Ray Chapman was a standout shortstop for the Cleveland Indians, who—on August 16, 1920—became the only professional baseball player to be killed by a pitch. It was a “spitball”—a ball that had been dirtied, scuffed up or otherwise altered—and it was speculated that Chapman never saw the ball coming.Yankees pitcher Carl Mays threw the high, inside ball that connected with Chapman’s left temple, breaking it with an audible sound that Mays took at first (understandably) to be the crack of the bat. Chapman collapsed, briefly regained his feet, and collapsed again on the way to the dugout, never regaining consciousness.Mays was cleared of any wrongdoing, but the spitball was made illegal—except for established pitchers who had been using it their whole careers, who were given a grandfather clause, which seems like it kind of defeats the whole purpose of the rule, but we’re no sports experts. Oddly, batting helmets weren’t made a requirement until 1971.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 19:09:20 +0000
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