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Joe Sprinz

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Joe Sprinz
Catcher
Born: (1902-08-03)August 3, 1902
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Died: January 11, 1994(1994-01-11) (aged 91)
Fremont, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 16, 1930, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
May 18, 1933, for the St. Louis Cardinals
MLB statistics
Batting average.170
Home runs0
Runs batted in2
Teams

Joseph Conrad "Mule" Sprinz (August 3, 1902 – January 11, 1994) was an American professional baseball player[1] who attempted to beat the world record for catching a baseball dropped from a great height.

Baseball career

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Joseph Sprinz was a major league catcher who played for the Cleveland Indians from 1930 to 1931 and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1933.[2]

Sprinz spent 23 seasons in minor league baseball from 1924-1946, registering 7,364 plate appearances for 13 different teams, batting .270 and hitting 26 home runs. He spent the last nine of those seasons with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League.[3]

Attempt at world record

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As a member of the San Francisco Seals, Sprinz attempted to beat the world record for catching a baseball dropped from a great height. On May 10, 1939, Sprinz was one of three players who caught balls dropped 437 feet (133 m) by Seals manager Lefty O'Doul from a tower at the Golden Gate International Exposition. O'Doul forbade the practice after the initial stunt but, that summer, Sprinz returned to the Exposition to make another attempt. Sprinz attempted to catch balls dropped from a blimp hovering approximately 800 feet (240 m) overhead.[4] On his fifth attempt, a baseball entered his glove, slamming his glove hand into his face with such force that he broke his upper jaw in twelve places, fractured several of his teeth, and rendered him unconscious.[5][6]

Some[who?] believe that the San Francisco Seals were involved in arranging for Joe Sprinz to make an attempt at the world record despite the known danger. Even though no evidence has been shown in response to the claim, it is well known that Minor League Baseball needs promotional stunts for survival[2][7] and that it was a member of Sprinz's own team the San Francisco Seals that arranged for the ball to be dropped from a Goodyear blimp.[7][8] In November of 2024, Jon Bois of SB Nation released a documentary entitled 'God Hates a Coward' on the event.

References

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  1. ^ "Joe Sprinz Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Joe Sprinz and the Speeding Baseball". Wonders & Marvels. March 15, 2017. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "Joe Sprinz Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  4. ^ Allen, Scott (June 5, 2023). "Baseball's oddest arms race featured balls thrown from the Washington Monument". Washington Post. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
  5. ^ "8 teeth sacrificed for the record". DrBicuspid.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  6. ^ Fundamentals of Physics ( 4 ed., Wiley, 1993 ), by David Halliday, Robert Resnick and Jearl Walker, on page 30, Chapter Two, "Motion along a Straight Line"
  7. ^ a b Warren, Lee (March 11, 2014). "Joe Sprinz's tries to catch a baseball from blimp". Minor League Ball. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "IT'S A BIRD! IT'S A PLANE!... IT's BASEBALL?". www.danieldemers.com. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
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