THE LAST INNING

September 01, 2023

Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The daily newsletter that loves baseball as much as Lenny Dykstra loved blackmailing umpires.

Let’s dive in.

Today’s story is about a former major leaguer who charged the mound and ended another ballplayer’s career.

José Offerman played in the MLB for 15 years.

Over the course of his career, Offerman made two All-Star teams, pocketed almost $33 million, and put up some pretty solid numbers - including a lifetime OBP of .360

Unfortunately, everyone forgets about the good things you’ve done when you almost kill an opposing player.

It was August 14, 2007 - Offerman was playing for the Long Island Ducks, a team in the Atlantic Independent League.

It was the second inning of their game against the Bridgeport Bluefish when things went sideways.

In the first inning, Offerman went yard.

Then in the second, he came up to lead off the inning and took the first pitch for a strike.

The second pitch was a SLIDER that hit Offerman in the calf.

For some reason, Offerman thought the beanball was intentional and he completely lost his shit.

José charge the mound, bat in hand, and swung it at Beech - missing on his first attempt.

When he cocked back to swing again he accidentally whacked the Bluefish’s catcher, Jonathan Nathans, in the head.

They eventually wrestled Offerman to the ground and neutralized him, but the damage had already been done.

Beech broke a finger on his non-pitching hand, but Nathans had serious injuries.

Nathans initially attempted to stay in the game after the incident, but was removed due to nausea.

He later collapsed in the dugout and was taken out on a stretcher.

That was the last baseball game Jonathan Nathans ever played.

Offerman was ejected from the game, suspended from the league, and later arrested.

But Nathans wouldn’t really get justice for another seven years.

In 2014, a jury ordered José to pay Jonathan almost $1 million due to the injuries he sustained during the assault.

During the in between time, Offerman also managed to get himself banned for life from the Dominican Winter League after he punched an umpire in the face.

Probably the saddest thing about the whole situation is that Jonathan Nathans' dream of playing in the big leagues was cut short by a guy who had already lived out that reality.

Nathans says he still lives with symptoms from the head injury every day.

Our friend Jamie Cooper is the man behind this famous painting.

It's The Greatest All Stars Dream Scene, commissioned by a collector, with some of the greatest players to ever step foot on a diamond.

The setting is July 6, 1933 at Comiskey Park where the first-ever All Star game was played.

The original oil on canvas is 84 x 72 inches, and took three years to complete.

I've got one of these prints framed and hung up in my house, and every day it reminds me of how lucky I am to have watched some of these guys play.

Jamie has worked with MLB to make a print version available, and he has been gracious enough to give our community a special deal.

There are many stories woven into the scene that are revealed in the certificate that accompanies the beautiful lithographs that Jamie has made from the painting.

Use the code: DEADLEGENDS to get $15 off your purchase.

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:

"Crush" was actually his birth name - given to him by his father the same day he witnessed two trains collide with each other at a county fair.

Growing up, he molded his playing style after his idol, Ty Cobb.

Holloway played with eight teams over the course of his career and racked up over 3,000 AB's.

He was a pretty consistent offensively, batting over .300 for several seasons, and leading the league in steals one year.

For a guy named Crush, he didn't hit many dingers, but I'd take a ballplayer like this on my squad any day.

THE DEAD LEGENDS ARCHIVE

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