1926
Born October 11, 1926
New York, NY, USA
Joe Ginsberg Marquee
b. October 11, 1926 · Detroit Tigers 1948, 1950–1953, Cleveland Indians 1953–1954, Kansas City Athletics 1956, Baltimore Orioles 1956–1960, Chicago White Sox 1960–1961, Boston Red Sox 1961, New York Mets 1962
Joe Ginsberg caught the first game in New York Mets history, on April 11, 1962, and two games later he was done — his last appearance in a career that had begun with Detroit fourteen years earlier.
He was a left-handed hitting catcher, which kept him employed as a backup and platoon man through six organizations, and he caught for Baltimore for five seasons in the 1950s, including Hoyt Wilhelm's no-hitter in 1958.
Born in New York City in 1926, Ginsberg batted .241 with 414 hits and 226 walks across 695 games. He served in the army during the Second World War before reaching the majors, and was eighty-six at his death in November 2012.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | DET | 11 | 36 | 7 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .361 |
| 1950 | DET | 36 | 95 | 12 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 1 | .232 |
| 1951 | DET | 102 | 304 | 44 | 79 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 37 | 43 | 21 | 0 | .260 |
| 1952 | DET | 113 | 307 | 29 | 68 | 13 | 2 | 6 | 36 | 51 | 21 | 1 | .221 |
| 1953 | CLE/DET | 64 | 162 | 16 | 47 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 24 | 5 | 0 | .290 |
| 1954 | CLE | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| 1956 | BAL/KCA | 86 | 223 | 15 | 50 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 25 | 21 | 1 | .224 |
| 1957 | BAL | 85 | 175 | 15 | 48 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 2 | .274 |
| 1958 | BAL | 61 | 109 | 4 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 13 | 14 | 0 | .211 |
| 1959 | BAL | 65 | 166 | 14 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 21 | 13 | 1 | .181 |
| 1960 | BAL/CHW | 42 | 105 | 11 | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 16 | 9 | 1 | .257 |
| 1961 | BOS/CHW | 25 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .222 |
| 1962 | NYM | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Career | — | 695 | 1716 | 168 | 414 | 59 | 8 | 20 | 182 | 226 | 135 | 7 | .241 |
On this day & linked events
2012
Died November 2, 2012
1948
Major-league debut: Joe Ginsberg
Joe Ginsberg made a major-league debut on September 15, 1948.
1962
Final major-league game: Joe Ginsberg
Joe Ginsberg played a final major-league game on April 15, 1962.
Image: Bowman Gum, public domain