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MLB's only death from a play at the ballpark
August 16, 1920-
At the Polo Grounds, Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, 29, is beaned by a
Yankees pitcher Carl Mays pitch.
Ray Chapman is a right-handed batter who likes to crowd
the plate, Chapman freezes and fails to get out of the way of the
submarine delivery. He is carried from the field and dies the next day
from a fractured skull. Carl Mays, a surly, unpopular pitcher, is the
target of fans' and MLB players' outrage.
Ray Chapman, a Cleveland
fan favorite since breaking in with the team in 1912, had been married the
previous year. In October, his wife will receive a full 1920 World Series
share, of $3,986.34. The incident has no effect on Carl Mays's pitching. One
week later he will blank the Tigers by the score of 10-0, and go on to
win 26 and lose 11 during the 1920 AL season.
Rookie 2B Joe Sewell will be called
up to take Chapman's place at 2B, and for 14 years he will be the
hardest man to strike out in MLB. He will finish up his long MLB career with the Yankees (1931-1933), after playing for the Indians from 1920 to 1930.
 Tribe 2B Ray Chapman
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Yankees Pitcher Carl "Sub" Mays
 New Tribe 2B Joe Sewell
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That event probably kept Carl Mays out of the HOF. For such a great pitcher, that's probably all anyone remembers about him.
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Very sad history lesson here. I believe there were two players who were hit by a ball just yesterday ... Wright lost consciousness for a bit ... and I honestly can't remember who the other one was. But it's a scarey situation for sure.
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IH,
Carl Mays was one of the most hated players in the MLB during the 1900's-1920, especially in Cleveland, Boston (Red Sox) and New York City. His inability to get along with Yankees Manager Miller Huggins sealed this doom on his Yankees career. A great pitcher will a lously temper and attitude, more than Ty Cobb.
Clipper
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BG,
The amazing thing that batting helmets didn't become standard until after the 1970's.
Clipper
The batting helmet was not made a mandatory piece of protective
baseball equipment for MLB hitters until 1971. The batting helmet is worn
to protect batters from injury in case a pitched ball should strike
them in the head, but despite the common sense of this the batting
helmet was slow to catch on.
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I believe Phil Rizzuto was the first to wear a batting helmet. He used to get quite often. That explains a lot. lol
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For the amount of money they have invested in these guys, I don't understand why they don't wear more protection. Just seeing A-Rod get hit on the arm made me wince. I got hit (only once, and, thankfully, not on the head...I wasn't wearing a helmet) and got a couple of bruised ribs out of it. Man, did that hurt! I was down about twice as long as A-Rod. I sure didn't go back in the game, either.
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Did you happen to see the replays of the Mets Wright getting hit yesterday? I heard a report that his manager said it's possible he could be out for the rest of the year. He does have a concussion, and for all intents and purposes there season is done anyway.
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