Eddie Rommel
| Eddie Rommel | |||
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: September 13, 1897 Baltimore, Maryland |
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Died: August 26, 1970 (aged 72) Baltimore, Maryland |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 19, 1920, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 17, 1932, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 171–119 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.54 | ||
| Strikeouts | 599 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Edwin Americus Rommel (September 13, 1897 – August 26, 1970) was an American right-handed pitcher and umpire in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire playing career (1920 to 1932) with the Philadelphia Athletics. He is considered to be the "father" of the modern knuckleball.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Rommel pitched for the minor league Newark Bears in 1918 and 1919. He was picked up by Philadelphia after manager Connie Mack saw him start both ends of a doubleheader for Newark. Although he was knocked out by the third inning in both contests, Mack purchased his contract after noting that Rommel's curveball was breaking on the inside rather than the outside.
In 1922, Rommel led the American League in wins with 27 despite playing for a team that finished seventh in the league and won only 65 games. Rommel won twenty games twice for the Athletics, in 1922 and 1925. Rommel made many relief appearances during his career, leading the AL in relief wins in three different seasons.
Rommel was reasonably handy with the bat for a pitcher, compiling a lifetime batting average of .199—though this was in an era where batting averages were generally higher than today. In 1931, he was called upon three times by Mack to play the outfield, where he made six putouts without error, and once to play second base, where he was given no fielding chances.
Rommel surrendered ten home runs to Babe Ruth, tying him for tenth place. However, fellow Athletics pitchers Rube Walberg (17) and Howard Ehmke (13, but nine of them were with other teams) surrendered more, and Rommel gave up the same number of Ruth home runs as teammate George Earnshaw. Toward the end of his career, he relied mostly on the knuckleball.
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