There is a major league baseball player who played in 105 games and never batted. He never played in the field. This is a player in the Baseball Almanac who never swung a bat or caught a ball yet he played in 105 Major League baseball games.
Herb Washington was a sprinter hired by the Oakland A’s to run the bases. As a track and field competitor, in 1972 he set both the 50 yard and 60 yard dash records.
In 1974, Charlie Finley, owner of the Oakland A’s signed him to a major league contract. He even played in the 1974 World Series. Oakland won the World Series and Washington received a World Series ring. Why is this unusual?
He didn’t own a glove or a bat. He came to the game, got dressed, and would go in to run one time. When the inning was over he could go home. His only job was to pinch run when a slow runner got to first base. He only has four statistics to his name.
105 games, 33 runs, 31 stolen bases, 17 caught stealing. In the World Series he played three games and did not steal a base or score a run. He did not play baseball after 1975. It was a two year experiment. However, Charlie Finley only paid $45,000 for the experiment.
After that second season in baseball, Washington returned to professional track. Later he became a business man, owning up to 27 McDonald restaurants. This made him the largest McDonald’s franchisee owned by a black man. He also owned a minor league hockey franchise. He held a number of executive posts on various organizations.
He played in 105 games which is 105 more than most young men who grew up dreaming about becoming a Big League player.
Everybody is really good at something. We can all accomplish great things if we can emphasize our God given gifts. Try to do what you are good at as much as possible. You could be surprised how far it takes you.
Note: He was in the team picture but not named.