Pete Schneider

Peter Joseph Schneider (August 20, 1895 – June 1, 1957) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cincinnati Reds (1914–1918) and New York Yankees (1919). Schneider batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Los Angeles.

Career

Schneider was a hard-throwing pitcher who struggled with injuries and control problems. At age 18, he made a promising debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1914 pitching a 1–0 shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite a 5–14 mark in his rookie season he finished with a 2.92 ERA. He recorded 14 wins in 1915 while posting a 2.48 ERA but led National League pitchers with 19 losses. His most productive season came in 1917 when he posted career-highs with 20 wins and 333-2/3 innings pitched, but he lost 19 games for the third consecutive year.

In 1918, Opening Day against the Pirates, Schneider threw a 1–0, one-hit shutout at Crosley Field. In July, he pitched a 10–0 one-hitter against the Phillies into the ninth inning, but walked the first six batters. Finally, Cincinnati won 10–9. Schneider pitched briefly for the Yankees in 1919 and continued playing in the minor leagues until 1926.

In a six-season career, Schneider posted a 59–86 record with a 2.66 ERA in 1274.0 innings. He recorded 10 shutouts among his 59 victories and had a 0.977 strikeout-to-walk ratio (487-to-498).

Schneider died in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 61.

Milestone

• Considered a good-hitting pitcher, Schneider had a .221 batting average (96-for-434) with 26 RBI and 24 extra bases, including five home runs. He converted to the outfield while playing with the Vernon Tigers of the Pacific Coast League, as he set league records by hitting five home runs with 14 RBI in a game, during a 35–11 romp over Salt Lake City. A sixth home run was missed by two feet when he belted a line-drive double off the center field fence (May 11, 1923).