Francis: Jimmie Foxx pitched in for Phillies during war-torn 1945 season
From SABR member Bill Francis at BaseballHall.org on December 2, 2015:
Jimmie Foxx was one of baseball’s greatest longball hitters, often referred to as a right-handed Babe Ruth. And like the Bambino, Foxx always wanted to give pitching a shot.
Seventy years ago, “Double X” got his chance during the final months of World War II when manpower shortages at the big league level allowed the aging star one last hurrah.
By 1945, Foxx had nothing yet to prove on a baseball diamond. After making his major league debut in 1925 with the Philadelphia Athletics – a team he would carry to three successive pennants from 1929-31 – the longtime first baseman, who also spent significant time with the Boston Red Sox, would capture three American League MVP Awards, win a Triple Crown in 1933, lead the Junior Circuit in home runs four times, including a career-high 58 in 1932, and be named to nine All-Star teams.
Read the full article here: http://baseballhall.org/discover/jimmie-foxx-pitches-for-phillies-1945
Originally published: December 4, 2015. Last Updated: December 4, 2015.