Mal Eason

{{Short description|American baseball player and umpire (1879–1970)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Mal Eason

|position=Pitcher

|image=Mal Eason (cropped).jpg

|caption=Eason as a National League umpire in 1916.

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1879|3|13}}

|birth_place=Brookville, Pennsylvania, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1970|4|16|1879|3|13}}

|death_place=Douglas, Arizona, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate= October 1

|debutyear= 1900

|debutteam= Chicago Orphans

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 4

|finalyear=1906

|finalteam= Brooklyn Superbas

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=36–73

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=3.39

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=273

|teams=

Chicago Orphans (1900–1902)
Boston Beaneaters (1902)
Detroit Tigers (1903)
Brooklyn Superbas (1905–1906)

|awards=

Pitched a no-hitter on July 20, 1906

}}

Malcolm Wayne (Mal) Eason (March 13, 1879 – April 16, 1970) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Orphans (1900–1902), Boston Beaneaters (1902), Detroit Tigers (1903) and Brooklyn Superbas (1905–1906). Eason batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Brookville, Pennsylvania.

Playing career

In 1901 and 1902, Eason finished with marks of 8–17 and 10–12, while pitching for second-division teams. Despite these losing records, he registered 3.59 and 2.61 ERAs respectively. His most productive season came in 1906, when he posted a 10–17 mark with a 3.25 ERA. It was Eason's last season as an active player. That July 20, Eason no-hit the St. Louis Cardinals 2–0. Earlier in the season, he had been the losing pitcher in the previous no-hitter to this one, by the Philadelphia Phillies' Johnny Lush on May 1. Not until Bill McCahan in 1947 would another pitcher hurl a no-hitter after being on the losing end of the last no-hitter before the one he posted.

In a six-season career, Eason posted a 36–73 record with 274 strikeouts and a 3.42 ERA in {{frac|951|1|3}} innings pitched. He completed 90 of 114 starts, including ten shutouts.

Umpiring career

Eason is recorded as having umpired three games in 1902. After his retirement as a player, he worked as a National League umpire from {{mlby|1910}} to {{mlby|1917}}.

Death

Eason died in a house fire in Douglas, Arizona, at the age of 91.

External links

[http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=easonma01 Baseball Almanac]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20060812063428/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/E/Eason_Mal.stm Baseball Library]
[http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Peasom101.htm Retrosheet]

{{succession box | title=No-hitter pitcher | before= Johnny Lush | years= July 20, 1906 | after= Big Jeff Pfeffer}}

Category:Boston Beaneaters players

Category:Brooklyn Superbas players

Category:Chicago Orphans players

Category:Detroit Tigers players

Category:Major League Baseball pitchers

Category:Baseball players from Jefferson County, Pennsylvania

Category:1879 births

Category:1970 deaths

Category:Grove City Wolverines baseball players

Category:Accidental deaths in Arizona

Category:Minor league baseball managers