ST LOUIS – On August 19, 1951, the Detroit Tigers played the St. Louis Browns at Sportsman’s Park in St. Louis in a game that many believe provided one of the most bizarre moments in MLB history.
During the second game of a double-header, Brown’s owner Bill Veeck inserted Chicago-born Eddie Gaedel into the line-up to pinch hit.
Unusual? In this case it was . . . Gaedel was a midget who stood 3 feet 7 inches tall.
The crowd of over 18,000 rose to their feet to give the little newcomer a standing ovation as the shortest man to ever play in a MLB game waddled to the plate. Gaedel, who was wearing a St. Louis uniform donning the number 1/8 and a pair of elf shoes, stepped into the batter’s box.
The Tigers immediately protested the move and after a long, heated conference with both teams and the umpires, it was determined that Veeck had covered all the league’s requirements and it was legal for Gaedel to bat.
Bob Cain was on the mound for the Tigers and had the challenge of hitting Gaedel’s one-and-a-half inch strike zone. Nearly an impossible feat, Cain delivered four consecutive balls, walking Gaedel triggering a roar of approval from the crowd.
Gaedel was replaced by a pinch-runner and the Tigers eventually won the game 6-2.
Veeck was verbally reprimanded the following day by the American League office and Gaedel’s contract was voided by the league.
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