Neal Ball

Ball was born on April 22, 1881, in Grand Haven, Michigan. After his Major League career ended, he went on to coach the Baltimore Orioles (who were a minor league team at the time). It was there that he was assigned to train Babe Ruth, who had just come out of St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys. Ball described Ruth as "the dumbest and yet the strongest player" he had ever coached. The two remained good friends after Ruth broke into the Majors and even played a friendly game of bowling against one another in 1923 (with Ball edging out Ruth, winning four out of the seven games played). Ruth held Ball in great respect, and because of their close friendship in baseball, he eventually became a fan of the New York Yankees. On February 12, 1952, at the age of 71, his health severely deteriorated due to a heart ailment and he was rushed to Bridgeport Hospital, where he was placed on the danger list and visitors were prohibited from seeing him. He died on October 15, 1957 and was interred at Mountain Grove Cemetery, Bridgeport. ==Professional career==

Minor leagues Ball started playing organized baseball on the semi-pro team in Three Rivers, Michigan, where he played in a game against Hall of Fame Negro league star Rube Foster of the Otsego Independents during the 1902 season. He then proceeded to play for Montgomery Senators, a minor league team that competed in the Southern League. He played for the team until , when he signed for the New York Highlanders. New York Highlanders (1907–09) During his rookie season, Ball posted a batting average of .247 and led the majors in strikeouts with 91. Defensively, he committed the most errors among all fielders in the American League with 81 and most errors by a shortstop with 80, However, he also set the team record for most assists by a rookie with 438 Cleveland Naps (1909–12) On May 18, , the Cleveland Naps bought Ball’s contract for approximately $5,000 (worth $ in ). Ball was brought in to serve as the temporary replacement for Cleveland's injured starting shortstop Terry Turner, who suffered from a recurring arm injury. he achieved baseball history when he executed the first unassisted triple play in the MLB on July 19, 1909, doing so against the Boston Red Sox at League Park. In the second inning of the game, Ball, playing shortstop, caught Amby McConnell's line drive, stepped on second base to retire Heinie Wagner, and then tagged Jake Stahl as he was advancing towards second. Because the play was unprecedented and turned so swiftly, the ballplayers on the field did not know the inning was over, and the crowd of 11,000 were unsure of how to react. Cy Young, the game's starting pitcher, was puzzled and asked Ball why he was leaving the field. In the following inning, with the crowd still cheering, he hit an inside-the-park home run to center field, which was his only home run that season. At the end of the season, after playing just 54 games with the team, He refused to play for the minor league team and this, coupled with the underperformance of the infielders brought in to replace him, resulted in the Naps repurchasing his contract. The season turned out to be Ball's best statistical year, with several career highs. He batted .296 with 122 hits, 9 triples, 45 RBI and 3 home runs, though he also recorded the third highest number of strikeouts in the AL with 93. Although his defense was never stellar, and held the Yankees (his former team) to a 3–3 draw when he, serving as the cut-off man, successfully relayed the ball thrown from right fielder Shoeless Joe Jackson to catcher Gus Fisher. In doing so, he nailed Birdie Cree (who represented the Yankees' winning run) at home plate and the game was immediately suspended due to darkness. However, in a rematch against the White Sox on May 5, 1912, Ball suffered a momentary defensive lapse that ultimately cost his team the game. In the sixth inning, he was unable to catch Shano Collins stealing second base and then inexplicably held onto the ball. This allowed Ping Bodie to advance to home plate and score the winning run. Boston Red Sox (1912–13) On June 25, 1912, the Boston Red Sox purchased Ball's contract from the Naps for $2,500 (equivalent to $ in ). The Red Sox signed Ball with the intention of using him only as a utility player who could substitute for any injured players on the team. As a result, he rarely started for the Red Sox. The team advanced to the World Series at the end of that season, Although he struck out in his only plate appearance of the series, This prompted the Ottawa Citizen to label him "the luckiest man in baseball." ==Post-playing career==

After playing his final major league season in , Ball returned to the minors and played for several teams until . Most notably, in May , he was traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs to his hometown team, the Bridgeport Hustlers of the Eastern League, and became both their manager and second baseman. The Hustlers were struggling at the time, and the addition of Ball did nothing to change the team's fortunes. By July, the Hustlers were still languishing in last place and, as a result, he was dismissed from the team. ==References==