| Doc Crandall | |
|---|---|
 Crandall with theSt. Louis Terriers in 1914 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1887-10-08)October 8, 1887 Wadena, Indiana, U.S. | |
| Died: August 17, 1951(1951-08-17) (aged 63) Bell, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 24, 1908, for the New York Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 31, 1918, for the Boston Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 102–62 |
| Earned run average | 2.92 |
| Strikeouts | 606 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
James Otis Crandall (October 8, 1887 – August 17, 1951) was an American right-handedpitcher andsecond baseman. He was the first player to be consistently used as arelief pitcher. Consequently, he was given the nicknameDoc byDamon Runyon who said Crandall was "the physician of the pitching emergency".[1] He played from 1908 to 1918, debuting with theNew York Giants. He was traded to theSt. Louis Cardinals in 1913, but made only two pinch-hitting appearances for them before being sold back to the Giants 13 days later. He also played for theSt. Louis Terriers in theFederal League in 1914 and 1915, theSt. Louis Browns in 1916, and for theBoston Braves in 1918. That same year he flirted with a no-hitter in the morning game of a double-header in Los Angeles against Salt Lake City of thePacific Coast League. He carried the no-hitter into the 9th inning when, with two out, his outing was spoiled by Karl Crandall, his brother.[2]
While Crandall frequently started, he led the league in number of relief appearances for five consecutive seasons while with the Giants. In the period from 1910 to 1912, he also led in relief victories going 45–16 overall in that time period. The Giants won three consecutive pennants from 1911 to 1913 with Crandall's help. Even with his bulky frame, Crandall was a quick fielder and thus played infield positions.
With his .285 lifetime hitting average, he was often used as apinch hitter and in 1910 he led with a .342 batting average. When the Giants sent him to the Cardinals in 1913 public outcry in New York was so big that the Giants bought him back after only two games. However, he ended up in St. Louis again a year later in the Federal league where he played more at second base than as pitcher. In 1915 he led the Federal League winning six times as relief pitcher out of his total 21 wins in that league. After sitting out the 1917 season, he made an abbreviated comeback in 1918 with the Braves.
Crandall is a charter member of thePacific Coast League Hall of Fame.
· Baseball Almanac