Malachi Kittridge

{{Short description|American baseball player (1869–1928)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Malachi Kittridge |image=Malachi Kittridge.jpg |position=Catcher / Manager |birth_date={{Birth date|1869|10|12}} |birth_place=Clinton, Massachusetts, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1928|6|23|1869|10|12}} |death_place=Gary, Indiana, U.S. |bats=Right |throws=Right |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=April 19 |debutyear=1890 |debutteam=Chicago Colts |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=August 8 |finalyear=1906 |finalteam=Cleveland Naps |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.219 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=17 |stat3label=Runs scored |stat3value=390 |teams= '''As player''' * Chicago Colts ({{mlby|1890}}–{{mlby|1897}}) * Louisville Colonels ({{mlby|1898}}–{{mlby|1899}}) * Washington Senators (NL) ({{mlby|1899}}) * Boston Beaneaters ({{mlby|1901}}–{{mlby|1903}}) * Washington Senators (AL) ({{mlby|1903}}–{{mlby|1906}}) * Cleveland Naps ({{mlby|1906}}) '''As manager''' * Washington Senators (AL) ({{mlby|1904}}) }} '''Malachi Jeddidiah Kittridge''' (October 12, 1869 – June 23, 1928) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1890 and 1906, for six different teams, predominantly the Chicago Colts of the National League. He batted and threw right-handed.

==Biography== Kittridge was not a good hitter—he had a .219 batting average for his major-league career<ref name=br>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/k/kittrma01.shtml |title=Malachi Kittridge Stats |website=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=December 13, 2021}}</ref>—but in his career he was regarded as having one of the best throwing arms. In 1904, he was hired as player-manager of the Washington Senators of the American League, but the team started the season {{winpct|1|16|record=y}}, and Kittridge was replaced by Patsy Donovan. The Senators finished with a {{winpct|38|113|record=y}} record for the season.

Kittridge was traded to the Cleveland Naps in the middle of the 1906 season, but he only had five at bats for the Naps before retiring from baseball. In 1910, Kittridge served as player-manager of the Elgin Kittens in the Class D level Northern Association. The team's "Kittens" moniker was in honor of Kittridge. The team finished in first place.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://troutparkbaseball.org/troutmorepark.html|title=Trout Park Baseball - About the Park|website=troutparkbaseball.org}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== *{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/howtoplaybasebal01murn/page/60/mode/2up |title=How to Become a Good Catcher |author=M. J. Kittridge |magazine=How to Play Base Ball |date=1903 |pages=60–63 |publisher=American Sports Publishing Co. |location=New York City |via=Wayback Machine}}

==External links== {{baseballstats |br=k/kittrma01 |brm=kittri001mal |retro=K/Pkittm101}} *[http://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/kittridg.htm Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers] *{{Commons category-inline}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kittridge, Malachi}} Category:1869 births Category:1928 deaths Category:19th-century baseball players Category:19th-century American sportsmen Category:Boston Beaneaters players Category:Chicago Colts players Category:Cleveland Naps players Category:Louisville Colonels players Category:Major League Baseball catchers Category:Sportspeople from Clinton, Massachusetts Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:Washington Senators (1891–1899) players Category:Washington Senators (1901–1960) managers Category:Baseball players from Worcester County, Massachusetts Category:Portsmouth Lillies players Category:Quincy Black Birds players Category:Worcester Farmers players Category:Montreal Royals players Category:Montreal Royals managers Category:Dayton Veterans players Category:Scranton Miners players Category:Elgin Kittens players Category:Saginaw Krazy Kats players Category:Major League Baseball player-managers