- Babe Ganzel
Foster Pirie (Babe) Ganzel (
May 22 ,1901 -February 6 ,1978 ) was anoutfielder who played baseball for the Washington Senators from 1927 to 1928. He batted and threw right-handed.A native of
Malden, Massachusetts , Ganzel came from a family of baseball men. His father, Charlie, was acatcher who played with the Whitecaps, Quakers, Wolverines and Beaneaters during 14 seasons, and his uncle John was afirst baseman for the Pirates, Cubs, Giants, Highlanders and Reds and also managed the Reds and the Tip-Tops. Two brothers and two uncles also played in the minor leagues.In a two-season career, Ganzel posted a .311
batting average with onehome run and 17 RBI in 23games played .Following his majors career, Ganzel played in the high minors for nine years. Then he turned to managing and directing the Selma, St. Paul and Jacksonville Triple-A teams.
Ganzel died in
Jacksonville, Florida , at the age of 76.Facts
*In an interview, Ganzel said he was the only player ever put out of a game by a dog. According to him, the incident occurred when he was playing for Minneapolis and was chasing a stray mutt that was disrupting play. Ganzel tackled the dog, which responded by biting Ganzel on the hand.
*While piloting Selma, fans heckled him because his players seldom bunted. At this point, he ordered the first nine batters in a game to bunt and all nine reached base.ee also
*Second generation MLB players
External links
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=ganzeba01 Baseball Almanac]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/g/ganzeba01.shtml Baseball Reference]
* [http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Ganzel.Babe.Obit.html The Deadball Era]
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