley.

Biography

Handrahan threw right-handed, batted left-handed, and was listed as tall and . He was originally signed by the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

as a 22-year-old amateur in 1959. After playing sandlot and youth baseball in his native

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

, then pitching in a semi-professional league for

Stellarton, Nova Scotia Stellarton is a town in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It is adjacent and to the south of the larger town of New Glasgow. In pioneer times the area was called Coal Mines Station, and from 1833 until 1889, it was known as Albion Mines. The ...

, in the heart of that province's coal mining country, he was signed by veteran Braves scout Lucius "Jeff" Jones,Moscovitch, Philip (2012), "Right Place, Right Time." ''Saltscapes''
/ref> whose territory encompassed

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

and

Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (), is the list of regions of Canada, region of Eastern Canada comprising four provinces: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. As of 2021, the landma ...

. Handrahan spent four years at the lower levels of the Braves'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

before the Athletics selected him in the 1962 minor league draft. He made the Kansas City roster out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in 1964, and worked in 18 games between April 14 and June 9. Sent to Triple-A, he didn't return to the majors until Kansas City recalled him in the middle of 1966 for a 16-game audition. Handrahan made two starts for the Athletics, one in 1964 and the other in 1966, and they resulted in both of his MLB decisions: defeats at the hands of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

on May 5, 1964, and 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 April 17, 1966. He earned his only major-league save in his penultimate MLB appearance when he worked a scoreless one-third of an inning against the

Cleveland Indians 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

to complete a 1–0 Kansas City triumph on September 15, 1966. Handrahan returned to

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

in 1967 for the remainder of his 12-season career. During his MLB service—34

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

(32 in

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

)—Handrahan compiled an 0–2 won–lost record and an

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 ...

of 5.31. In 61

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 permitted 53

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

and 40

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, and struck out 36. Handrahan was elected to the Prince Edward Island Sports Hall of Fame in its first year, 1968, but could not attend the induction ceremony because he was pitching across the country for the Triple-A

Vancouver Mounties The Vancouver Mounties were a high-level minor league baseball club based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1956– 62 and – 69. Its home field was Capilano Stadium. During the Mounties' first tw ...

at the time. He died in Charlottetown on November 2, 2016. Handrahan was inducted into the

Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum () is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates the great players, teams, and events from Canadian baseball history. History The museum was founded in November 1982 in ...

in 2021.

References

External links

*
Handrahan's page at the PEI Sports Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Handrahan, Vern 1936 births 2016 deaths Baseball people from Prince Edward Island Birmingham A's players Boise Braves players Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Eau Claire Braves players Iowa Oaks players Canadian baseball players Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Athletics players Lewiston Broncs players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from Canada 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Montreal Expos scouts Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players Sportspeople from Charlottetown Toledo Mud Hens players Vancouver Mounties players Wellsville Braves players