Smallest Cup of Coffee

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by drmiraculous

My man Ryan Brett got into five games in 2015 with the Tampa Bay Rays, which I know isn't as low a total as some others, or nearly as far back. But what impressed me was how Ryan managed just MLB two hits and a walk before getting injured diving back into first base on a pickoff play.

So he spent the rest of the season on the Tampa Injured List making bigleague money instead of being shipped back to Triple-A when their regular infielder he was filling in for returned. It was the best career move of his life, earnings wise, as he bounced around the minors a few years but never got back to the majors.

He actually has a rough story with the timing. He got hurt four days after being called up on April 17th and went on the disabled list on April 22nd. He was sent on a quick rehab and then optioned to Triple-A on May 28th. That means he collected big league pay for 41 days. You need a minimum of 43 days for a pension, so he missed that by two days. He received $120,973 in big league salary that year, plus a little more than half that much in minor league salary, which was raised once he made the majors.

They sped up his rehab, letting it go four days total with two different teams, which kept him from getting a pension. He got a nice signing bonus out of HS though ($341,000)

[drmiraculous]

Originally Posted by z28jd

He actually has a rough story with the timing. He got hurt four days after being called up on April 17th and went on the disabled list on April 22nd. He was sent on a quick rehab and then optioned to Triple-A on May 28th. That means he collected big league pay for 41 days. You need a minimum of 43 days for a pension, so he missed that by two days. He received $120,973 in big league salary that year, plus a little more than half that much in minor league salary, which was raised once he made the majors.

They sped up his rehab, letting it go four days total with two different teams, which kept him from getting a pension. He got a nice signing bonus out of HS though ($341,000)

Yeah thats the guy! He was ticketed back to triple-A and would likely never have stuck for anywhere near long enough to sniff a pension were it not for the injury time. He had a recurring shoulder injury, it popped out of socket sometimes and must have been very painful, hopefully the club helped him have it fixed.

[jakebeckleyoldeagleeye]

A fellow I knew Eddie Phillips was up with the Cardinals in September of 1953 and pinch ran in 9 games and scored 4 runs. Eddie Stanky never let him bat one time. Thanks Stanky.

[Spike]

E.T. (Ernie/Elmer) Cox garnered a pair of prewar cards, five years apart, on the back of one career inning for Chicago on May 5, 1922. Lots of digital ink was spilled on that inning, if you include my #5 type post, the Birmingham History Center's story, and previous Net54 threads trying to work out which Cox we were looking at. #phrasing

https://www.number5typecollection.co...-5-et-cox.html

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

The above post beats out what was always head scratcher for me: Steve Larkin, who pitched a total of 6 innings over 2 games for the 1934 Tigers (0-0 with a career 1.50 ERA!), managed to find himself on a '34 Goudey card. I never researched Larkin's pre-MLB prospects, but have to imagine that people foresaw a much brighter future ahead for him if Goudey decided to give him a card in a relatively small set.

If you want a one-gamer with an absolutely beautiful nickname, you need not look farther than Larkin's 1934 Tiger teammate, Icehouse Wilson. I have loved that name since I first read it on the back of a TCMA card as a kid. I've never learned the origins of the nickname.

Another great name that just rolls off the tongue is Kewpie Pennington, who pitched a lone inning for the 1917 Browns. Or how about Pembroke Finlayson, who pitched 7.1 innings over two games/seasons with Brooklyn? He is recorded in his debut game as having pitched 0.1 innings! Can somebody please break down that statistic for me? How many actual pitches add up to 0.1 innings?

[Mark]

This is a terrific topic. In one respect, it's sad that these guys played in the majors for a only a few minutes, but at least they got there. Better to have pitched one inning than to never have pitched at all.

Red Lutz caught 1 inning and had 1 at bat. To his credit, it was a double. After that event, he returned to his role as bullpen catcher and never played in the majors again. I don't believe there is a card, but there is at least one bat:




with Lou Fonseca side writing.

[Brick442]

How about Harry Saferight, 79 Pirates? Was called up and on deck three times, however the final out was made each time and he never got an AB or appearance in the majors. Was that close to appearing in the book. Never called back up in subsequent seasons.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by Brick442

How about Harry Saferight, 79 Pirates? Was called up and on deck three times, however the final out was made each time and he never got an AB or appearance in the majors. Was that close to appearing in the book. Never called back up in subsequent seasons.

here is a picture:

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by Brick442

How about Harry Saferight, 79 Pirates? Was called up and on deck three times, however the final out was made each time and he never got an AB or appearance in the majors. Was that close to appearing in the book. Never called back up in subsequent seasons.

Saferight is the cover player for my book about players who were with the Pirates during the regular season, but never got to play in a game