Baltimore Orioles History: John McGraw Hit By Pitch Five Times

Typically, when a batter is hit by a pitch, they get first base as a matter of course. On this day in 1902, Baltimore Orioles player/manager John McGraw was hit by a pitch five times, and was not awarded first base.

We see it happen frequently over the course of a day. A player is hit by a pitch, and immediately heads down to first base. While the umpire has the discretion to keep the batter at home if he feels they did not attempt to get out of the way, it is rarely used. After all, just look at Brandon Guyer‘s career.

On this day in 1902, legendary umpire Jack Sheridan used that rule against Baltimore Orioles player/manager John McGraw. Although he was rarely on the field at this point in his career, McGraw would still occasionally suit up and play at third. This game in 1902 was one of those occasions where he inserted himself in the lineup.

That would be a painful decision. McGraw was hit by a pitch five times during the contest, as the opposition literally left their mark upon him. Normally, this would lead to quite the on base percentage for the day, but Sheridan refused to get McGraw go to first after any of the times he was struck by the pitch. After being hit yet again in the ninth inning, and being kept int he batter’s box, McGraw simply sat down in protest, earning an ejection.

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It is not certain as to what prompted such a reaction from Sheridan. He was considered one of the most influential of the early umpires, the arbiter that most of the ones who came afterwards modeled their style after. He was begged to come out of retirement twice, and even though he became seriously ill from sunstroke in 1914, leading to his death three weeks later, he remained in Chicago to umpire another series, so strong was his dedication to the game.

Perhaps it had to do with McGraw’s reputation. During his playing days, he was considered a dirty player, known for doing things such as standing in the way of the opposing baserunner to hamper their ability to score, or attempting to cut across the infield when going from first to third. Understandably, with such a reputation, umpires would be less inclined to do McGraw any favors.

Nonetheless, it is strange that, after being hit with a pitch five times, McGraw was not awarded first at any point. while this may happen once during the course of a game, this consistent refusal to let McGraw take a base was unique indeed. And the Orioles manager let Sheridan know exactly how he felt about his stance, doing so in his own inimitable way.

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On this day in 1902, Baltimore Orioles player/manager John McGraw was hit by a pitch five times. However, he was not awarded first base after any of them.