By Major League Baseball (MLB) players are some of the tallest players on the planet. But do you also know that some players are much shorter than the average sports criteria? Well, today we’ll discuss some of the shortest baseball players who defied all odds to earn a place in the game and gained recognition mainly for their size.
Here are the 7 shortest baseball players of all time.
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Eddie Gaedel
Full name: Edward Carl Gaedel
Born: June 8, 1925
Died: June 18, 1961 (aged 36)
Team(s): St. Louis Browns (1951)
Position: Pinch hitter
Height: 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm)
Eddie Gaedel was an American former pro baseball player who debuted and last appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) on August 19, 1951, for the St. Louis Browns. He was widely recognized for being the shortest player to ever play the game standing at a height of just 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm).
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Bob Emmerich
Full name: Robert George Emmerich
Born: August 1, 1891
Died: November 22, 1948 (aged 57)
Team(s): Boston Braves (1923)
Position: Center fielder
Height: 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm)
Bob Emmerich was an American pro baseball player who made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on September 22, 1923, for the Boston Braves as a center fielder. Emmerich played for a single season with the Braves and made his last appearance on October 6, 1923. Although he only played a short time, he is still considered one of the shortest players in MLB history.
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Jess Cortazzo
Full name: John Francis “Jess” Cortazzo
Born: September 26, 1904
Died: March 4, 1963 (aged 58)
Team(s): Chicago White Sox (1923)
Position: Shortstop
Height: 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm)
Jess Cortazzo, who was also nicknamed “Shine”, was an American professional baseball player. Cortazzo played for one season in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox as a shortstop. He made his MLB debut and also his final appearance on September 1, 1923.
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Stubby Magner
Full name: Edmund Burke (Stubby) Magner
Born: February 10, 1888
Died: September 6, 1956 (aged 68)
Team(s): New York Highlanders (1911)
Position: Shortstop / Second baseman
Height: 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm)
Stubby Magner was an American pro baseball player who played for one season in Major League Baseball (MLB) for New York Highlanders as a shortstop and second baseman.
Magner made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on July 12, 1911, for the Highlanders and made his last appearance for the team on September 30, 1911. He is considered one of the shortest baseball players in the history of baseball.
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Pompey Davalillo
Full name: Pompeyo Antonio Davalillo Romero
Born: June 30, 1928
Died: February 28, 2013 (aged 84)
Team(s): Washington Senators (1953)
Position: Shortstop
Height: 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm)
Nicknamed “Yo-Yo Davalillo”, Pompey Davalillo was a Venezuela pro baseball player who played for one season in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators.
The 5 feet 3 inches shortstop was recruited by the New York Yankees in 1953 and later moved to the Washington Senators. When he was 25 years old, Davalillo made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut on August 1, 1953, and became among the fourth only Venezuelan to be a part of the MLB. Although he had an established career ahead of him, however, his injury stopped him from playing, and thus ended his career after playing for a short period. He made his last appearance for the team on August 23, 1953. He is considered one of the shortest players in the history of MLB.
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Lee Viau
Full name: Leon A. Viau
Born: July 5, 1866
Died: December 17, 1947 (aged 81)
Team(s): Cincinnati Red Stockings / Reds (1888–1890); Cleveland Spiders (1890–1892); Louisville Colonels (1892); Boston Beaneaters (1892)
Position: Pitcher
Height: 5 feet 4 inches (162 cm)
Lee Viau was an American pro baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) mainly as a pitcher from 1888 to 1892. He was a part of Cincinnati Red Stockings/Reds, Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and Boston Beaneaters. He made his last MLB appearance on August 27, 1892, for the Boston Beaneaters.
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Dinty Gearin
Full name: Dennis John Gearin
Born: October 15, 1897
Died: March 11, 1959 (aged 61)
Team(s): New York Giants (1923–1924); Boston Braves (1924)
Position: Pitcher
Height: 5 feet 4 inches (162 cm)
Dinty Gearin was a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played two seasons with the New York Giants and Boston Braves from 1923 to 1924.
He made his MLB debut on August 6, 1923, for the New York Giants and his final MLB appearance was on May 31, 1924, for the Boston Braves. Gearin is regarded as one of the shortest baseball players of all time.
Shortest Baseball players are done, what next? Well, let’s check out the Shortest Athletes present in the world competing strongly with the rest.
