Minor leagues Gochnaur began his
professional baseball career with the
Portsmouth Browns in 1896 as a
second baseman. After short stints with the Roanoke Magicians and the
Hagerstown Lions, he moved to
Brockton, Massachusetts to join the
New England League's Brockton Shoemakers for the 1897–98 seasons. In 1899, he played for the
Paterson Giants of the
Atlantic League. He relocated to
Dayton, Ohio around the turn of the century, and had a career year with the Dayton Veterans in 1900, when he batted .278 with one
home run, six
triples and 28
doubles. This was also the year when he was moved to shortstop full-time, where he played the rest of his professional career. He put up similar numbers for the Dayton Old Soldiers in 1901, including a career-high 14
triples, before being acquired by the
Brooklyn Superbas toward the end of the season.
Brooklyn In three games for the Superbas at the end of the 1901 season, Gochnaur collected four
hits and a
walk in twelve
plate appearances. Though he committed no
errors on the field, Gochnaur displayed limited range at short. Following the season, he moved on to the
Cleveland Broncos.
Cleveland Gochnaur batted .185 with no home runs and 37
runs batted in as the starting shortstop for Cleveland in 1902. Despite 48 errors, including five in one
doubleheader, his .933
fielding percentage was third best in the league. He was handed the starting job for a second season, in which he again batted .185 with no home runs. The 98 errors he committed at short were, however, too much for manager
Bill Armour to bear. In 1904,
Terry Turner took over at shortstop for Cleveland.
Later career Gochnaur played the independent circuit through 1907 before becoming an
umpire. He also was an
Altoona Police Department officer,
Pennsylvania Railroad policeman, and
bartender. Along with holding the distinction of being the last major leaguer to commit at least ninety errors in a season, Gochnaur holds the record for most
at bats (908) without a home run by a player with a career
batting average below .200. He also holds the single season record for RBIs by a player with a career average under .200 (48, 1903). == Personal life ==