Weinert, Phil "Lefty"

Phillip Walter Weinert

Phil Weinert was a southpaw pitcher who played primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. When "Lefty" made his major league debut in 1919 (at the age of 17), he was the youngest man to ever play in the majors. His record was broken in 1921 by Dutch Henry.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. April 21, 1902 - d. April 17, 1973

Career Highlights:
Born in Philadelphia, Weinert joined his hometown Phillies in 1919 at the young age of 17. He only appeared in one game that year, pitching four innings and allowing nine runs. The following season, he appeared in 10 games (starting two) and went 1-1 with an ERA of 6.14. He then improved further in 1921, going 1-0 with an ERA of 1.46 in eight games.

In 1922, Weinert entered thePhillies' starting rotation and had a record of 8-11 with a 3.40 ERA, the lowest on his team. Philadelphia finished in seventh place (57-96), out of last place for the first time since 1918. That year, Weinert finished seventh in the NL in ERA, tenth in strikeouts per nine innings (3.10), third in wild pitches (seven), and eighth in hit batsmen (eight). Regardless of his wildness, however, he also hit .241 (14-58) with three RBI, one stolen base, ten runs, and one double.

Weinert was used extensively by manager Art Fletcher in the 1923 season but did not pitch as well as the previous season and went 4-17 with a 5.42 ERA for the underachieving 50-104 club. "Lefty" then lost his place in the starting rotation and was rarely used by the Phillies in 1924 as they suffered through another depressing campaign before being sent down to the minors. Weinert reemerged for the Chicago Cubs in 1927, under the auspices of Bill McCarthy. Though he remained in Chicago in 1928, Phil failed to leave a mark in Chicago and was in the minors again in 1929.

Two years later, Weinert was recalled to the majors by Hall of Fame manager Joe McCarthy in 1931, this time for the New York Yankees, one of the greatest teams in history. Joining a team full of Hall of Famers like Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Lefty Gomez, Earle Combs, Tony Lazzeri and led by Hall of Fame manager McCarthy, Weinert appeared in 17 games during the season and went 2-2 with an ERA of 6.40 as the Yanks finished second in the American League. Weinert retired from baseball following the season.

Career Dates:
Weinert played for the Philadelphia Phillies, 1919-1924; the Chicago Cubs, 1927-28; and the New York Yankees, 1931.

Position:
Pitcher

Physical description:
Pitched and hit left-handed

Career Statistics:
Wins: 18
Losses: 33

ERA: 4.59

Games: 131
Games Started: 49

Innings Pitched: 437
Hits Allowed: 528
Bases-on-Balls: 222
Strike Outs: 160

Batting
At-bats: 142
Hits: 37
Home Runs: 0
Batting Average: .261

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 10
Assists: 75
Errors: 7
Double Plays: 3

Fielding avg: .924

< Previous |  Next >