Val Picinich Marquee

b. September 8, 1896 · Philadelphia Athletics 1916–1917, Washington Senators 1918–1922, Boston Red Sox 1923–1925, Cincinnati Reds 1926–1928, Brooklyn Robins 1929–1931, Brooklyn Dodgers 1932–1933, Pittsburgh Pirates 1933

Picinich remained in the majors for eighteen consecutive seasons, sustained by his work behind the plate. His best offensive year came with Cincinnati in 1928, when he hit .302 with 98 hits, seven home runs and 35 runs batted in across 96 games.

His career produced 743 hits, 166 doubles, 26 home runs, 298 runs batted in, 298 runs and a .258 average across 1,037 games. He caught 935 of them and appeared only twice at another position, both at first base.

Picinich began with the Philadelphia Athletics in 1916, followed by five seasons in Washington and three each with Boston and Cincinnati. He joined Brooklyn in 1929 and remained as the club's name changed from Robins to Dodgers. Pittsburgh acquired him during his final 1933 season. He died in 1942, at forty-six.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1916	PHA	40	118	8	23	3	1	0	5	6	33	1	.195
1917	PHA	2	6	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	.333
1918	WSH	47	148	13	34	3	3	0	12	9	25	0	.230
1919	WSH	80	212	18	58	12	3	3	22	17	43	6	.274
1920	WSH	48	133	14	27	6	2	3	14	9	33	0	.203
1921	WSH	45	141	10	39	9	0	0	12	16	21	0	.277
1922	WSH	76	210	16	48	12	2	0	19	23	33	1	.229
1923	BOS	87	268	33	74	21	1	2	31	46	32	3	.276
1924	BOS	69	161	25	44	6	3	1	24	29	19	5	.273
1925	BOS	90	251	31	64	21	0	1	25	33	21	2	.255
1926	CIN	89	240	33	63	16	1	2	31	29	22	4	.263
1927	CIN	65	173	16	44	8	3	0	12	24	15	3	.254
1928	CIN	96	324	29	98	15	1	7	35	20	25	1	.302
1929	BRO	93	273	28	71	16	6	4	31	34	24	3	.260
1930	BRO	23	46	4	10	3	0	0	3	5	6	1	.217
1931	BRO	24	45	5	12	4	0	1	4	4	9	1	.267
1932	BRO	41	70	8	18	6	0	1	11	4	8	0	.257
1933	BRO/PIT	22	58	7	14	5	0	1	7	5	11	0	.241
Career	—	1037	2877	298	743	166	26	26	298	314	382	31	.258

On this day & linked events

1896

Born September 8, 1896

New York, NY, USA

1942

Died December 5, 1942

1916

Major-league debut: Val Picinich

Val Picinich made a major-league debut on July 25, 1916.

1933

Final major-league game: Val Picinich

Val Picinich played a final major-league game on August 28, 1933.

Image: Goudey, public domain