Mr. Baseball
06-06-2011, 10:29 AM
When I look back at rosters from the 19th century, it's hard to believe how much bigger baseball players have evolved over the last hundred years. Back in the glory days of Ty Cobb, the average ballplayer looks to be about 5'9 and weighs maybe 160 pounds. Today, it's rare to find a club with more than four players shorter than six foot. And under 5'10? At the very most, there might be twenty in the league (and that's a drastically over-estimated).
So this got me thinking, while all of us know about Eddie Gaedel the 65-pound midget that was used as a publicity stunt in 1951, I doubt many of us knew of Candy Cummings, a pitcher in the earlier days of the league.
Cummings, standing at 5'9 and weighing just 110 pounds in his earliest years, was a pitcher for six seasons in the Major Leagues. He wasn't bad either! In fact, Cummings was even elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame! Posting a career win/loss record of 145-94, with an ERA of 2.42, it's safe to say he was "The Freak" of his time. Candy retired from the league in 1877 with the Cincinnati Reds, weighing 120 pounds. No player since, has ever been so light.
http://www.trueknowledge.com/images/thumbs/180/250/Candy_Cummings_Baseball.jpg
125 years later, Walter Young comes along. In 2005, when Young made his debut with the Baltimore Orioles, he weighed nearly 300 pounds. Heavy enough, and tall enough, to make Prince Fielder look tiny. For obvious heath concerns, Young has since shed 35-pounds.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/walter_young_autograph.jpg
So this got me thinking, while all of us know about Eddie Gaedel the 65-pound midget that was used as a publicity stunt in 1951, I doubt many of us knew of Candy Cummings, a pitcher in the earlier days of the league.
Cummings, standing at 5'9 and weighing just 110 pounds in his earliest years, was a pitcher for six seasons in the Major Leagues. He wasn't bad either! In fact, Cummings was even elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame! Posting a career win/loss record of 145-94, with an ERA of 2.42, it's safe to say he was "The Freak" of his time. Candy retired from the league in 1877 with the Cincinnati Reds, weighing 120 pounds. No player since, has ever been so light.
http://www.trueknowledge.com/images/thumbs/180/250/Candy_Cummings_Baseball.jpg
125 years later, Walter Young comes along. In 2005, when Young made his debut with the Baltimore Orioles, he weighed nearly 300 pounds. Heavy enough, and tall enough, to make Prince Fielder look tiny. For obvious heath concerns, Young has since shed 35-pounds.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/pics/walter_young_autograph.jpg