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- THE TABASCO KID
THE TABASCO KID
Good evening. This is Dead Legends. The newsletter that’s like your personal baseball historian, dropping new stories into your inbox on a daily basis.
Let’s dive in.
Today’s story is about one of the most savage ballplayers that’s ever stepped on a diamond.
Norman "Kid" Elberfeld was famously described as “the dirtiest, scrappiest, most pestiferous, most rantankerous, most rambunctious ball player that ever stood on spikes.”
He played in the big leagues for 14 years and suited up for six different teams throughout his career, but his longest stint was with the Highlanders (who later became the Yankees).
In fact, he even had a brief stint managing the club in 1908.
Elberfeld earned himself the nickname "The Tabasco Kid" because of his fiery temper, and he was known for his vicious assaults on umpires.
During his minor league days, he once chucked a clump of mud right into an umpire's open mouth.
As his career progressed, Kid Elberfeld didn't mellow out one bit.
He had a run-in with umpire Silk O'Loughlin that got so heated that the police had to intervene to drag him away.
He was only suspended for eight games.
Records show he was ejected from 26 major league games altogether - 22 as a player and 4 as a manager.
Despite his temper, Elberfeld was no scrub on the field.
He was so highly regarded as a prospect that a scout for the Phillies recommended signing him over another shortstop they were looking at.
A kid named Honus Wagner.
Photo Courtesy Of The Honus Wagner Museum in Carnegie
Elberfeld's time with the Phillies was short-lived, though.
He only played 14 games in 1898 before getting shipped off to the Detroit Tigers, who were a minor league team at the time.
A year later, he was with the Cincinnati Reds, but that adventure didn't last long either.
After 41 games, he was gone.
Kid was a good player, but his temper kept getting in the way.
There was even talk that he was throwing games to force the organization to trade him.
So off he went again, this time to New York, where he really hit his stride.
In fact, he became the second captain in Yankees history during his time there.
The dude was tough as nails.
He wasn’t afraid to take spikes at second base and by 1907, he wore a shin guard made of whalebone on his right leg for protection.
He still ranks 13th on the career hit by pitch list too, with 165.
Overall, Elberfeld ended up being a pretty impactful figure in the game.
Kid discovered or helped develop several major leaguers, including: Casey Stengel, Travis Jackson, Bill Terry, Cecil Travis, and Jim Turner.
He even managed Jackie Mitchell, the woman who struck out Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
Our friends at Fanatics have official merchandise for everything you can think of; from Nickelodeon to the World Series.
Personally, I love the Jerseys they have in the Cooperstown Collection.
Some of my top picks:
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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:
Bump Hadley had a long and healthy big league career.
He pitched almost 3,000 innings and won four World Series championships with the Yankees, playing on some of the greatest teams in MLB history.
During those years, their teams were LOADED with Hall of Famers:
Joe DiMaggio
Lou Gehrig
Lefty Gomez
Joe Gordon
Tony Lazzeri
Red Ruffing
Hadley’s biggest moment was probably Game 3 of the ‘39 World Series.
He entered the game as a relief pitcher in the second inning because Lefty Gomez had gotten hurt in the first.
Bump proceeded to toss eight innings and get the W.
It’s still the longest relief appearance in Yankees history.
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