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Wally Pipp

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Baseball Player

The Resume

    (February 17, 1893-January 11, 1965)
    Born in Chicago, Illinois
    First baseman for the Detroit Tigers (1913), New York Yankees (1915-25), and Cincinnati Reds (1926-28)
    Twice led the American League in home runs (1916-17)

Why he might be annoying:

    He tends to be remembered less for his own achievements than for losing his role as a starter to Lou Gehrig at the beginning of Gehrig’s then-record streak of playing 2,130 consecutive games.
    This has inspired comments like ‘Wally Pipp may be the only baseball player famous for sitting on the bench’ (Mental Floss) and ‘Wally Pipp is baseball’s answer to Rodney Dangerfield’ (Bleacher Report).
    There are several different stories about why he got replaced (including multiple ones told by Pipp himself), although the most prosaic one (manager Miller Huggins was trying to shake up a team that was in a slump) seems the most likely.
    He lost his fortune in the 1929 stock market crash.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was left-handed.
    Ironically, he was the one who suggested to Miller Huggins that the Yankees should sign up Gehrig.
    In fielding, he led the AL four seasons each in both putouts and double plays.
    Although he came close to going broke during the Depression, he managed to pay off his debts without going bankrupt.
    He was hired by ‘Sports Illustrated’ as one of their first writers.
    He played in twelve Old Timers games.
    He has acquired an odd sort of immortality, as his name gets invoked any time an established star has to leave the game and his replacement unexpectedly shines.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 90.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying