| Del Pratt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born:(1888-01-10)January 10, 1888 Walhalla, South Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: September 30, 1977(1977-09-30) (aged 89) Texas City, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 11, 1912, for the St. Louis Browns | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 29, 1924, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .292 |
| Home runs | 43 |
| Runs batted in | 979 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Derrill Burnham "Del"Pratt (January 10, 1888 – September 30, 1977) was an American professionalbaseball player andcollege football player and coach. He played football as ahalfback theUniversity of Alabama and was the head football coach at Southern University—later merged intoBirmingham–Southern College—for one season, in 1910.[1] Pratt signed with theSt. Louis Browns ofMajor League Baseball (MLB) in 1912. He was a starsecond baseman in theAmerican League for over a decade, but also saw some action atfirst base,shortstop,third base, and theoutfield.
In his rookie season, in1912, Pratt batted .302 for the Browns. In1916 he led the American League with 103RBIs.
In1917, the Browns were struggling. OwnerPhil Ball accused some of the players of intentionally playing poorly so that they could be traded. Ball said, "Every $1,000 I lose on the Browns this season will cost the ballplayers $100. Salaries will be cut next season." Pratt was offended. He and teammateDoc Lavan sued Ball for slander.The Sporting News went so far as to call Pratt the Browns'Trotsky. The suit was eventually settled in 1918, and Pratt was traded to theNew York Yankees.
After the 1920 season, the Yankees traded Pratt to theBoston Red Sox forWaite Hoyt, but he decided to retire. He was hired as theUniversity of Michigan baseball coach to replaceCarl Lundgren (with a recommendation fromBranch Rickey) and served as an assistant football coach and freshman basketball coach.[2] He began preparing the 1921 team, but the Red Sox coaxed him out of retirement before the first game of the season. Upon his return to the Sox in 1921, Pratt batted over .300. He ended his career with theDetroit Tigers.
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His career batting average was .292 over twelve seasons, with an on-base percentage of .345. He had a total of 979 RBIs and 857 runs scored. Pratt hit better than .300 six times.
Pratt died inTexas City, Texas, on September 30, 1977, at age 89.
· Baseball Almanac
