Mike Modak

Michael Modak

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 195 lb.
• School Indiana University
• Debut July 4, 1945
• Final Game September 29, 1945
• Born May 18, 1922 in Campbell, OH USA
• Died December 12, 1995 in Lakeland, FL USA

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Biographical Information

Ohio native Mike Modak spent four seasons in professional baseball from 1943 to 1947. Modak spent part of one season with the Cincinnati Reds from July 4 to September 29, 1945. Mike appeared in 20 games, pitching 42 1/3 innings for a 1-2 record and a 5.74 ERA. This was the extent of his big league time.

Modak made the list in a SABR article [1] about unlikely performances. His unlikely performance was on September 5, 1945, when, although he entered the game with a 5.72 ERA, he pitched a shutout. In spite of that, he got just one more start in the majors. The article also mentions that Modak played baseball and football at Indiana University, where a teammate in both sports was Ted Kluszewski, who would also play for the Reds.

Modak also spent three seasons in the minor leagues, appearing there in 1943, 1944 and 1947. He managed a 12-15 record while pitching 147 innings in 39 games, all with class D teams. In 1947, before his time in the big leagues, he did go 2-1 for the Columbia Reds of the class A South Atlantic League while appearing in 5 games.

Modak served in the United States Army during World War II. After baseball, he was an executive foreman for Youngstown Steel Corporation in Ohio, retiring to Florida in 1985. Mike died from heart disease, complicated by diabetes on December 12, 1995 at the Regional Health Center in Lakeland, FL. He was interred at the Tod Homestead Cemetery in Youngstown, OH. He was 73 years of age.