Irv Waldron

Irving J. Waldron

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Debut April 25, 1901
• Final Game September 27, 1901
• Born January 21, 1872 in Hillside, NY USA
• Died July 22, 1944 in Worcester, MA USA

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Biographical Information

Irv Waldron played only one year in the majors, but it was a momentous one. Not only did he play in the inaugural season of the American League, but he led the league in games played with 141, and in at-bats with 598. He was fourth in the league in hits and 7th in the league in total bases.

His total of 141 American League games that year was particularly unusual, since no AL team played more than 137 games. He managed the feat by playing for two different teams, 62 games for the Milwaukee Brewers and 79 for the Washington Senators.

In 1904, he led the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in games and at-bats as well.

Irv had a long minor league career, lasting at least 15 seasons. He hit .376 for the 1896 Pawtucket Phenoms and then spent parts of four seasons with the minor league Milwaukee Brewers. It was therefore not surprising when he was picked to play for the Brewers when they became a major league team in the first big league year of the AL in 1901. He was 29 years old at the time, and while he was a decent-enough hitter, he was released in mid-season and signed by the Senators.

After he turned 30, he continued to play in the minors through age 39, with multiple seasons for the Kansas City Blue Stockings, the San Francisco Seals, the Denver Grizzlies and the Lincoln Railsplitters, among other teams.

An article about Irv goes into some detail questioning why Irv played only one year in the majors. [1] It points out that Waldron had a reputation as a bad defensive player, and David Nemec, when asked by the article's author about Waldron, thought that possibly Irv made more money in Kansas City than he did in the majors. Washington manager and part-owner Jim Manning sold his shares after the 1901 season and bought part ownership in the Kansas City team, soon acquiring Waldron. Irv was offered in 1902 to jump to a different team for a very high salary, but chose to stay in Kansas City. Source: Baseball Past and Present.

Record

Waldron holds the all-time record for the most career hits (186) by a player who played only one season in the majors. (Harry Moore is second with only 155.)