Pete Reiser
Encyclopedia
Harold Patrick "Pete" Reiser (March 17, 1919 - October 25, 1981), nicknamed "Pistol Pete," was an outfielder
in Major League Baseball
during the 1940s and early 1950s. He played primarily for the Brooklyn Dodgers
, and later for the Boston Braves
, Pittsburgh Pirates
, and Cleveland Indians
.
, Reiser originally signed with his hometown Cardinals
, but at age 19 he was among a group of minor league
players declared free agent
s by Commissioner of Baseball
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
. Reportedly, Cardinal general manager
Branch Rickey
— mortified at losing a player of Reiser's caliber — arranged for the Dodgers to sign Reiser, hide him in the minors, then trade him back to St. Louis at a later date. But Reiser's stellar performances in spring training
in both 1939
and 1940
forced the Dodgers to keep him. (Rickey would become GM of the Dodgers after the 1942
season, and witness Reiser's injury-caused decline as a great talent.)
, Reiser helped the Dodgers take home the pennant. He was a sensation that year, winning the National League
batting title
and also leading the league in doubles, triples, runs scored, and slugging percentage. The following season, he was hitting .383 in August until he ran into a concrete outfield wall while running at full speed. That incident robbed him of any more effective play that year, and caused Brooklyn's drop in the NL standings.
Reiser gave great effort on every play in the field, and was therefore very injury-prone. He fractured his skull running into an outfield wall on one occasion (but still made the throw back to the infield), was temporarily paralyzed on another, and was taken off the field on a stretcher a record 11 times. Pete was once given his last rites in the ballpark.
Leo Durocher
, who was Reiser's first major league manager, reflected many years later that in terms of talent, skill, and potential, there was only one other player comparable to Reiser - Willie Mays
. Durocher also said that "Pete had more power than Willie — left-handed and right-handed both. He had everything but luck."
Reiser, a switch hitter
who sometimes restricted himself to batting left-handed because of injury, served in the United States Army
during World War II
, playing baseball for Army teams. While serving, he was injured again and had to learn to throw with both arms. Durocher said, "And he could throw at least as good as Willie [Mays] right-handed and left-handed."
When Reiser returned to the majors in 1946, he was still suffering from a shoulder injury from playing Army baseball. He later said: "It wasn't as serious as the head injuries but it did more to end my career. The shoulder kept popping out of place, more bone chips developed, and there was constant pain in the arm and shoulder."
He was never the same hitter that he was early in his career. However, he still retained his speed and stole home plate a record seven times in 1946.
in 1956-57, among others), winning the 1959
Minor League Manager of the Year Award from The Sporting News
. He served as a coach
on Walter Alston
's Los Angeles Dodger staff from 1960–1964 (including the 1963 world championship
team). However, he was forced to step down in 1965
as skipper of the AAA Spokane Indians
as the result of a heart attack
. His replacement was Duke Snider
— the man who had once replaced Reiser as the center fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
When Leo Durocher was named manager
of the Chicago Cubs
in 1966, he brought many of his former players to coach on his staff. Reiser was one of them (1966–1969; 1972–1974). He coached for the California Angels
(1970–1971), as well.
In 1981, Lawrence Ritter
and Donald Honig
included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. They explained what they called "the Smoky Joe Wood Syndrome," where a truly exceptional player had a career curtailed by injury, in spite of not having had career statistics that would quantitatively rank him with the all-time greats, should still be included on their list of the 100 greatest players.
Reiser died in Palm Springs, California
, of respiratory disease
, at age 62, and was buried at Desert Memorial Park
in Cathedral City, California
.
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
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...
during the 1940s and early 1950s. He played primarily for the Brooklyn Dodgers
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 later for the Boston Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
, Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
, and Cleveland Indians
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...
.
Early career
A native of St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Reiser originally signed with his hometown Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
, but at age 19 he was among a group of minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
players declared free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
s by Commissioner of Baseball
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
. Reportedly, Cardinal general manager
General manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....
Branch Rickey
Branch Rickey
Wesley Branch Rickey was an innovative Major League Baseball executive elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1967...
— mortified at losing a player of Reiser's caliber — arranged for the Dodgers to sign Reiser, hide him in the minors, then trade him back to St. Louis at a later date. But Reiser's stellar performances in spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
in both 1939
1939 in baseball
-Headline Event of the Year:*On May 17, 1939, Princeton University and Columbia University played the first televised baseball game. On August 26, the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers played the first televised Major League Baseball game...
and 1940
1940 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Cincinnati Reds over Detroit Tigers *All-Star Game, July 9 at Sportsman's Park: National League, 4-0-Awards and honors:*Most Valuable Player**Hank Greenberg - OF, Detroit Tigers...
forced the Dodgers to keep him. (Rickey would become GM of the Dodgers after the 1942
1942 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: St. Louis Cardinals over New York Yankees *All-Star Game, July 6 at Polo Grounds: American League, 3-1-Other champions:*Negro Leagues World Series: Kansas City Monarchs over Homestead Grays...
season, and witness Reiser's injury-caused decline as a great talent.)
