Eddie Waitkus was born on Thursday, September 4, 1919, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Waitkus was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 15, 1941, with the Chicago Cubs. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Eddie Waitkus baseball stats page.
"She had a blank expression of psychopathic intensity - 'the coldest-looking face I ever saw' - but even when she reached into a closet and brought out a .22 caliber rifle Waitkus was more bewildered than alarmed; after all it was probably just a gag. Then, said Waitkus, 'before I could say anything else, whammy!' A bullet ripped through his right lung, lodging near the spine. As he lay on the floor Waitkus moaned, 'Baby, what did you do that for?' The girl knelt and held his hand, then called the hotel authorities." - Life Magazine (June 27, 1949, 'Silly Honey With a Gun', Page 36)
Eddie Waitkus |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eddie WaitkusEddie Waitkus Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Eddie WaitkusEddie Waitkus Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1941 | 22 | Cubs | 12 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .179 | .207 | .179 |
1946 | 27 | Cubs | 113 | 441 | 50 | 134 | 24 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 55 | 23 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .304 | .340 | .408 |
1947 | 28 | Cubs | 130 | 514 | 60 | 150 | 28 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 32 | 4 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 8 | .292 | .336 | .381 |
1948 | 29 | Cubs | 139 | 562 | 87 | 166 | 27 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 44 | 43 | 1 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 12 | .295 | .348 | .416 |
1949 | 30 | Phillies | 54 | 209 | 41 | 64 | 16 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 33 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .306 | .403 | .426 |
1950 | 31 | Phillies | 154 | 641 | 102 | 182 | 32 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 55 | 2 | 29 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 13 | .284 | .341 | .359 |
1951 | 32 | Phillies | 145 | 610 | 65 | 157 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 53 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | .257 | .317 | .320 |
1952 | 33 | Phillies | 146 | 499 | 51 | 144 | 29 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 49 | 64 | 8 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 6 | .289 | .371 | .375 |
1953 | 34 | Phillies | 81 | 247 | 24 | 72 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 13 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .291 | .330 | .356 |
1954 | 35 | Orioles | 95 | 311 | 35 | 88 | 17 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 28 | 1 | 25 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 8 | .283 | .341 | .383 |
1955 | 36 | Orioles | 38 | 85 | 2 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .259 | .344 | .294 |
1955 | 36 | Phillies | 33 | 107 | 10 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 17 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | .280 | .379 | .383 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
11 Years | 1,140 | 4,254 | 528 | 1,214 | 215 | 44 | 24 | 1 | 373 | 372 | 23 | 204 | 40 | 3 | 11 | 75 | .285 | .344 | .374 |
Eddie WaitkusEddie Waitkus Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1941 Cubs | 1B | 9 | 7 | 102 | 78 | 8.7 | 74 | 71 | 3 | 4 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .949 | 19.59 |
1946 Cubs | 1B | 106 | 105 | 2,844 | 1,077 | 10.2 | 1,073 | 992 | 81 | 4 | 76 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .996 | 10.19 |
1947 Cubs | 1B | 126 | 125 | 3,315 | 1,270 | 10.1 | 1,262 | 1,161 | 101 | 8 | 109 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .994 | 10.28 |
1948 Cubs | 1B | 116 | 115 | 3,000 | 1,165 | 10.0 | 1,156 | 1,064 | 92 | 9 | 77 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 10.40 |
1948 Cubs | LF | 20 | 20 | 510 | 44 | 2.2 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.28 |
1949 Phillies | 1B | 54 | 54 | 1,503 | 491 | 9.1 | 488 | 452 | 36 | 3 | 51 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .994 | 8.77 |
1950 Phillies | 1B | 154 | 153 | 4,080 | 1,496 | 9.7 | 1,486 | 1,387 | 99 | 10 | 142 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 9.83 |
1951 Phillies | 1B | 144 | 142 | 3,822 | 1,318 | 9.2 | 1,308 | 1,214 | 94 | 10 | 121 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .992 | 9.24 |
1952 Phillies | 1B | 146 | 139 | 3,753 | 1,388 | 9.5 | 1,376 | 1,281 | 95 | 12 | 119 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 9.90 |
