Eighteen-year-old Roger Bresnahan made his debut as a right-handed pitcher on August 27, 1897 with the Washington Senators. In his debut, Bresnahan defeated the St. Louis Browns, 3-0, en route to a 4-0 season record with a 3.95 ERA. This would be his only season with the Senators, however, and by 1900, Bresnahan was making his first appearances as a catcher with the Chicago Orphans (Cubs). Nicknamed the “Duke of Tralee,” Bresnahan would be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as a catcher in 1945.
Had forgotten that Bresnahan began his career as a pitcher. You can make a pretty fair team of early 20th Century pitchers who ended up playing in the field: Ruth, Sisler, Bresnahan, O’Doul (and probably several others I’ve forgotten)
v
I’m curious about players who make that switch : from pitcher to position player, or vice versa. They’re obviously multi-talented, and it’d be interesting to get an overview of the reasons that these switches are made.
Both Bucky Walters and Bob Lemon were third basemen who went the other way. FYI
v
Thanks, v! Always fun to learn these things 🙂