Alex McColl

{{short description|American baseball player (1894-1991)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Alex McColl

|image=Alex McColl.jpg

|position=Pitcher

|bats=Both

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1894|3|29}}

|birth_place=Eagleville, Ohio, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1991|2|6|1894|3|29}}

|death_place=Kingsville, Ohio, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=August 29

|debutyear=1933

|debutteam=Washington Senators

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 29

|finalyear=1934

|finalteam=Washington Senators

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=4–4

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=3.70

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=34

|teams=

• Washington Senators ({{mlby|1933}}–{{mlby|1934}})

}}

Alexander Boyd "Red" McColl (March 29, 1894 – February 6, 1991) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 46 games in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators in 1933 and 1934. The native of Eagleville, Ohio, pitched in Organized Baseball for 26 years, from 1915 to 1925 and 1927–1941.{{Cite web|title=Alex McColl Stats|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mccolal01.shtml|access-date=2020-12-10|website=Baseball-Reference.com|language=en}} McColl made his MLB debut at the age of 39,{{Cite web|title=For the Love of The Game … Alex McColl's Less-Than-Meteoric Rise to the Majors|url=http://www.baseballroundtable.com/for-the-love-of-the-game-alex-mccolls-less-than-meteoric-rise-to-the-majors/|access-date=2020-12-10|website=www.baseballroundtable.com}} one of eight pitchers in MLB history to debut at 39 or older.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} A right-hander, McColl was listed as {{convert|6|ft|1|in}} tall and {{convert|178|lb}}.

McColl had played for 18 seasons in the minor leagues before making his major league debut with pennant-bound Washington on August 29, 1933 by throwing 3{{fraction|1|3}} innings of shutout relief against the Cleveland Indians.[https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B08272CLE1933.htm Retrosheet box score (August 29, 1933): "Cleveland Indians 6, Washington Senators 3"] In his fifth career game, McColl recorded two perfect innings in Game 2 of the 1933 World Series against the New York Giants, retiring Hall of Famers Mel Ott and Travis Jackson in the process.[https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1933/B10040NY11933.htm Retrosheet box score (October 4, 1933): "New York Giants 6, Washington Senators 1"]

His 46 American League games pitched included three starts. He posted a 4–4 won–lost record and a 3.70 earned run average, with two complete games and three saves. In 119 innings pitched, he allowed 142 hits and 43 bases on balls, and registered 34 strikeouts.

In 862 minor-league games and 5,262 innings pitched, McColl went 332–263 (3.42) over his long career, and served as a player-manager in the Washington organization.{{cite book |last=Johnson |first=Lloyd |author-link= |date=1994 |title=The Minor League Register |url= |location=Durham, North Carolina |publisher=Baseball America |page=400 |isbn=0-9637189-3-2}}