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Paul Schreiber made his major league debut with the Brooklyn Robins on September 2, 1922. Source: VintageCardPrices.com<\/p><\/div>\n
When one-time relief-ace Andrew Bailey took the mound for the New York Yankees this past summer, much was made of it being his first Major League appearance in two years.\u00a0Well, Paul Schreiber went 22 years between appearances in a Major League box score.<\/p>\n
And this is his story.<\/p>\n
Schreiber, an affable 6-foot, 2-inch right-hander out of Duval High School in Jacksonville, Florida, signed his first pro contract in 1920, and after going 41\u201342 in three workhorse seasons in the minors, he was purchased by the Brooklyn Robins. He pitched one game in 1922 and nine more in 1923, relying on a fastball, a curve, and a knuckleball. He had no record but posted one save in a total of 16 innings of work. At 20, he was the youngest player on the team, which also included Zack Wheat, Burleigh Grimes, Moe Berg, and Dazzy Vance. Wilbert Robinson was his manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was getting along fine and one day I tossed a curve and suddenly there was a sharp pain in my shoulder and my arm was too sore to pitch,\u201d he recalled for an interview sometime later.<\/p>\n
He wasn\u2019t the first, nor was he the last, pitcher to utter that sentence. Curveballs have a way of doing that.
\nSo his Major League career was essentially done. From 1924 to 1931, he bounced around the minors without a curveball, twice managing to pitch over 200 innings. His work was largely in the New York\u2013Penn League, and his career was pretty much over when he was 28, going 10\u201311 for Allentown in the Eastern League.
\nHooked on the game and still young, he continued to pitch semipro baseball and wound up with the Bushwicks in 1937, a Brooklyn-based team of note.<\/p>\n
Midway through the 1938 season, on the recommendation of scout Paul Krichell, Schreiber was summoned to Yankee Stadium to pitch batting practice for the New York Yankees. There, he displayed a rubber arm that was just fine in throwing down-the-middle fastballs for the Yankee sluggers to feast on daily. About half the teams employed batting practice pitchers in those days, while the rest relied on their coaches, relief pitchers, and utility infielders to do the job. Sometimes a starting pitcher would do the honors, pitching what today we call a bullpen session.<\/p>\n
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Schreiber joined the New York Yankees as a practice pitcher in 1938. He is pictured here\u00a0fourth from left in the center row, next to an already ill and disabled Lou Gehrig.<\/p><\/div>\n
The Yankee hitters\u2014no less than Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, and Bill Dickey\u2014liked hitting off Schreiber. Manager Joe McCarthy hired him for fulltime work, and although he had no number on his back, he wore the Yankee uniform and did his job quietly and professionally each day. He traveled with the team and appeared in team photos. During games, he would sit in the dugout and then head for the bullpen mid-game to warm up relief pitchers as needed. Occasionally during the season, he would appear in an exhibition game, perhaps against West Point or a farm club. On one occasion, he pitched \u201con loan\u201d for the Dodgers against his Yankees in a preseason exhibition.<\/p>\n
The Yankee players voted him a full share of their World Series money each year, which supplemented his small salary nicely. \u201cI\u2019d love to manage in the minors one day,\u201d he said, \u201cbut this is great work. I\u2019d much rather be doing this than pitching in the minors.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought of him as a coach,\u201d recalled Tom Villante, a Yankee batboy in the \u201940s. \u201cHe was very likable, smoked about 10 cigars a day, and he was very close to McCarthy. He used to drop me off in Queens when he\u2019d drive home to his wife on Long Island.\u201d<\/p>\n
With rosters depleted during World War II, there came a day\u2014September 4, 1945\u2014when McCarthy turned to Schreiber for an in-game assignment. A real game. It was the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium against pennant-bound Detroit, and the Tigers already had a 10\u20130 lead. It had been 22 years since his name was in a Major League box score. He was 43.<\/p>\n
The New York Times wrote, \u201cThe Yankee debut of Schreiber after nine years of service exclusively as batting practice pitcher, brought into focus a rubbery armed stalwart who celebrated his . . . first game in organized ball in fourteen years with an impressive exhibition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Employing his knuckleball (which he never threw in BP), Schreiber faced 12 batters, walked two, and struck out one. He allowed no runs and no hits. It was a masterful performance. He struck out in his one plate appearance. He was issued a number on his back\u201435\u2014for this assignment.<\/p>\n
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1945 New York Yankees Paul Schreiber game worn jersey.\u2028Credit: www.bidami.com<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cHe left the field with the cheers of the crowd (22,021) ringing in his ears,\u201d the Timescontinued. \u201cHe deserved it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do you like my rookie pitcher,\u201d said a grinning McCarthy. \u201cDidn\u2019t get a hit off him, did they? I tell you, I\u2019ve been noticing that no one seemed able to hit knuckleball pitching this season, and Paul has a good knuckler. So why not try him out?\u201d<\/p>\n
His teammates were delighted. Four days later, he faced the Tigers again, pitching one inning, but this time allowing two runs on four hits. The Times, tongue in cheek, reported that he \u201cfinished up in a perfect demonstration of his forte, throwing the ball against the clubs of the batters.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was his final Major League appearance, 23 years after his first one.<\/p>\n
McCarthy\u2019s reign as Yankee manager ended the following year, but he wound up managing the Boston Red Sox, and he took Schreiber with him. Paul remained a Boston coach\u2014and BP hurler\u2014through 1958 and scouted for them until 1964.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe taught Johnny Lindell to throw a knuckleball while he was with the Yankees,\u201d said Villante. \u201cAnd in 1954, Lindell went to the National League and used that knuckleball to come back as a pitcher. It was a Schreiber legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n
In retirement, Paul returned to his native Florida, and he died at 79 on January 28, 1982, in Sarasota. He took the mound for the Yankees 70 years ago, and he still holds the record for the longest span between appearances in a Major League box score.<\/p>\n
![\"Boston](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.appelpr.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/9701_a.jpg?resize=371%2C279\")
Boston Red Sox Coaches\u2014Paul Schreiber, Del Baker, Buster Mills and George Susce\u2014at spring training in Sarasota, Florida in 1954.<\/p><\/div>\n
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PAUL SCHREIBER By Marty Appel, December 3, 2015 When one-time relief-ace Andrew Bailey took the mound for the New York Yankees this past summer, much was made of it being his first Major League appearance in two years.\u00a0Well, Paul Schreiber… Continue Reading