John Gochnaur
Encyclopedia
John Peter Gochnaur was a professional baseball
player. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball
, from 1901-03, for the Brooklyn Superbas
and Cleveland Bronchos/Naps
. He appeared in 264 major league games, all as a shortstop
. He has been called by some the worst major league baseball player in history.
, and became a big fan of Germany Smith
while Smith played with Altoona Mountain City in 1884.
career with the Portsmouth Browns in 1896 as a second baseman
. After short stints with the Roanoke Magicians and the Hagerstown Lions, he moved to Brockton, Massachusetts
to join the New England League
's Brockton Shoemakers for the 1897-98 seasons. In 1899, he played for the Paterson Giants of the Atlantic League.
He relocated to Dayton, Ohio
around the turn of the century, and had a career year with the Dayton Veterans in 1900, when he batted .278 with one home run
, six triples
and 28 doubles
. This was also the year when he was moved to shortstop full-time, where he played the rest of his professional career. He put up similar numbers for the Dayton Old Soldiers in 1901, including a career-high 14 triples
, before being acquired by the Brooklyn Superbas
toward the end of the season.
and a walk
in twelve plate appearances. Though he committed no errors
on the field, Gochnaur displayed limited range at short. Following the season, he moved on to the Cleveland Bronchos
.
, his .933 fielding percentage
was third best in the league. He was handed the starting job for a second season, in which he again batted .185 with no home runs. The 98 errors he committed at short were, however, too much for manager Bill Armour
to bear. In 1904, Terry Turner
took over at shortstop for Cleveland.
, a Penn railroad policeman and bartender
. He died of pneumonia
at the age of 53.
Along with holding the distinction of being the last major leaguer to commit ninety errors in a season, Gochnaur holds the record for most at bat
s without a home run by a player with a career batting average
below .200. He also hold the single season record for RBIs by a player with a career average under .200 (48, 1903).
, (R
-Utah
) in speaking to the United States Congress
about the Endangered Species Act
, claimed that it was an inept act in the way that Gochnaur was an inept baseball player. In a 2010
episode of the TV series Bones
entitled "The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle," Vaziri refers to Gochnaur as the "Worst baseball player ever."
Professional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
player. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, from 1901-03, for the Brooklyn Superbas
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
and Cleveland Bronchos/Naps
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. He appeared in 264 major league games, all as a shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
. He has been called by some the worst major league baseball player in history.
Early life
Gochnaur was born in Altoona, PennsylvaniaAltoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...
, and became a big fan of Germany Smith
Germany Smith
George J. "Germany" Smith was an American Major League Baseball player from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played primarily shortstop for five different teams spanning 15 seasons. He made his major league debut for Altoona Mountain City of the Union Association in...
while Smith played with Altoona Mountain City in 1884.
Minor leagues
Gochnaur began his professional baseballProfessional baseball
Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....
career with the Portsmouth Browns in 1896 as a second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
. After short stints with the Roanoke Magicians and the Hagerstown Lions, he moved to Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...
to join the New England League
New England League
The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played sporadically in five of the six New England states between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League Baseball clubs in Boston and alongside stronger, higher-classification...
's Brockton Shoemakers for the 1897-98 seasons. In 1899, he played for the Paterson Giants of the Atlantic League.
He relocated to Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
around the turn of the century, and had a career year with the Dayton Veterans in 1900, when he batted .278 with one home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
, six triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and 28 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
. This was also the year when he was moved to shortstop full-time, where he played the rest of his professional career. He put up similar numbers for the Dayton Old Soldiers in 1901, including a career-high 14 triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, before being acquired by the Brooklyn Superbas
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
toward the end of the season.
Brooklyn
In three games for the Superbas at the end of the 1901 season, Gochnaur collected four hitsHit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
and a walk
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
in twelve plate appearances. Though he committed no errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
on the field, Gochnaur displayed limited range at short. Following the season, he moved on to the Cleveland Bronchos
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
.
Cleveland
Gochnaur batted .185 with no home runs and 37 runs batted in as the starting shortstop for Cleveland in 1902. Despite 48 errors, including five in one doubleheaderDoubleheader (baseball)
A doubleheader is a set of two baseball games played between the same two teams on the same day in front of the same crowd. In addition, the term is often used unofficially to refer to a pair of games played by a team in a single day, but in front of different crowds and not in immediate...
, his .933 fielding percentage
Fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball...
was third best in the league. He was handed the starting job for a second season, in which he again batted .185 with no home runs. The 98 errors he committed at short were, however, too much for manager Bill Armour
Bill Armour
William Reginald Armour was an American manager in Major League Baseball who led the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians in the early 1900s. Armour was Ty Cobb's first manager in 1905....
to bear. In 1904, Terry Turner
Terry Turner
Terrance Lamont Turner was an infielder in Major League Baseball who played between 1901 and 1919 for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Cleveland Naps/Indians and Philadelphia Athletics . Turner batted and threw right-handed...
took over at shortstop for Cleveland.
Later life
Gochnaur hung around the independent circuit through 1907 before hanging up his glove and becoming an umpire. He also was an Altoona police officerPolice officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
, a Penn railroad policeman and bartender
Bartender
A bartender is a person who serves beverages behind a counter in a bar, pub, tavern, or similar establishment. A bartender, in short, "tends the bar". The term barkeeper may carry a connotation of being the bar's owner...
. He died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
at the age of 53.
Along with holding the distinction of being the last major leaguer to commit ninety errors in a season, Gochnaur holds the record for most at bat
At bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
s without a home run by a player with a career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
below .200. He also hold the single season record for RBIs by a player with a career average under .200 (48, 1903).
Pop cultural references
In 2005, Congressman Rob BishopRob Bishop
Robert William "Rob" Bishop is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party, and a member of the Tea Party Caucus.-Early life, education, and early career:...
, (R
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
) in speaking to the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
about the Endangered Species Act
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
, claimed that it was an inept act in the way that Gochnaur was an inept baseball player. In a 2010
Bones (season 5)
The fifth season of the American television series Bones premiered on September 17, 2009, and concluded on May 20, 2010, on the Fox Network. The show maintained its previous time slot, airing on Thursdays at 8:00 pm ET for the entire season...
episode of the TV series Bones
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
entitled "The Rocker in the Rinse Cycle," Vaziri refers to Gochnaur as the "Worst baseball player ever."