Eight former Pittsburgh Pirates players born on this date. Starting with the youngest first:
Curtis Partch, pitcher for the 2016 Pirates. Back when the amateur draft had 50 rounds, Partch was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 49th round of the 2005 draft out of Merced HS in Merced, California (no relation to Pirates first baseman Orlando Merced). Partch decided to continue with school, staying in town to attend Merced College. In 2007, the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 26th round and he signed. It’s a school that has produced 11 big league players, including current Pirates reliever Blake Cederlind and former Pirates pitcher Blas Minor. Partch was a starter in the minors up until 2011, slowly working his way through the Cincinnati system. He debuted at 20 years old in 2007, playing that half year with the Gulf Coast League Reds and Billings of the short-season Pioneer League. He combined for a 2.88 ERA in 34.1 innings, with 28 walks and 26 strikeouts. In 2008, he played for Dayton of the Low-A Midwest League, going 5-11, 5.00 in 17 starts and 16 relief appearances, throwing a total of 111.2 innings. He had a 42:74 BB/SO ratio that season. Partch was back at Dayton to start 2009, going 8-7, 4.67 in 104 innings over 19 starts. During a four-year stretch that started late in 2009, he split each year between High-A and Double-A. He played for Carolina (2009-11) and Pensacola (2012) of the Double-A Southern League during that time, as well as Sarasota of the Florida State League (2009), Lynchburg of the Carolina League (2010) and Bakersfield of the California League (2011-12), all High-A affiliates of the Reds.
Partch combined to finish 2009 with a 12-9, 4.49 record in 148.1 innings, with 104 strikeouts. His combined record in 2010 stood at 7-12, 5.33 in 135 innings, with 97 strikeouts. That year consisted of just one start in Double-A. In 2011, he made 21 starts in High-A and seven in Double-A, going 8-13, 5.66 in 160.2 innings, with 126 strikeouts. The 2012 season saw him make seven relief appearances in High-A, and 45 appearances (four starts) in Double-A. Partch combined for a 7-4, 4.26 record in 82.1 innings, with 79 strikeouts. After the season, he played in the Arizona Fall League, posting a 3.55 ERA in 12.2 innings, with 14 strikeouts. He finally reached Triple-A for the first time in late April of 2013 after eight games with Pensacola. He pitched a total of 24 games for Louisville of the International League that year, but he wasn’t even there for six full weeks before he was debuting in the majors. Partch pitched 14 games that season for the Reds, going 0-1, 6.17 in 23.1 innings. He had major issues with control, issuing 17 walks during that time. The control limited his big league time in 2014, though he had better results in fewer opportunities. He pitched seven shutout innings over six appearances, despite issuing seven walks. The rest of the year was spent with Louisville, where he had a 4.75 ERA in 47.1 innings.
Partch was let go after the 2014 season and the San Francisco Giants finally got their man nine years after drafting him out of high, signing him to a minor league deal in December of 2014. He spent the entire 2015 season in Triple-A with Sacramento of the Pacific Coast League, posting a 3.53 ERA in 63.2 innings over 48 appearances. He signed a minor league deal with the Pirates for 2016 and pitched well in Triple-A with Indianapolis of the International League, going 2-2, 2.24 in 60.1 innings over 42 games. The Pirates called him up three times during the season, once in June when he allowed three runs without recording an out, then again in August, when he recorded two outs without allowing a run. He had another four-day call-up in early June in which he didn’t pitch. He spent a total of ten days on the big league roster that year, and the Pirates designated him for assignment twice during the season. In 2017, he pitched very poorly in independent ball with York of the Atlantic League, and then he retired after that season. His big league career consisted of a 5.52 ERA in 31 innings over 22 games.
Al Grunwald, pitcher for the 1955 Pirates. The Pirates signed him at 17 years old as an amateur free agent prior to the 1947 season. He began his career as a first baseman, but seven years later he was switched to the mound, where he made it to the majors. He debuted with Leesburg of the Class-D Florida State League, where he hit .273 with three extra-base hits (all doubles) in 46 games. In 1948, he played for Santa Rosa of the Far West League (Class-D), hitting .327 in 122 games, with 35 doubles, five triples and ten homers. The next year he moved up to Davenport of the Three-I League, where he had a .285 average in 126 games, with 75 runs, 34 doubles, seven triples, six homers, 75 RBIs and 60 walks. Grunwald reached the top level of the minors, hitting .333 in 35 games for Indianapolis of the American Association in 1950, yet in early June he was demoted to New Orleans of the Double-A Southern Association, where he hit .320 in 99 games. His career may have trended towards him making it at first base because the Pirates were bad in 1951 and really bad in 1952, however, he spent those two seasons serving in the Army during the Korean War. Grunwald was going to compete for the 1951 first base job with Jack Phillips and Dale Long, before he got the call into service three days after his 21st birthday.
