Nap Rucker, in his last MLB season, made it to the final roster in October, and even appeared. During the regular season (1916), he took the hill just 9 times.
Rucker, one of the early masters of the knuckleball, had been a pretty good pitcher in seasons' past. In fact, he was a winner in 22 contest back in 1911. His team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, just wasn't very good. And by 1913, neither was Rucker, as a sore arm plagued him that season. Nate was just 14-15 that season. And in his final 3 season, just 7-6, 9-4 and 2-1.
It was a given that Rucker would retire after the season, so the Dodgers added him to the postseason roster. Alas, he would pitch just once in the Fall Classic, his final MLB appearance.
The Boston Red Sox were a formidable opponent to anyone in the Fall Classic in the 1910s, and when the decade was over, they had won 4 World Series.
In game four of the 1916 Fall Classic, Boston pitcher Dutch Leonard spun a fine 5-hitter, easily getting the best of Rube Marquard. After four innings, Rube was gone. Larry Cheney pitched three innings of relief, but gave up a run in the top of the seventh to make it a 6-2 Boston lead.
So, this game moved into the top of the eight at Ebbets Field. Cheney had been removed for a pinch hitter. That meant Rucker was on the hill.
He had a little trouble in that frame. Everett Scott popped to first in foul territory with one out. Zack Wheat, the Dodgers' 1st basemen couldn't get the job done, and Soott had a reprieve. But all Scott could do was ground to short. Bill Carrigan ended the top of the 8th by fanning.
Brooklyn was set aside 1-2-3 by Leonard in the bottom of the eight. Then, in the top of the ninth, Harry Hooper singled after Leonard had fanned. And error advanced him to second. But for some reason (Remember, it's still 6-2 at this point) Hooper tried to swipe third and was nailed. Hal Janvrin became the third batter Nate Rucker fanned. And he proved to be the last MLB player Nate faced.
Leonard retired the Dodgers in the last of the ninth, allowing just a walk to Ivy Olson. Boston won the game 6-2, then closed out the Fall Classic with a 4-1 win in game five. Rucker, of course, did not get into that game. The Dodgers made it back to the World Series four years later, sans Nate Rucker.
The Red Sox added the 1918 World Series win over the Cubs to make it four in the decade. They would not win again until 2004. Brooklyn had to wait until 1955 to finally win. Rucker wasn't exactly the best pitcher then for Brooklyn, as they had Marquard and Jack Coombs, but it was kind of a nice swan song to a pitcher with a rare pitch, fanning 3 batters and pitching 2 scoreless innings in his one and only World Series appearance.
Books
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Web
Enders, Eric. “Nap Rucker.” Nap Rucker. Society Of American Baseball Research, <sabr.org/bioproj/person/22be16b1>. Web. 26 Dec. 2017.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 26 Dec. 2017.
Rucker, one of the early masters of the knuckleball, had been a pretty good pitcher in seasons' past. In fact, he was a winner in 22 contest back in 1911. His team, the Brooklyn Dodgers, just wasn't very good. And by 1913, neither was Rucker, as a sore arm plagued him that season. Nate was just 14-15 that season. And in his final 3 season, just 7-6, 9-4 and 2-1.
It was a given that Rucker would retire after the season, so the Dodgers added him to the postseason roster. Alas, he would pitch just once in the Fall Classic, his final MLB appearance.
The Boston Red Sox were a formidable opponent to anyone in the Fall Classic in the 1910s, and when the decade was over, they had won 4 World Series.
In game four of the 1916 Fall Classic, Boston pitcher Dutch Leonard spun a fine 5-hitter, easily getting the best of Rube Marquard. After four innings, Rube was gone. Larry Cheney pitched three innings of relief, but gave up a run in the top of the seventh to make it a 6-2 Boston lead.
So, this game moved into the top of the eight at Ebbets Field. Cheney had been removed for a pinch hitter. That meant Rucker was on the hill.
He had a little trouble in that frame. Everett Scott popped to first in foul territory with one out. Zack Wheat, the Dodgers' 1st basemen couldn't get the job done, and Soott had a reprieve. But all Scott could do was ground to short. Bill Carrigan ended the top of the 8th by fanning.
Brooklyn was set aside 1-2-3 by Leonard in the bottom of the eight. Then, in the top of the ninth, Harry Hooper singled after Leonard had fanned. And error advanced him to second. But for some reason (Remember, it's still 6-2 at this point) Hooper tried to swipe third and was nailed. Hal Janvrin became the third batter Nate Rucker fanned. And he proved to be the last MLB player Nate faced.
Leonard retired the Dodgers in the last of the ninth, allowing just a walk to Ivy Olson. Boston won the game 6-2, then closed out the Fall Classic with a 4-1 win in game five. Rucker, of course, did not get into that game. The Dodgers made it back to the World Series four years later, sans Nate Rucker.
The Red Sox added the 1918 World Series win over the Cubs to make it four in the decade. They would not win again until 2004. Brooklyn had to wait until 1955 to finally win. Rucker wasn't exactly the best pitcher then for Brooklyn, as they had Marquard and Jack Coombs, but it was kind of a nice swan song to a pitcher with a rare pitch, fanning 3 batters and pitching 2 scoreless innings in his one and only World Series appearance.
References
Books
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Web
Enders, Eric. “Nap Rucker.” Nap Rucker. Society Of American Baseball Research, <sabr.org/bioproj/person/22be16b1>. Web. 26 Dec. 2017.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 26 Dec. 2017.
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