On August 19, 1951, midget Eddie Gaedel took the batter’s box in a Browns vs. Tigers game. Tigers pitcher Bob Cain couldn’t put the ball in Gaedel’s strike zone, who was walked on four straight pitches. Upon reaching first, Gaedel was substituted for a pinch runner.
Why hasn’t another team tried to replicate this feat? Surely it would be just as hard to pitch to a midget today as fifty years ago, right?
Ok, I found this page at ESPN which says midget batters were banned. Does anyone know whether this is at the discretion of the MLB commissioner, or if there is an actual minimum height requirement? If so, what is it?
(Forgive me if this has been asked already. I thought there might even be a column on it, but I couldn’t find it.)
P.S.
The “Disgraceball” link I used above is pretty amusing.