Grunwald returned in 1953 to hit .293 with 84 runs, 28 doubles, 18 homers, 111 RBIs and 64 walks for New Orleans. He competed for the Pirates first base job that season, only to lose it to Paul Smith, who held the spot for one year. Grunwald was an early cut during Spring Training in 1954 and had a strange start to the season. He was assigned to San Francisco of the Pacific Coast League on April 9th, where he played nine games. From there he went to Toronto of the Triple-A International League, who sent him back to the Pirates after three games. The Pirates then sent him to Waco of the Class-B Big State League, with instructions that he be switched to the mound. He would continue to play first base for the rest of his pro career, but his only big league shots came as a pitcher. He was a .295 with 111 homers in 1,336 minor league games.
Grunwald went 9-3, 2.89 in 140 innings over 21 games (19 starts) in the minors in 1954, splitting the season between Waco and Billings of the Class-C Pioneer League. Without any upper level experience on the mound, he made the Pirates out of Spring Training in 1955, although he would’ve liked to forget his first game. In the fourth inning against the New York Giants on April 18th, with the Pirates already trailing 5-0, New York sent five men to the plate and hit for the cycle against him. Both inherited runners scored and Grunwald allowed four runs of his own before being pulled. He pitched 5.1 innings of scoreless relief in his next appearance two weeks later, then threw two scoreless innings against the Giants during another blowout loss a week later. After throwing 7.1 shutout innings in back-to-back games, he went back to the minors and returned to first base while still occasionally pitching. The Pirates sent him to Mexico City of the Mexican League in 1955, where he went 10-4, 6.16 in 111 innings, in a league that was very hitter friendly. He pitched 11 games split between Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League and New Orleans in 1956, while hitting .331 with 42 doubles, seven triples and 17 homers in 130 games.
The Pirates sold Grunwald to the Kansas City A’s during the middle of the 1957 season, after he did poorly at the plate with Columbus of the International League, batting .200 in 40 games, while posting a 3.00 ERA in 39 innings. After joining the A’s, he spent the rest of 1957 and all of 1958 with Little Rock of the Southern Association. He pitched just once after the deal in 1957, then saw regular mound work in 1958, going 3-8, 5.62 in 125 innings over ten starts and 23 relief appearances. He pitched well for Shreveport of the Southern Association in 1959, going 9-1, 2.09 in 99 innings, which earned him a second chance at the majors. Grunwald was a September addition during the 1959 season for the A’s, allowing 14 runs over six appearances and 11.1 innings. He returned to Shreveport for the 1960-61 seasons, then went on to play baseball in Japan during the 1962 season, though he retired after batting .211 in 70 games, while posting a 4.54 ERA in 83.1 innings.
Pete Castiglione, third baseman for the Pirates from 1947 until 1953. He was signed by the Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1940, but he lost a good portion of his early years while serving in the military during WWII. He debuted at 19 years old, splitting that first season between Hutchinson of the Class-C Western Association, and Carthage of the Class-D Arkansas-Missouri League. His stats are available from Hutchinson, where he hit .274 with 11 doubles and four triples in 64 games. In 1941, Castiglione played 23 games for Hutchinson and 92 games for Moultrie of the Class-D Georgia-Florida League. In 115 games that year, he batted .263 with 22 doubles and six triples. He moved up to Harrisburg of the Class-B Interstate League in 1942, where he batted .265 in 123 games, with 21 doubles and four triples. While we don’t have the Carthage stats from his first year, he failed to hit a homer in those other 302 games. There was an announcement on March 16, 1943 that he would be joining the Pirates during Spring Training, only to be corrected six days later by saying that he was already serving in the military, with a note that said he wouldn’t return to baseball until after the war was over.
