Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus

Baseball's Natural: The Story of Eddie Waitkus. By John Theodore (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002. Pp. xxxiv, 136. Cloth, $25.00).

John Theodore has written an interesting biographical essay about former major league baseball player Eddie Waitkus. Waitkus, who played primarily for the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies from 1941 to 1955, was a skilled player whose life outside of baseball was largely unsuccessful. Theodore tells both stories well, but he missed several opportunities to provide the historical context to make this a richer account.

Ironically, Waitkus is best remembered for a bizarre incident that took place off the field. On the evening of 14 June 1949, a nineteen-year-old female fan-Ruth Steinhagen-lured Waitkus to herhotel room and shot him with a rifle. Although seriously injured, Waitkus recovered from the wound and played the entire 1950 season without missing a game. Theodore justifiably spends a considerable amount of time describing this incident. He also provides an informative chapter on Steinhagen's psychological rehabilitation and later life.

In addition to a somewhat detailed description of Waitkus's baseball career, Theodore presents an interesting account of his subject's life outside of baseball. Waitkus was the son of Lithuanian immigrants and grew up in the suburbs of Boston. A fine natural athlete, he signed a minor league contract with the Cubs in 1939 and advanced rapidly until he reached the major leagues briefly in 1941. In 1943, Waitkus was drafted into the army and spent two years in a front line combat unit in the Pacific theatre. Theodore does a fine job describing some of the horrors that Waitkus experienced during this period. When Waitkus returned from the war, he played as a major leaguer for the next decade. Theodore dedicates a full chapter to his subject's participation in the 1950 pennant race with the Phillies and his role in the World Series against the New York Yankees. Theodore also documents Waitkus's growing alcohol dependence and his great difficulty adjusting to other careers after 1955. His marriage failed, and he was unable to hold any job for an extended period before his death at age 53. Theodore surmises that this steady decline was caused by the effect of a delayed reaction to World War II combat experiences.

As valuable as this narrative is, much is missing from this account as well. Theodore's discussion of the 1947 season is brief and focuses almost exclusively on Waitkus. There is no mention of Jackie Robinson's entry into the National League and how Waitkus and his teammates reacted to this historic event. It was also during this time period that major league players began organizing to confront the owners. Waitkus's teammate Robin Roberts was one of the leaders of this movement, and Waitkus had to be aware of the effort to provide players with greater economic leverage. Theodore also fails to take into account the insightful statistical analyses done by Bill James and others to assess Waitkus as a ballplayer. These analyses reveal that Waitkus was an average full-time player who was over-shadowed by many of his contemporary first basemen including Johnny Mize, Gil Hodges, and Ted Kluszewski.

For scholars, Theodore has omitted something else of considerable importance. There are no notes, bibliography, or index for this volume. The fact that a university press published the book makes these omissions even less acceptable. The text offers substantial evidence that the author did a good job of interviewing many of the surviving relatives and friends of Waitkus. The resulting narrative appears to be an accurate reflection of the material he gathered. Unfortunately, other researchers will be unable to retrace Theodore's research or find leads for their own work.

Despite these significant shortcomings, this short study is a useful addition to the growing list of books that treat professional athletes as historical figures. Much of what Theodore has written will be of use to other writers who will place this material in a broader context. It is unfortunate that he did not seek to do this himself.

Gordon B. McKinney is Professor of History and Director of the Appalachian Center at Berea College. He teaches a course on the History of Baseball.

Copyright Illinois State Historical Society Winter 2003
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved