No. 1951.08.19 · Postwar Era
Eddie Gaedel Walks
Bill Veeck sent 3-foot-7 Eddie Gaedel to the plate in a child's uniform. Gaedel walked on four pitches. The league voided the contract the next day.
Eddie Gaedel, 3-foot-7, in his batting stance for the St. Louis Browns as Detroit catcher Bob Swift kneels, August 19, 1951.
Associated Press, ACME Newspictures or team photographer, via The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 20, 1951. Public domain (PD-US-not renewed).
The second game of a doubleheader at Sportsman's Park, August 19, 1951, Browns against the Tigers. Between games, a cake was wheeled out for the fiftieth anniversary of the American League. Out of it, in Browns owner Bill Veeck's telling of the stunt, came Eddie Gaedel, 3 feet 7 inches, wearing number 1/8.
Manager Zack Taylor sent him up to bat for Frank Saucier with a legitimate contract in hand. Bob Cain walked him on four pitches. Gaedel never took the bat off his shoulder. Jim Delsing ran for him. The next day American League president Will Harridge voided the contract and told clubs not to try it again. Gaedel's entire major-league career is one walk.
The joke, such as it was, belonged to Veeck. Gaedel was a performer who had been hired, paid, and let in on the stunt. He remains the shortest player in major-league history. The catalog keeps the entry for the promotion, not as a joke at his expense.
Related entries
Disco Demolition Night
The White Sox blew up a crate of disco records between games of a doubleheader. Fans took the field, a fire started, and the second game was forfeited.
Chicago White Sox · Detroit Tigers
No. 1974.10.13
1974
Herb Washington Is Picked Off
Charlie Finley signed a world-class sprinter who had never played baseball and used him only as a pinch runner. In the World Series, Mike Marshall picked him off.
Oakland Athletics · Los Angeles Dodgers
Ten-Cent Beer Night
Cleveland sold beer for a dime, the limit collapsed, and the crowd stormed the field. The umpires forfeited the game to Texas.
Cleveland Indians · Texas Rangers