After three years of service, Castiglione returned for the 1946 season and hit .342, with 43 doubles, six triples, eight homers and 81 RBIs in 134 games while playing for Selma of the Class-B Southeastern League. The Pirates then sent him to Indianapolis of the Triple-A American Association where he spent the next two seasons, while making a September appearance with the big league club each year. In 1947 with Indianapolis, he hit .270 in 146 games, with 37 extra-base hits, 74 runs and 40 RBIs. Castiglione got a nice look in the majors that September, with 12 starts at shortstop and 52 plate appearances in 13 games. He hit .280 with six runs scored during that first cup of coffee. He didn’t get that same look with the Pirates in 1948, as he played just four games off of the bench and just one inning on defense. That was despite during better with Indianapolis, hitting .308 in 148 games, with 87 runs, 33 doubles, 16 triples, five homers and 88 RBIs. Part of the reason that he didn’t see time is that the Pirates were competing for second place, back when teams would get a nice payout for a second place finish, with a little less for third and then another level down in pay for fourth place. The Pirates finished fourth, but they missed second place by two games.
In 1949, Castiglione made the Pirates out of Spring Training and played a total of 118 games (98 at third base), while hitting .268 with 57 runs scored. He set a career best that year with his average, as well as 20 doubles and 43 RBIs. In 1950, Castiglione hit .255 with 29 runs, 16 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs in 94 games and made starts at all four infield positions, with a majority of his time coming at third base (35 games) and shortstop (19 games). The following year he was the regular third baseman for most of the year, getting 94 starts. He played 134 games on the year and set career highs in runs (62) hits (126) and home runs (seven) while posting a .261 batting average. Castiglione led the National League in range factor for third basemen. a feat he would repeat two years later. He played 67 games in 1952 before a broken arm on a hit-by-pitch sidelined him for the season. He finished with a .266 average, 27 runs, 14 extra-base hits and a 17:8 BB/SO ratio in 235 plate appearances. He struggled in 1953 with a .208 average in 45 early season games and the Pirates would end up trading him in June to the St Louis Cardinals for outfielder Hal Rice. Castiglione played parts of two seasons for St Louis before going to the minors, where he finished his career in 1958. He hit just .173 in 52 at-bats over 67 games. In 1954, he played five April games without getting an at-bat, before being sent to Rochester of the Triple-A International League. His .670 OPS in 1954 with Rochester was his highest during his final five seasons in the minors, mostly spent in the International League, where he played for Toronto in 1955 and Buffalo in 1956-58. In eight seasons in the majors, he hit .255 with 205 runs, 62 doubles, 24 homers and 150 RBIs in 545 games. We provided a more in depth feature on Castiglione here in an Obscure Pittsburgh Pirates article.
Bobby Rhawn, third baseman for the 1949 Pirates. He got a late start to his Major League career due to almost five full seasons serving in the military during WWII. He began his pro career in 1938 at 19 years old, playing for Albany of the Class-D Georgia-Florida League. Rhawn hit .246 with 14 extra-base hits in 81 games during his first season, then stayed at Albany in 1939, batting .282 with 21 doubles and three triples in 95 games. He moved up to Asheville of the Class-B Piedmont League in 1940 and batted .272 with 23 doubles, seven triples and 11 homers in 135 games. He was due to move up to Columbus of the Double-A American Association in 1941 before he was drafted into service, where he remained until 1945. Rhawn returned during the 1945 season and played 32 games for Columbus, hitting .240 with two homers and 12 RBIs. He remained there in 1946 and split his playing time between shortstop and third base, hitting .281 with 62 runs, 24 doubles, 11 homers and 65 RBIs in 145 games. He was originally a member of the St Louis Cardinals farm system, but by 1947, he was with and affiliate the New York Giants. Rhawn spent that season in Minneapolis of the American Association, hitting .302 in 140 games, with 75 runs, 34 doubles, eight triples, 14 homers and 90 RBIs. He debuted in the majors on September 17, 1947 with the Giants and he hit .311 in 13 games. That helped land him a big league job in 1948, but he was glued to the end of the bench by late April, due to a 1-for-14 start at the plate in his first five games. From April 25th until July 5th, he had two at-bats in 17 games and pinch-ran 13 times. He was then sent back to the minors until returning to New York in September. Rhawn finished with a .273 average in 36 games for the 1948 Giants.
Rhawn started eight of the first ten games of the 1949 season at second base for the Giants, before once again heading to the end of the bench, where he had one at-bat over the next five weeks. He had played 63 games over three partial seasons with the Giants when the Pirates acquired him on June 6, 1949 for an aging pitcher named Kirby Higbe. Rhawn started at third base during his first two days with Pittsburgh, going 1-for-7 with an error, before he went to the bench. He pinch-hit three days later, then was put on waivers, where he was picked up by the Chicago White Sox. After 24 games with the White Sox, they traded him across town to the Chicago Cubs, who sent him to Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League. He hit .193 in 41 games between his three big league stops in 1949, though 19 walks helped lead to a .313 OBP and 20 runs scored. Rhawn played ball until 1952, never making the majors again. He saw time with Toronto of the International League during the 1950-52 seasons, but also played for three other teams during that stretch. He hit .237 with 38 runs, two homers, 18 RBIs and 35 walks in 90 games in the majors. He was a .280 hitter in 995 minor league games.
Oadis Swigart, pitcher for the 1939-40 Pirates. He began his minor league career in 1935 at age 20, seeing time at an advanced level during his first season. Most of his first year was spent with Jackson of the Class-C East Dixie League, where he went 7-8, 3.27 in 143 innings over 15 starts and 11 relief appearances. He also played for Oklahoma City of the Class-A Texas League, where he made five relief appearances. He pitched in Oklahoma City for part of 1936 as well, going 2-3, 4.36 in 66 innings. He saw more action that season with Kilgore of the Class-C East Texas League, posting a 4-8, 4.09 record in 105.2 innings. Swigart spent 1937 with Davenport of the Class-A Western League, where he went 14-12, 2.67 in 223 innings. The Pirates liked what they heard from scout Bill Hinchman and they purchased his contract on July 17, 1937, though he was allowed to remain in Davenport for the remainder of the season, which was later shortened to get him to Pittsburgh a little sooner. Swigart joined the Pirates on September 5, 1937 in Chicago, but he never got a chance to pitch during the final four weeks. He wasn’t with the team at all at any point in 1938, when he struggled with Montreal of the Double-A International League, going 4-7, 4.88 in 120 innings. He went 17-10 3.90 in 242 innings for Knoxville of the Class-A Southern Association in 1939, when the Pirates decided to give him his first actual chance at the majors that September. Swigart made three starts during the last 20 games of the year, all during doubleheaders. He had a poor first start and didn’t do any better his third time out, allowing seven runs in each game, but in between those two starts he would throw a 7-0 shutout over the Boston Bees (Braves). He finished with a 4.44 ERA in 24.1 innings for the Pirates.
Swigart made the 1940 Pirates squad out of Spring Training, but he was being used only in mop-up work, getting four relief appearances in which he allowed seven runs in 4.1 total innings. They sent him down to pitch for Syracuse of the International League on May 14th, where he went 8-9, 3.94 in 137 innings before bringing him back up for three September appearances, including a 2-1 loss in which he pitched eight innings without allowing an earned run. He finished with a 4.43 ERA in 22.1 innings. Swigart was the first Pirates player drafted during WWII, getting his orders to join the Army on April 21, 1941, to report ten days later. He was actually with the Pirates on Opening Day in 1941, and the team played five games before he received word of his draft. He had ten days to report, but decided to return home immediately, leaving the team on April 21st. He served in the military until 1946, when he would return to Spring Training for the Pirates. He remained with the team until March 31st when he was released unconditionally to Birmingham of the Southern Association. He lasted just five games in the minors for Birmingham before being released in early June, ending his pro career. His first name “Oadis” is unique in baseball history. He usually went by Oadis, though he’s more commonly referred to now as Oad.
Herman Layne, outfielder for the 1927 Pirates. He was a star hitter in the minors, batting at least .341 in each of his five seasons prior to being picked up by the Pirates. Layne debuted in pro ball at 21 years old in 1922 with Bristol of the Class-D Appalachian League. He batted .354 with 25 doubles, 14 triples and four homers in 121 games. He moved up to Augusta of the Class-B South Atlantic League in 1923, where he hit .343 in 129 games, with 20 doubles, nine triples and seven homers. The next year saw him in Toronto of the Double-A International League for the first of three straight seasons. He hit .341 in 134 games in 1924, with 23 doubles, 11 triples and 12 homers. That was followed by a .345 average in 110 games in 1925, with 28 extra-base hits. The season that got him noticed was also his best year, though all five seasons showed strong stats. Layne hit .350 in 148 games in 1926, with 32 doubles, 16 triples and seven homers. The Pirates paid a heavy price for him on August 16, 1927, acquiring him from Toronto for $30,000 and two players. At the time, he was called one of the fastest men in baseball. Both players were to be determined, but they had to report to Toronto before the 25-year-old Layne reported to the Pirates during the following spring.
The main recommendation to acquire Layne came from Hall of Fame outfield/long-time Pirates manager Fred Clarke, but the Pirates put quite the effort into making sure he was worth the price, also sending scout Frank Haller to look at him, followed by long-time scout Chick Fraser, who backed up the reports sent by Clarke and Haller. The Pirates planned on giving Layne a starting job in 1927, but he was beaten out by a rookie named Lloyd Waner in Spring Training, partially due to Layne missing time with two minor injuries in March. He went to the bench for the first two months of the 1927 season, getting just one start before the Pirates returned him to the minors. He would spend the next seven seasons in the minors, never returning to the big leagues, despite a minor league career average of .327 in 1,696 games. For the Pirates he went 0-for-6 with a walk and three runs scored in 11 games. He went 0-for-5 in his one start, while playing left field against the St Louis Cardinals (in St Louis) on April 26th. In his only time to the plate in front of the home fans on May 31st, Layne drew a walk. He was let go the very next day. Layne beat out Fred Brickell for the Opening Day job, only to be replaced by Brickell on June 1st. They switched roster spots that day, with Layne going from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis of the Double-A American Association, and vice versa for Brickell. On June 30th, the Pirates played Indianapolis in an exhibition game and Layne homered twice in the contest.
On February 4, 1928, Layne was released outright to Indianapolis, ending his time with the Pirates. The reason given for his release was that he didn’t hit the ball as hard as the other outfielders ahead of him on the Pirates roster. He spent three years in Indianapolis and hit between .307 and .347 each year. He then went to Louisville of the American Association for the next four years, before finishing up his career in 1934 for Charleston of the Class-C Middle Atlantic League, where he had his only career sub-.300 average, finishing with a .297 mark. Layne wasn’t just a singles hitter in the minors, he showed some power with 300 doubles, 119 triples and 75 homers. His twin brother Harry Layne played 13 seasons in the minors, consistently hitting .300 or better, yet he never made the majors. The two were teammates with Bristol in 1922.
Harl Maggert, outfielder for the 1907 Pirates. The Pirates drafted him in the 1906 Rule 5 draft after just one season in pro ball. He started at 23 years old in the Class-C Interstate Association with Fort Wayne, where he hit at a .316 clip and had a perfect fielding percentage before the league disbanded. He then played for a team from Sharon, Pa. in the Class-C Ohio-Pennsylvania League, where he hit .325 over a 16-day span in the second half of July. He finished the season with an independent team in Bluffton, Indiana, where he made a favorable impression in an exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds in September by collecting three triples. On October 19th, Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss announced his draft acquisition. Maggert was sent outright to the Wheeling Stogies of the Class-B Central League on February 18, 1907, where he hit .270 with 58 runs scored in 111 games that season. The Pirates purchased him back on August 25, 1907, along with pitcher Nick Maddox and catcher Thomas Philbin, for a total price of $1,000. All three were supposed to report after the minor league season ended on September 16th, but the Pirates called Maggert up in early September and he played just three games over the next month, two in left field and one off the bench. He went 0-for-6 with two walks and a stolen base. Barney Dreyfuss actually visited Wheeling on September 2nd to try to get Maddox and Maggert earlier. Maggert was in the Pirates lineup two days later, once again playing against Cincinnati.
On February 10, 1908, Maggert was sold to Rochester of the Class-A Eastern League, ending his time with the Pirates. It would be five more seasons before he was finally able to pick up his first Major League hit while playing with the 1912 Philadelphia Athletics. After leaving the Pirates, he split the 1908 season between Wheeling and Springfield of the Class-B Connecticut State League, never appearing for Rochester. He combined to hit .264 with 65 runs, 20 extra-base hits and 37 steals in 130 games that year. He played for Springfield and Oakland of the Class-A Pacific Coast League in 1909, combining to hit .292 in 153 games, with 43 doubles, 12 triples and eight homers. Maggert played for Oakland of the PCL during the 1910-11 seasons. That first year he hit .254 in 221 games (yes, 221), with 34 doubles and nine homers. In 1911, he batted .314 in 114 games, with 16 doubles, 13 triples and eight homers. He saw a decent amount of big league time with the 1912 A’s, hitting .256 in 74 games, with 39 runs, 15 extra-base hits, ten steals and 36 walks. The next eight seasons were spent back in the PCL, where he played for the 1913-17 Los Angeles Angels, the 1918 San Francisco Seals and then winding up his career with the 1919-20 Salt Lake City Bees. Maggert spent a total of 14 seasons in the minors and collected over 2,000 hits and at least 548 extra-base hits (two partial seasons of stats are missing). He is the father of Harl Maggert who played for the 1938 Boston Bees (Braves). The elder Maggert was often referred to as “Ves”, a shortened version of his middle name Vestin.
Frederick “Crazy” Schmit, pitcher for the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys. As you may know, the 1890 team was by far the worst team in Pirates franchise history. They used a ton of players to get through that season and Schmit was one of seven pitchers to get at least ten starts. It was a group that won a combined 16 games. Schmit went 1-9, 5.83 in 83.1 innings over ten starts and one relief appearance. His win came on May 13th when he threw a 4-0 shutout over Cincinnati. During his final start with Pittsburgh on June 12th, he allowed 16 runs, 14 hits and 12 walks. After the game, Pittsburgh owner J. Palmer O’Neil announced that Schmit was fined $50 and suspended for a month, while also noting that he would never play for the team again. Schmit is currently credited with a complete game in his final appearance, but he was actually replaced by Doggie Miller, who faced the final two batters. Miller has never received credit for his lone pitching appearance during his career. Schmit was an eccentric player who drank a lot and moved around from team to team even more, playing for 22 different teams from 1889-1896. While in Pittsburgh, the opposition quickly realized that he did a very poor job of holding runners on base and they took full advantage of his weakness. At one point he allowed a total of 28 steals in back-to-back games.
The Alleghenys were bad in 1890, but the Cleveland Spiders were even worse in 1899 and Schmit made 19 starts for them on their way to a 20-134 season. He went 2-17, 5.86 in 138.1 innings that season. He also saw time in the majors with the 1892-93 Baltimore Orioles (a total of 12 starts and three relief appearances), the 1893 New York Giants and he pitched in the American League during the league’s first season at the Major League level (it existed in 1900 as a minor league). He was winless in four starts with the Giants. Schmit went 0-2, 1.99 in 22.2 innings for the new Baltimore Orioles club, which ended up being the New York Yankees (that fact is disputed now, but my own personal opinion based on extensive research says it’s the same franchise). Despite his poor results, Schmit was considered to be a student of the game and had the novel idea (at the time) to scout opposing hitters from the stands before his starts, keeping notes on everyone he saw. While the nickname “Crazy” has stuck with him, he also had the nickname “Germany” from an early point in his career, due to his German heritage. He finished his career with an abysmal 7-36 record, with a 5.45 ERA and a 185:93 BB/SO ratio in 361.1 innings. His one shutout in his first big league win, ended up being his only shutout.
In a strange side note to his time in Pittsburgh, the Alleghenys had a Spring Training catcher named George Ziegler, who was Schmit’s catcher in 1889, so they were brought along as a pair and used together. Ziegler didn’t make the team, so he went to play for Wheeling of the Tri-State League. The Alleghenys used George Ziegler as a pitcher later in the year, and then he went to Wheeling to play out the season. The crazy side note is that it wasn’t the same person, and the two Zieglers actually formed the battery at times for Wheeling.
Schmit is credited with just one season of pro ball before joining the Alleghenys, splitting the 1889 season between Kalamazoo and Saginaw of the Michigan League. He had 22 strikeouts in an 11-inning game while with Kalamazoo. However, that appears to be a different pitcher named Schmit. Frederick Schmit appears to have been pitching semi-pro ball near his home in Chicago in 1888 and 1889 before starting his pro career with the Alleghenys. He was said to have signed with Wheeling of the Tri-State League in February of 1889, but there’s no record of him playing there. The giveaway that Schmit wasn’t the Kalamazoo pitcher seems to be that both Schmits were pitching at the same time, but the one who joined the Pirates was in the semi-pro Chicago league, where the big clue that it was him is that the catcher for that team was the aforementioned Ziegler. The notes after he joined Pittsburgh also made no mention of him playing in the Michigan League, but did mention his semi-pro play. The early scouting reports during his time in Pittsburgh said that he had a good fastball that he mixed with slow curveballs, while showing confidence on the mound. While his big league stats are rough to look at, he is credited with 23 wins during the 1892 season, while playing for three different teams in the Southern Association. His last action in pro balls seems to be from the 1908 season when he played/managed Meridian of the Cotton States League, which isn’t credited to him online. He also did a bit of umpiring when he wasn’t playing.
