Washington DC Baseball

[GeoPoto]

Player #100: Eric G. "Swat" Erickson. Pitcher with the Washington Senators in 1919-1922. 34 wins and 4 saves in 7 MLB seasons. He is the only Swedish-born player in MLB history to appear in more than 1 or 2 games. He debuted with the New York Giants in 1914. His most productive season was 1920 with Washington as he posted a 12-16 record with a 3.84 ERA in 239.1 innings pitched.

Ericson's SABR biography: Between 1870 and 1920, over a million Swedes emigrated to the United States, primarily seeking greater economic opportunities. This influx produced notable second- and third-generation Swedish-American baseball stars like Charles “Swede” Risberg and Freddie Lindstrom. But only four Swedish-born players made the big leagues. Collectively they appeared in just 149 major-league games. Pitching for the Giants, Tigers, and Senators in an eight-year career (1914-22), Eric Erickson accounts for 145 of these. . . .

. . . Before the 1920 season, MLB outlawed the shine-slash-spitter Erickson had relied upon, and he was not among the 17 pitchers whose slippery repertoire was grandfathered. For whatever reason—changes in the pitching rules, or a loss of velocity—his ability to overpower hitters diminished. Before 1920 he had struck out five hitters every nine innings, an impressive Deadball Era accomplishment. In 1920 he struck out 3.3 batters every nine innings, and achieved a 12-16 record and a 3.84 ERA. . .

. . . During 1921’s spring training, Erickson began to use “a sort of half side-arm and half under-hand delivery.” The Senators climbed into fourth place with an 80-73 mark. Erickson, as the fourth starter, finished with an 8-10 mark and a 3.62 ERA. The retrospectively-calculated ERA+ of 114 he achieved that season was his career-best.

In November 1921, Griffith sought to deal Erickson to Portland for some of their young pitching talent. But the Yankees refused to let him pass through waivers. Next, he was rumored to be a piece in a three-way trade, with the Athletics and the Red Sox, which would bring Roger Peckinpaugh to Washington. Though the deal went down, Erickson was not included. Consequently, the veteran stayed with Washington in 1922, stumbling to a 4-12 record and a 4.96 ERA. . . .

. . . During his major-league days, the press commonly referred to Erickson as “Ole” or Olaf” or “the big Swede.” In Jamestown (where he grew up and lived), ever since delivering key hits at the beginning of his semipro days, he was known exclusively as “Swat.” Almost two decades after his earliest triumphs, possibly his finest baseball moment occurred on a local semipro diamond. On August 7, 1930, Bill McKechnie’s Boston Braves came to Jamestown for an exhibition game. The 38-year-old Erickson one-hit the major leaguers, allowing only a “dinky single between first and second” to pinch-hitter Lance Richbourg in the ninth inning. “Swat” accounted for all of Jamestown’s runs in their 3-0 victory, by clearing the bases with a triple in the second inning.

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