Being injury-prone
As a rookie in 19411941 in baseball
-Headline events of the year:*Joe Dimaggio hits in 56 consecutive games. After being hitless in the 57th game, he hit safely in 16 more consecutive games for a streak of 72 of 73 games.*Ted Williams ended the season with a .406 batting average...
, Reiser helped the Dodgers take home the pennant. He was a sensation that year, winning the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
batting title
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 :...
and also leading the league in doubles, triples, runs scored, and slugging percentage. The following season, he was hitting .383 in August until he ran into a concrete outfield wall while running at full speed. That incident robbed him of any more effective play that year, and caused Brooklyn's drop in the NL standings.
Reiser gave great effort on every play in the field, and was therefore very injury-prone. He fractured his skull running into an outfield wall on one occasion (but still made the throw back to the infield), was temporarily paralyzed on another, and was taken off the field on a stretcher a record 11 times. Pete was once given his last rites in the ballpark.
Leo Durocher
Leo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
, who was Reiser's first major league manager, reflected many years later that in terms of talent, skill, and potential, there was only one other player comparable to Reiser - Willie Mays
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...
. Durocher also said that "Pete had more power than Willie — left-handed and right-handed both. He had everything but luck."
Reiser, a switch hitter
Switch hitter
In baseball, a switch-hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed.-Baseball:Usually, right-handed batters hit better against left-handed pitchers and vice-versa. Most curveballs break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher. Such pitches are often...
who sometimes restricted himself to batting left-handed because of injury, served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, playing baseball for Army teams. While serving, he was injured again and had to learn to throw with both arms. Durocher said, "And he could throw at least as good as Willie [Mays] right-handed and left-handed."
When Reiser returned to the majors in 1946, he was still suffering from a shoulder injury from playing Army baseball. He later said: "It wasn't as serious as the head injuries but it did more to end my career. The shoulder kept popping out of place, more bone chips developed, and there was constant pain in the arm and shoulder."
He was never the same hitter that he was early in his career. However, he still retained his speed and stole home plate a record seven times in 1946.
Later life
Reiser managed in the minors for several years (including the Kokomo DodgersKokomo Dodgers
The Kokomo Dodgers were a minor league baseball team based in Kokomo, Indiana that played in the Midwest League. They were affiliated with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and operated from 1956 through 1961....
in 1956-57, among others), winning the 1959
1959 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Chicago White Sox ; Larry Sherry, MVP*All-Star Game , July 7 at Forbes Field: National League, 5-4*All-Star Game , August 3 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: American League, 5-3...
Minor League Manager of the Year Award from The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
. He served as a coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
on Walter Alston
Walter Alston
Walter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...
's Los Angeles Dodger staff from 1960–1964 (including the 1963 world championship
1963 World Series
The 1963 World Series matched the two-time defending champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the Dodgers sweeping the Series in four games to capture their second title in five years, and their third in franchise history....
team). However, he was forced to step down in 1965
1965 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
as skipper of the AAA Spokane Indians
Spokane Indians
The Spokane Indians are a minor league baseball team located in Spokane, Washington, United States. They are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2003. The Indians play home games at Avista Stadium...
as the result of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. His replacement was Duke Snider
Duke Snider
Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider , nicknamed "The Silver Fox" and "The Duke of Flatbush", was a Major League Baseball center fielder and left-handed batter who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers , New York Mets , and San Francisco Giants .Snider was elected to the National Baseball Hall of...
— the man who had once replaced Reiser as the center fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers.
When Leo Durocher was named manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
in 1966, he brought many of his former players to coach on his staff. Reiser was one of them (1966–1969; 1972–1974). He coached for the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
(1970–1971), as well.
In 1981, Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence Ritter
Lawrence S. Ritter was an American writer whose specialties were economics and baseball.Ritter was a professor of economics and finance, and chairman of the Department of Finance at the Graduate School of Business Administration of New York University. He also edited the academic periodical...
and Donald Honig
Donald Honig
Donald Martin Honig is a novelist, historian and editor who mostly writes about baseball.While a member of the Bobo Newsom Memorial Society, an informal group of writers, Honig attempted to get Lawrence Ritter to write a sequel to The Glory of their Times. Ritter declined but gave Honig his blessing...
included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. They explained what they called "the Smoky Joe Wood Syndrome," where a truly exceptional player had a career curtailed by injury, in spite of not having had career statistics that would quantitatively rank him with the all-time greats, should still be included on their list of the 100 greatest players.
Reiser died in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
, of respiratory disease
Respiratory disease
Respiratory disease is a medical term that encompasses pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange possible in higher organisms, and includes conditions of the upper respiratory tract, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleura and pleural cavity, and the...
, at age 62, and was buried at Desert Memorial Park
Desert Memorial Park
Desert Memorial Park is a cemetery in Cathedral City, California, United States, near Palm Springs. It is maintained by the Palm Springs Cemetery District...
in Cathedral City, California
Cathedral City, California
Cathedral City is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 51,200 at the 2010 census. Sandwiched between Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage, it is one of the cities in the Coachella Valley of southern California...
.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions