Andy Oyler | |
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Infielder / Outfielder | |
Born: Newville, Pennsylvania, U.S. | May 5, 1880|
Died: October 24, 1970 East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, U.S. | (aged 90)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
May 8, 1902, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
Last MLB appearance | |
July 21, 1902, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .221 |
Home runs | 1 |
Runs batted in | 6 |
Teams | |
Andrew Paul "Pepper" Oyler (May 5, 1880 – October 24, 1970) was an American professional baseball player who played one season in Major League Baseball for the Baltimore Orioles in 1902. In 27 games as a third baseman, shortstop, and outfielder for the Orioles, he had 77 at-bats with 17 hits and one home run.
He was born in Newville, Pennsylvania and attended Washington & Jefferson College. [1] He batted and threw right-handed. He was small in stature and was an excellent fielder, but not a good hitter. [2] Even so, he was difficult to pitch to, since he would crouch "pretzel-like" in the batter's box to make his strike zone smaller. [2] He died in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania.
In 1953, sportswriter Jocko Maxwell published an article in Baseball Digest and item in Catholic Digest describing the shortest home run in baseball history. [2] Maxwell described a baseball game where Oyler, as a shortstop for the Minneapolis Millers, was crouched in the batters' box in the bottom of the ninth inning and ducked to avoid a high pitch thrown at his head. [2] The ball hit Oyler's bat, still resting on his shoulder, and became stuck in approximately 24 inches of mud in front of home plate. [2] Oyler was then able to complete an inside-the-park home run before any opposing players were able to find the ball. [2] Maxwell's article indicated the story was originally told by WWRL radio station in Woodside, New York. [2] This story was repeated by sportswriter Bill Bryson Sr. in Baseball Digest in 1958. [3] Another version of the story, as told by Halsey Hall, had Oyler chopping at a low pitch and sticking the ball into the mud 2 feet from home plate. [4]
Baseball historian Stew Thornley is skeptical of the story of Oyler's home run, pointing out there was no contemporary news report which described the incident. [5] Other modern reference sources recount the story without caveat. [6]
The story was the subject of a book of baseball lore by Michael G. Bryson called The Twenty-Four-Inch Home Run. [7] It was also the inspiration for the children's book, Mudball by Matt Tavares, which won the 2005 Parents' Choice Awards Gold Award. [8] In the "Author's Note" Tavares describes the story of Oyler's home run as being folklore*. [8]
Oyler's grandson appeared on Antiques Roadshow on January 20, 2020. He brought his grandfather's ball from that game to which his grandfather had attached a postage stamp and mailed to his grandmother. A vestige of the stamp was still stuck to the ball. Oyler followed up with a letter to his wife that recounted the entire game and the fact that he had made a 24-inch home run. The grandson said he still had the letter although that is not the case. The ball's value was assessed at $3,000 to $5,000. [9]
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