Moe Berg: catcher, lawyer, spy

Unto the Breach ^ | April 22, 2018 | Chris Carter

[fugazi]

On this day in 1934, Washington Senator's backup catcher Morris "Moe" Berg's streak of 117 games in a row without committing an error comes to an end, setting an American League record.

Berg wasn't your typical athlete: before signing with the Brooklyn Robins (they wouldn't become the Dodgers until 1932), he graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. magna cum laude in modern languages. Ted Lyons, Berg's teammate with the White Sox, would say that "he can speak seven languages but can't hit in any of them."

Berg didn't have a great bat, but when every one of manager Ray Shalk's White Sox that could catch were out with injuries in 1927, Shalk - a player/manager who himself was one of the injured catchers - asked the right fielder to suit up, and it turned out he had a great arm and was a fantastic defensive catcher. He stayed behind the plate for the rest of his career. He worked around his baseball schedule to complete a law degree from Columbia University and passed the New York State bar exam. He would work for a Wall Street law firm during the off season.

In 1934, a group of future Hall of Famers traveled to Japan for a series of exhibition games against a Japanese all-star team. Somehow the inconspicuous Berg made the roster along with Babe Ruth (whom Berg became friends with on the trip), Lou Gehrig, Earl Averill, Charlie Gehringer, Jimmie Foxx, and Lefty Gomez. While the team was in Toyko, Berg tricked the Japanese into thinking he was going to visit the American ambassador and instead made his way to the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings, taking photos and video of the city and port. The footage Berg

[fugazi]

During his second season, Hall of Famer Ted Williams asked Berg what made hitters like Ruth and Gehrig great. Berg told him, “Gehrig would wait and wait and wait until he hit the pitch almost out of the catcher’s glove. As to Ruth he had no weaknesses, he had a good eye and laid off pitches out of the strike zone. Ted, you most resemble a hitter like Shoeless Joe Jackson. But you are better than all of them. When it comes to wrists you have the best.”

[G Larry]

Great!

David Smith (Santa Barbara, CA) wrote a script for a Moe Berg movie in 1979.

His wanna-be “agent” was never able to sell it.

I think it would still be a great movie if released today.

[carmen2017]

My God those were the Days.

[Louis Foxwell]

My Dad was a major league umpire for the International League. He knew all of the greats, most of whom have been forgotten.

[NTHockey]

Minor correction from a third generation Giant fan:According to Wikipedia, “The “Trolley Dodgers” name was later adopted by the team for the 1911 and 1912 seasons, and the “Dodgers” name was used in 1913. However, the “Trolley Dodgers” nickname was used throughout this period, along with other nicknames, by fans and sports writers of the day. The team did not use the name in a formal sense until 1932.”

I can still remember (and enjoy) watching the “Shot heard around the world” on TV. I’d come in from school just as Don Mueller broke his leg, a play that cost them the World Series. And then Bobby Thomson came to the plate. The rest is history.

[Puppage]

The Catcher Was a Spy was a great book.

[MarvinStinson]

Look at Ted Williams' wrists and forearms as compared to those of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano.