Hiram Gabriel Bithorn Sosa (March 18, 1916 – December 29, 1951) was a professional right-handed pitcher who became the first baseball player from Puerto Rico to play in Major League Baseball.Standing 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) and weighing about 200 pounds (90 kg), Bithorn was a hard-throwing pitcher who commanded attention when he began his delivery with a distinctive windup, raising his long left leg high in the air and throwing a blazing fastball toward home plate.
David George Baldwin (born March 30, 1938) is an American former professional baseball pitcher.
Wilbur Scott "Jake" Striker (October 23, 1933 – March 7, 2013) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played in 1959 and 1960 with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.
Originally signed by the Indians in 1952, the 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), 200 lb (91 kg) Striker enjoyed a promising start to his career. In his MLB debut on September 25, 1959, against the Kansas City Athletics at the age of 25, Striker tossed 6⅔ innings of solid baseball, allowing only two earned runs for a 2.70 earned run average and the win. He went 0 for 1 with a walk at the plate in what would be the only game in which he would appear in 1959.
The only player from Heidelberg College to reach the major leagues, Striker was traded on December 6, 1959 with Dick Brown, Don Ferrarese and Minnie Miñoso to the White Sox for Johnny Romano, Bubba Phillips and Norm Cash. He only appeared in two games with the White Sox, both relief appearances. In 3+ innings of work, he posted a 4.91 ERA, striking out one and walking one. His major league career ended on April 24, 1960. Overall, he went 1 and 0 with a 3.48 ERA in 3 games in his career. He walked five, struck out six and gave up one home run (to Casey Wise) in about 10 innings of work. Overall, he wore three uniform numbers in his short two-year career. He wore 23 with the Indians, and 20 and 31 with the White Sox.
Leonard John Perme (November 25, 1917 – January 24, 2009) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox in the 1942 and 1946 seasons. Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), 170 lb., he batted and threw left-handed.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Perme was one of many major leaguers who saw his baseball career interrupted by a military stint during World War II. He started his professional career in the Northern League, pitching for the Fargo-Moorhead Twins (1938–1940) and Superior Blues (1941).
In 1942, Perme earned a call-up to the Chicago White Sox in late September after going 15–11 with a 3.22 ERA for Superior. He finished with a 0–1 mark and a 1.38 ERA in four appearances, and would appear to have a guaranteed spot in the rotation heading into the next year, but he had to join the military. He served in the US Navy from 1943 to 1946 and rejoined the Sox after being discharged during the 1946 midseason, but he not recovered his old form.
In a two-season career, Perme posted a 0–1 record with a 3.12 ERA in eight appearances, including one start, giving up six runs on 11 hits and 11 walks while striking out six in 17+1⁄3 innings of work.
Following his brief stint in major leagues, Perme resumed his career in the minors pitching for the Williamsport Tigers (1947–48), Toledo Mud Hens (1949) and Cubs de Drummondville (1951).
Perme died in Hayward, California, at the age of 91.
John Andrew Charles Kucek (born June 8, 1953), or JACK for short, is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Toronto Blue Jays from 1974 to 1980.
Jack Price Hallett (November 13, 1914 – June 11, 1982) was a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Giants between 1940 and 1948. He was a 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 215 pounds (98 kg) right-hander.
Hallett, a native of Toledo, Ohio, made his big-league debut on September 13, 1940 at the age of 25 for the White Sox, wearing #28. In two games that year, he went 1 and 1 with a 6.43 ERA in 14 innings of work.
In 1941, Hallett spent time as both a starter and reliever. He posted a 5 and 5 record and a 6.03 ERA. On December 9, 1941, Hallett was traded from the White Sox with Mike Kreevich to the Philadelphia Athletics for Wally Moses. He went from the A's to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League in the spring of 1942 before being traded in September to the Pirates. He appeared in only 3 games in 1942, starting all of them. He had an 0 and 1 record, but he completed two of the games he appeared in. In 1943, with his number changed to 40, he posted a tiny 1.70 ERA in 47 innings of work, but still had a losing record of 1 and 2.
Hallett missed 1944 and 1945, serving in the Pacific with the Navy during World War II.Hallett came back after his time in the military and posted a solid 3.29 ERA in 115 innings of work for the Pirates in 1946. Still, his record was only 5 and 7. His number was 39.
After playing for the minor league Indianapolis Indians in 1947, Hallett came back in 1948 and finished his big league career with the Giants at the age of 33. In four innings of work in 1948 and wearing number 40, he posted a 4.50 ERA. His final game was on April 29.
Overall, Hallett went 12-16 in 277.2 innings of work over a span of six seasons. He appeared in a total of 73 games, starting 24 of them and completing 11 of his starts (2 of his complete games were shutouts). His career ERA was 4.05. He was a fairly solid batter, hitting .238 with one home run in 80 career at-bats. He was a perfect fielder, committing zero errors in 60 total chances (14 putouts, 46 assists). His career pitching statistics are most similar to those of Jim Britton.
Hallett died in 1982 at the age of 67 in Toledo, Ohio. He was buried at the United Church of Christ Cemetery in Holgate, Ohio.
Robert William Gillespie (October 8, 1919 – November 4, 2001) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who played between 1944 and 1950 for the Detroit Tigers (1944), Chicago White Sox (1947–48) and Boston Red Sox (1950). Listed at 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m), 187 lb., Gillespie batted and threw right-handed. The native of Columbus, Ohio, served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.
In a four-season career, Gillespie posted a 5–13 record with a 4.73 ERA in 58 pitching appearances, including 23 starts, two complete games, 59 strikeouts, 102 walks, and 202 ⅓ innings of work.
Gillespie died in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on November 4, 2001, at the age of 82.
Thomas Anthony Flanigan (September 6, 1934 – December 8, 2022) was an American professional baseball player: a 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m), 175 lb (79 kg) left-handed pitcher who appeared in three Major League Baseball games over the course of a seven-year professional career — two games for the 1954 Chicago White Sox and one for the 1958 St. Louis Cardinals.
Flanigan began his third professional season at age 19 on the White Sox' MLB roster, and appeared in two games, both in relief, allowing no runs and only one hit (a single to Frank Bolling of the Detroit Tigers) in 12⁄3 innings pitched. After spending the rest of 1954, and all of 1955 through 1957, in minor league baseball, he was selected in the winter 1957 Rule 5 draft by the Cardinals and began 1958 on their roster. In his only National League appearance, against the Chicago Cubs at Busch Stadium April 15, Flanigan hurled one inning in relief and allowed two hits and one run, the latter coming on a home run by Cub catcher Cal Neeman. He then was returned to the White Sox' Indianapolis Indians affiliate, from which he had been drafted.
Flanigan allowed three hits and one run in 22⁄3 MLB innings pitched, with two bases on balls and no strikeouts. In 246 minor league games from 1952 to 1958, he won 55 of 100 decisions.Flanigan died in Edgewood, Kentucky, on December 8, 2022, at the age of 88.
Stephen Michael Huntz (born December 3, 1945) is a retired American professional baseball player who played infielder in the Major Leagues between 1967 and 1975 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres. Huntz threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 204 pounds (93 kg). He attended Villanova University.
Huntz' professional career extended for 13 seasons (1964; 1966–1977), and he played more than 1,000 games at the Triple-A level of minor league baseball — mostly in the Pacific Coast League. The bulk of his Major League playing time came as a utility infielder for the 1969 Cardinals and the 1970 Padres. He was traded along with Tommy John from the White Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Dick Allen at the Winter Meetings on December 2, 1971. Huntz played exclusively for the Dodgers' Albuquerque Dukes PCL team for two seasons, but was eventually able to return to the Majors and San Diego for one last stint with the Padres in 1975.
Altogether, Huntz appeared in 237 Major League games. His 131 hits included 19 doubles, one triple and 16 home runs.
In 1973, Huntz became a father to world renowned nurse practitioner, Erin.
Norman Michael Hershberger (October 9, 1939 – July 1, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1961–1964, 1971), Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1965–1969) and Milwaukee Brewers (1970) during an 11-season Major League Baseball career. Born in Massillon, Ohio, he threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg).
He signed with the White Sox in 1959 after graduating from Massillon High School and attending the University of Cincinnati. He held down a starting corner outfielder job in the majors for seven straight years (1962–1968), and in 1966 led the American League in sacrifice flies (7) during his tenure with the Athletics.
In his 11 MLB seasons, Hershberger played in 1,150 games and had 3,572 at bats, 398 runs, 900 hits, 150 doubles, 22 triples, 26 home runs, 344 runs batted in, 74 stolen bases, 319 walks, .252 batting average, .316 on-base percentage, .328 slugging percentage, 1,172 total bases, 33 sacrifice hits, 28 sacrifice flies and 19 intentional walks.
He died in Massillon on July 1, 2012, following a brief illness.