1953 Phillies | 1B | 59 | 53 | 1,428 | 523 | 8.9 | 517 | 480 | 37 | 6 | 65 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .989 | 9.78 |
1954 Orioles | 1B | 78 | 76 | 1,965 | 666 | 8.5 | 666 | 618 | 48 | 0 | 72 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.15 |
1955 Orioles | 1B | 26 | 18 | 528 | 194 | 7.5 | 189 | 180 | 9 | 5 | 15 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .974 | 9.66 |
1955 Phillies | 1B | 31 | 29 | 768 | 272 | 8.8 | 271 | 250 | 21 | 1 | 31 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .996 | 9.53 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1B Totals | 1,049 | 1,016 | 27,108 | 9,938 | 9.5 | 9,866 | 9,150 | 716 | 72 | 886 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 9.83 | |
LF Totals | 20 | 20 | 510 | 44 | 2.2 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.28 | |
11 Years | 1,069 | 1,036 | 27,618 | 9,982 | 9.3 | 9,909 | 9,193 | 716 | 73 | 886 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .993 | 9.69 |
Eddie WaitkusEddie Waitkus Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1941 Cubs | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 9.3 | 0.0 | - | - | - |
1946 Cubs | 3 | 4 | .429 | 6 | 1 | n/a | 110.3 | 31.5 | 8.0 | - | - | - |
1947 Cubs | 3 | 2 | .600 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 257.0 | 30.2 | 14.7 | - | - | - |
1948 Cubs | 11 | 3 | .786 | 3 | 1 | n/a | 80.3 | 29.6 | 12.8 | - | - | - |
1949 Phillies | 3 | 1 | .750 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 209.0 | 17.4 | 7.5 | - | - | - |
1950 Phillies | 3 | 2 | .600 | 1 | 0 | n/a | 320.5 | 22.1 | 14.6 | - | - | - |
1951 Phillies | 0 | 3 | .000 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 610.0 | 27.7 | 13.3 | - | - | - |
1952 Phillies | 2 | 2 | .500 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 249.5 | 21.7 | 10.2 | - | - | - |
1953 Phillies | 1 | 1 | .500 | 22 | 0 | n/a | 247.0 | 10.7 | 15.4 | - | - | - |
1954 Orioles | 0 | 1 | .000 | 17 | 0 | n/a | 155.5 | 12.4 | 9.4 | - | - | - |
1955 Orioles | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 14 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 8.5 | 9.4 | - | - | - |
1955 Phillies | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 53.5 | 15.3 | 7.6 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
11 Years | 28 | 21 | .571 | 79 | 2 | n/a | 177.3 | 20.9 | 11.4 | - | - | - |
Eddie WaitkusEddie Waitkus Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1941 Chicago Cubs | 27 | Undetermined | - | - |
1946 Chicago Cubs | 36 | Undetermined | - | - |
1947 Chicago Cubs | 36 | Undetermined | - | - |
1948 Chicago Cubs | 36 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1949 Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | Undetermined | Stats | - |
1950 Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | Undetermined | - | Stats |
1951 Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | Undetermined | - | - |
1952 Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | Undetermined | - | - |
1953 Philadelphia Phillies | 4 | Undetermined | - | - |
1954 Baltimore Orioles | 3 | Undetermined | - | - |
1955 Baltimore Orioles | 9 | Undetermined | - | - |
1955 Philadelphia Phillies | 44 | Undetermined | - | - |
Eddie Waitkus Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know that the shooting of Robert Redford's Roy Hobbs character in "The Natural" was based on the real-life shooting of Eddie Waitkus by a deranged Chicago woman in 1949?
"We're not acquainted, but I have something of importance to speak to you about," she (Ruth Ann Steinhagen) wrote in a note to him after a game at Wrigley on June 14, 1949.
It worked. Waitkus arrived at her room. After he sat down, Steinhagen walked to a closet, said, "I have a surprise for you," then turned with the rifle she had hidden there and shot him in the chest. (John) Theodore wrote (in Baseball's Natural: The story of Eddie Waitkus) that she then knelt by his side and held his hand on her lap. She told a psychiatrist afterward about how she had dreamed of killing him and found it strange that she was now "holding him in my arms."
Newspapers devoured and trumpeted the lurid story of a 19-year-old baseball groupie, known in the parlance of the day as a "Baseball Annie." Among the sensational and probably staged photos was one showing Steinhagen writing in her journal at a table in her jail cell with a framed photograph of Waitkus propped nearby.
A judge determined she was insane and committed her to a mental hospital. She was released three years later, after doctors determined she had regained her sanity.
Source: Don Babwin, AP Wire, Woman portrayed in baseball movie 'The Natural' dies in obscurity at 83.
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