Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Ray Chapman

On this day in 1920, exactly 90 years ago, this guy--Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, got into the batter's box against Yankees pitcher Carl Mays. Mays was a known headhunter; a mean and surly type that was roundly disliked by teammates and opponents.

Chapman took one to the head and went down hard. He died the following day. It's still the last fatality resulting from a baseball injury in MLB history.

After the season, a new rule was established requiring the umpire to get rid of any dirty balls (because they couldn't be seen well enough by the batters). The spitball was also banned, largely because of this incident.

As for Carl Mays, he became even more unpopular, and was later accused of throwing a World Series game. Although he had outstanding numbers (Five 20 win seasons, 4 World Series Championships, 2-time shutout leader, 207 career wins), Carl Mays was never seriously considered for  baseball's Hall of Fame.