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John Beverley Gooch (November 9, 1897 – March 15, 1975) was an American professional baseball player, coach, minor league manager and scout.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Johnny Gooch statistics )〕 He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most notably for the Pittsburgh Pirates.〔 ==Baseball career== Born in Smyrna, Tennessee, Gooch began his professional baseball career in 1916 at the age of 18 with the Talladega Tigers of the Georgia–Alabama League.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Johnny Gooch minor league statistics )〕 He didn't play professionally in 1917 or 1918 as he returned to help on the family farm after his oldest brother had died in a drowning accident and his second oldest brother had been called into military service during World War I.〔 Gooch was also called into military service and was aboard a train heading to the service when news of the Armistice broke.〔 In 1918, Gooch tried out to play for the New Orleans Pelicans but didn't make the team.〔 Despite this setback, the eager Gooch continued to show up for the team's practices.〔 His eagerness to play finally convinced the Pelicans to sign him to a contract.〔 He was sent to play in Cleveland and then to Mobile, where he was released.〔 The Birmingham Barons then signed him after The Barons’ manager, Carlton Molesworth, remembered his dedication during one of his team's visits to play in Mobile.〔 It was in Birmingham where Gooch first played with future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Pie Traynor, and the two men developed a lifelong friendship.〔 In 1920, he posted a .288 batting average in 136 games for the Barons.〔 Gooch made his major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 9, 1921 at the age of 22.〔 Gooch had his best season offensively in 1922 when veteran catcher Walter Schmidt, held out for more pay and didn't play until August.〔 He posted a career-high .329 batting average in 105 games, and collected an extra-inning six-hit game, two four-hit games, and eight three-hit games.〔 He also had 102 assists defensively, third best in the league.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1922 National League Fielding Leaders )〕 In 1925, he played as a backup catcher to Earl Smith while posting a .298 batting average along with 30 runs batted in to help the Pirates win the National League pennant.〔 The Pirates then went on to defeat the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1925 World Series )〕 He appeared in three games of series and went hitless in 3 at bats.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Johnny Gooch post-season statistics )〕 Gooch played in 101 games in 1927 and had a career-high 48 runs batted in, as the Pirates once again won the National League championship.〔 However, they faced the powerful New York Yankees led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in the 1927 World Series and were defeated in four straight games.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=1927 World Series )〕 In 1928, the Pirates acquired future Baseball Hall of Fame inductee, Burleigh Grimes, who was the last pitcher allowed to throw the spitball in the major leagues. Pirates manager, Donie Bush chose Gooch to be Grimes' personal catcher, due to his previous experience at catching the tricky spitball.〔 After spending six and a half years with the Pirates, Gooch was traded in June 1928 along with Joe Harris to the Brooklyn Robins in exchange for Charlie Hargreaves, as the Pirates were seeking a right-handed batter. It was also reported that he had fallen out of favor with the Pirates because of a salary dispute during the off-season.〔 News reports surfaced in January 1929 that Gooch wasn't happy in Brooklyn after having spent so many years in Pittsburgh, and was contemplating retirement. That April, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Val Picinich.〔 He experienced a rejuvenation by hitting for a .300 batting average in 92 games for the seventh-place Reds.〔 After one more season with the Reds where his batting average dropped to .243, he was traded to the Nashville Volunteers in the Southern Association for Joe Cicero.〔 He posted a .334 batting average in 117 games during the Volunteers' 1932 season.〔 In January 1933, he returned to the major leagues when his contract was bought by the Boston Red Sox. Gooch's playing time was diminished when the Red Sox acquired catcher Rick Ferrell in May.〔 He appeared in 37 games for the Red Sox and played in his final major league game on September 12, 1933 at the age of 37.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Johnny Gooch」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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