Edd J Roush's guest appearances

Edd J Roush

That One Sports Show

Robert Lee

Andrew Bogut

Tim Tebow

Rob Manfred

Steve Young

Reggie Bush

Rex Ryan

George Brett

Greg Hardy

Andy Dalton

Steve Wright

Grayson Allen

Chris Sale

Matt Harvey

Kyle Schwarber

OwlTail

Today we'll be taking a look at Edd J Roush, a legendary Reds player best-known for two things: swinging a 48-ounce bat and being ejected for falling asleep in the outfield. Edd J Roush was a 5’11, 170lb farmboy, from Oakland City, Indiana, born with a twin (named Fred) in 1893. As a kid, Roush grew up on his family's farm, gaining his strength the old-fashioned way by bailing hay and doing odd jobs that improved the power of his hands. When he would play pickup baseball games there was rarely a glove for him to use. Roush was a natural lefty, but with no left-hander gloves available he would switch between arms depending on the situation. Once he got to the majors he made the full-time move to lefty and didn't look back. Roush bounced around the minors for a bit then hopped to the majors for good in 1916 with the New York Giants. On July 20, 1916 Roush, Christy Mathewson and Bill McKechnie were traded by the New York Giants to the Cincinnati Reds. Roush settled in center field with McKechnie to his side in right field. McKechnie, to Roush's dismay was the quietest outfielder he'd ever worked with and refused to call pop flies, leading to the two of them having a heated exchange. It turned out the McKechnie had been gunning for the center field spot and was upset it was given to Roush. Once McKechnie had seen the speed and agility of Roush in action, he conceded that he couldn't be mad about a better player getting the position. The two became lifelong friends and spent a majority of their careers together. Swinging a Big Stick With the Reds, Roush had laser focus at the plate, winning the NL batting title in 1917 and 1919, hitting for a lifetime average of .323, never hitting under .321 while with the Reds (when playing a full season). The 48-ounce bat he swung is still the heaviest, regularly used bat in baseball history. It's rumored that Babe Ruth swung a 54-ounce bat, but most sources point to a regularly used 44-ounce bat. An average bat in today's MLB is 31 ounces, so Roush was using his farm-built strength to swing a stick a full pound heavier than today's sluggers. Roush was not using the heavy wood for power, he was merely using it for solid hits. Over his 18 years, Roush only had 68 homeruns, while racking up 2,376 hits. He rarely struck out and was in the top ten for fewest strikeouts in 12 of his 18 seasons. This included one season in 1931 where he struck out 5 times, giving him 75.2 at bats per strikeout.  World Series WinIn 1919, Roush helped the Reds to a World Series Championship over the infamous Black Sox. Edd was a no-nonsense player and grew increasingly frustrated once he learned there was bribery going on in the Series. He had gotten wind that some of the Reds pitchers had been approached by the same bribers and put an end to all of it. Through the rest of his life he claimed that, even without the help of the Black Sox throwing games, the Reds were the better team and would have won anyway. A Fiesty Player Roush was known as a holdout because he hated spring training. He would stay at his farm during the offseason, hunting, farming and staying in shape. He felt by doing those things he would be better off than if he showed up at Spring Training. This worked well for him except in 1921 when his twin brother Fred clipped him with some birdshot, leaving some scars, but no major damage. With batting stats like he had, Roush was the subject of getting beaned on a somewhat frequent basis, which frustrated him to no end. When he'd get to first after being plunked, Roush would go into every base with a vengeance, spiking every infielder he could, to the effect that infielders began warning their pitchers to not throw at Roush ever again. One of his best known "attitude" stories cam in 1920, when he was ejected from a game. A dispute broke out in the infield that took quite a bit of time. Roush decided to use his time wisely and take a little cat nap in center field. When the dispute ended, he was unable to be roused and the umpire had him ejected for delay of game. The official stat on the game is:Ejections: Edd Roush by Barry McCormick [Delay: fell asleep in OF during rhubarb]Later YearsRoush was traded back to the Giants in 1927, sat out the 1930 season with an injury and reunited with the Reds for one final go in 1931. After that he retired to a home in Florida and showed up to many Spring Training games. In 1962 he was inducted into Cooperstown with Jackie Robinson, Bob Feller and lifelong friend Bill McKechnie. Roush was also named to the Indiana and Ohio Baseball Halls of Fame. In 1988, Roush died just before Spring Training opened. He was set to see a game at McKechnie stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training stadium name after Pittsburgh native Bill McKechnie. To this day, no one has regularly used a bat even close to the 48 ounces Roush swung.

Today we'll be taking a look at Edd J Roush, a legendary Reds player best-known for two things: swinging a 48-ounce bat and being ejected for falling asleep in the outfield. Edd J Roush was a 5’11, 170lb farmboy, from Oakland City, Indiana, born with a twin (named Fred) in 1893. As a kid, Roush grew up on his family's farm, gaining his strength the old-fashioned way by bailing hay and doing odd jobs that improved the power of his hands. When he would play pickup baseball games there was rarely a glove for him to use. Roush was a natural lefty, but with no left-hander gloves available he would switch between arms depending on the situation. Once he got to the majors he made the full-time move to lefty and didn't look back. <br>Roush bounced around the minors for a bit then hopped to the majors for good in 1916 with the New York Giants. On July 20, 1916 Roush, Christy Mathewson and Bill McKechnie were traded by the New York Giants to the Cincinnati Reds. Roush settled in center field with McKechnie to his side in right field. McKechnie, to Roush's dismay was the quietest outfielder he'd ever worked with and refused to call pop flies, leading to the two of them having a heated exchange. It turned out the McKechnie had been gunning for the center field spot and was upset it was given to Roush. Once McKechnie had seen the speed and agility of Roush in action, he conceded that he couldn't be mad about a better player getting the position. The two became lifelong friends and spent a majority of their careers together. <br><br><h2>Swinging a Big Stick</h2> <p>With the Reds, Roush had laser focus at the plate, winning the NL batting title in 1917 and 1919, hitting for a lifetime average of .323, never hitting under .321 while with the Reds (when playing a full season). The 48-ounce bat he swung is still the heaviest, regularly used bat in baseball history. It's rumored that Babe Ruth swung a 54-ounce bat, but most sources point to a regularly used 44-ounce bat. An average bat in today's MLB is 31 ounces, so Roush was using his farm-built strength to swing a stick a full pound heavier than today's sluggers. </p>Roush was not using the heavy wood for power, he was merely using it for solid hits. Over his 18 years, Roush only had 68 homeruns, while racking up 2,376 hits. He rarely struck out and was in the top ten for fewest strikeouts in 12 of his 18 seasons. This included one season in 1931 where he struck out 5 times, giving him 75.2 at bats per strikeout.  <br><br><h2>World Series Win</h2>In 1919, Roush helped the Reds to a World Series Championship over the infamous Black Sox. Edd was a no-nonsense player and grew increasingly frustrated once he learned there was bribery going on in the Series. He had gotten wind that some of the Reds pitchers had been approached by the same bribers and put an end to all of it. Through the rest of his life he claimed that, even without the help of the Black Sox throwing games, the Reds were the better team and would have won anyway. <br><br><h2>A Fiesty Player</h2> <p>Roush was known as a holdout because he hated spring training. He would stay at his farm during the offseason, hunting, farming and staying in shape. He felt by doing those things he would be better off than if he showed up at Spring Training. This worked well for him except in 1921 when his twin brother Fred clipped him with some birdshot, leaving some scars, but no major damage. With batting stats like he had, Roush was the subject of getting beaned on a somewhat frequent basis, which frustrated him to no end. When he'd get to first after being plunked, Roush would go into every base with a vengeance, spiking every infielder he could, to the effect that infielders began warning their pitchers to <em>not</em> throw at Roush ever again. </p>One of his best known "attitude" stories cam in 1920, when he was ejected from a game. A dispute broke out in the infield that took quite a bit of time. Roush decided to use his time wisely and take a little cat nap in center field. When the dispute ended, he was unable to be roused and the umpire had him ejected for delay of game. The official stat on the game is:<br>Ejections: Edd Roush by Barry McCormick [Delay: fell asleep in OF during rhubarb]<br><h2>Later Years</h2>Roush was traded back to the Giants in 1927, sat out the 1930 season with an injury and reunited with the Reds for one final go in 1931. After that he retired to a home in Florida and showed up to many Spring Training games. In 1962 he was inducted into Cooperstown with Jackie Robinson, Bob Feller and lifelong friend Bill McKechnie. Roush was also named to the Indiana and Ohio Baseball Halls of Fame. In 1988, Roush died just before Spring Training opened. He was set to see a game at McKechnie stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates Spring Training stadium name after Pittsburgh native Bill McKechnie. To this day, no one has regularly used a bat even close to the 48 ounces Roush swung.

Minisode Monday: ⚾ Baseball Legend – Edd J Roush