Times Change

Yesterday marked the 64^th anniversary of Eddie Gaedel’s one and only at-bat as a pinch hitter for the St. Louis Browns in a MLB game.  Gaedel, who stood 3’7”, walked on four pitches from the Tigers’ Bob Cain.  This stunt was the brainchild of the Browns’ owner, Bill Veeck, who would move on to own the White Sox.

Veeck loved outlandish promotions (see Disco Demolition), the crazier the better.  But times change, along with sensibilities.  What’s acceptable to one generation strikes another as exploitation (see Eddie Gaedel).  Outside of racing sausages and Presidents, ballgames can be light on fun.  But that doesn’t mean we need to go back to little pinch hitters.  Just play good baseball and make use of the one brilliant idea Bill Veeck came up with—the exploding scoreboard.