[beyond the sea]

Nicknamed "the Kitten" at St. Louis for his resemblance to Harry "the Cat" Brecheen...

I was told over the years that he had that nickname because of his cat-like quickness on the mound! He was the greatest defensive pitcher in the league.

He never let a ball get back up through the middle for a hit.

You may be right about what you said about Brecheen, but Bob Prince (the great Pirate announcer) named him 'the kitten' in Pittsburgh because of his incredible quickness on the mound. Maybe he had that name for various reasons, though.

;-)

[rwa265]

"You may be right about what you said about Brecheen, but Bob Prince (the great Pirate announcer) named him 'the kitten' in Pittsburgh because of his incredible quickness on the mound."

Pookie got it right. According to basaballibrary.com, Haddix was nicknamed "the Kitten" at St. Louis for his resemblance to Harry "the Cat" Brecheen.

http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/H/Haddix_Harvey.stm

I agree with you on his cat like quickness. I also agree that Bob Prince was great. I remember the first time I heard him thinking 'this guy is good'. As tough as the perfect 12 inning loss was, the game 7 win in the 1960 World Series was even sweeter. Bill Mazeroski's walk off home run was one of the greatest moments in MLB history, and one of my fondest childhood memories.