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The Foul Ball
Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The newsletter that drops into your inbox like an Ohtani off-speed pitch.
Just absolute filth.
Let’s dive in.
Today’s story is about a terrible coincidence that put a fan in the hospital.
Back in the day, Richie Ashburn was a star outfielder for the Phillies.
He collected two NL batting titles, made the all-star team five times, and won a gold glove, but one of the things he’s most remembered for is an incident where he drilled a fan with two foul balls in the same AB.
It was August 17, and the Phillies were facing the Giants at the Polo Grounds in New York.
Ashburn stepped in the box against Jack Sanford.
Richie worked the count to 3-2, then hit a foul ball that went straight into the stands and struck a woman named Alice Roth in the face.
As Roth was being escorted out of the stadium for medical attention, Ashburn stepped back in the box.
The next pitch, he hit another foul ball that nailed Roth AGAIN.
The second ball broke a bone in her knee and she ended up in the hospital.
Ashburn was visibly shaken by the situation and asked for time to check on her.
Richie visited her in the hospital and the two became friends.
Ashburn never missed sending her a Christmas or birthday card until she passed away thirty years later.
Today’s email is brought to you by the good people at Dugout Mugs.
It’s the best time of year - we’ve got college baseball, Spring Training, and the World Baseball Classic all rolling at once.
I’ll drink to that.
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Strange Names
If you're just joining us, we play this game every day where we try to find the weirdest names throughout baseball history.
Why? Don't ask us, it's just something we like to do.
If you've been rocking with us for awhile now, you know what time it is.
Today's winner is:
For a guy named Lady, he was a pretty decent ballplayer.
Baldwin won a World Series in 1887, but his best season was the year before.
In ‘86, he had 42 wins, over 300 K’s, and seven shutouts.
That season represents almost half of the total games he pitched in over his big league career.
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