Ken Raffensberger
Kenneth David Raffensberger (1917-2002)

Raffensberger was a six-foot-two inch left-handed National League pitcher who had a mediocre fastball, but exceptional control. It was his misfortune to play for bad teams, such as the last place Philadelphia, briefly known as the Blue Jays during World War II. Raffensberger was selected for the All-Star Game in 1944, pitched two scoreless innings and was credited with the victory. He pitched well all season, but led the league in losses, with 20, despite a fine 3.06 ERA. This was before the shoulder injury that affected his fastball, so Raffensberger chalked up a career-high 136 strikeouts, fourth best in the league.

His 1945 season was interrupted by a five-month stint in the Navy. In 1946 he returned to Philadelphia, known again as the Phillies. A season later he was traded to Cincinnati where he would remain for the rest of his major league career.

With the Reds in 1948 he threw two one-hitters, both against the St. Louis Cardinals, on his way to an 11-12 season. He threw another one-hitter in 1949, needing only 83 pitches to beat Brooklyn. That was one of his two winning seasons as he posted an 18-17 record and had five shutouts. He tossed another one-hitter in 1951, beating the Chicago Cubs on 69 pitches. That season he walked only 38 batters in 248-2/3 innings.

His best season was 1952 when he won 17 games, lost 13, had a league-leading six shutouts and a 2.81 ERA. Unfortunately, 1953 turned out to be his worst season at 7-14. In 1954 he was sent to Havana to pitch for the Cubans of the International League.

He gave up on returning to the major leagues. Instead he stayed home in York (PA) and pitched for its Class B team in the Piedmont League. He managed in the minors for a couple of years, then again returned to York where he worked as a bartender.

His moment of fame was provided courtesy of the 'Ed Sullivan Show,' a very popular Sunday night CBS-TV program. Sullivan's guest one night was Stan Musial, future Hall of Famer and one of baseball's greatest hitters. When asked to name the toughest pitcher he'd ever faced, Musial replied, "Ken Raffensberger."

Randy Ready
Randy Max Ready (1960- )

He divided his time between third base, second base and the outfield during a 13-season career that began in Milwaukee in 1983.

Pee Wee Reese
Harold Henry Reese (1918-1999)

He was known as The Little Colonel, a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Brooklyn Dodgers (with one season in Los Angeles). He was the Dodger captain whose finest hour may have come in 1947 when he welcomed Jackie Robinson to the team and helped put down a rebellion by white players who didn't want to play alongside the first black man in major league baseball since 1884 when the Walker brothers, Fleet and Welday, briefly broke the color line. Reese certainly was no Pee Wee.

That nickname, incidentally, did not reflect upon his size. He was 5-foot-10 and hit 128 career home runs, two of them in the World Series. In fact, in 1947 Reese and Robinson tied for home run leadership on the team, with 12 apiece. No, Pee Wee came from Reese's childhood days as a skilled marble shooter. A pee wee was the name given a small marble used in the game.

Pokey Reese
Calvin Reese (1973- )

This Reese is an infielder (mostly at second base) who broke in with the Cincinnati Reds in 1997 and has since played with Pittsburgh, Boston and Seattle. He was signed by the Florida Marlins for the 2006 season, but his unexplained absence during spring training prompted the team to release him, apparently ending his playing career.

Pistol Pete Reiser
Harold Patrick Reiser (1919-1981)

One of the most storied outfielders of 1940s, Reiser was all the rage in 1941, his first full season with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He led the National League in hitting (.343), doubles (39), triples (17) and runs (117).

He hit .310 the next season and led the league in stolen bases, but suffered the first of the many injuries that would shorten his career. Seems he had this habit of running into walls when he chased fly balls.

He kept at it until 1952, but was a part-time player from 1948-on, going to the Boston Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates and Cleveland Indians before calling it quits. Years later Leo Durocher, who managed both players, said that if Reiser hadn't been injured so often he might have been the equal of Willie Mays.

Flint Rhem
Charles Flint Rhem (1901-1969)

Flint "Shad" Rhem was a National League pitcher for 12 seasons, but is best remembered for his two-day disappearance in 1930 when he was scheduled to start for the St. Louis Cardinals in an important series in Brooklyn. But Rhem was AWOL until the series was over. When he finally showed up, he claimed he had been kidnapped by Brooklyn fans, tied up in a hotel, and forced to guzzle whiskey.

It was an interesting tale from a player who had a reputation as a hard drinker. And this was during Prohibition, to boot.

He won 105 games in the majors, having his best season in 1926 when his 20 victories helped the Cardinals win the pennant. He appeared in four World Series, but his only decision was a loss.

Royce Ring
Roger Royce Ring (1980 - )

Ring is a relief pitcher drafted in 2002 by the Chicago White Sox who traded him to the New York Mets a year later. He made a few appearances for the Mets in 2005 and 2006. He started the 2007 season with the San Diego Padres, ended it with the Atlanta Braves. In between he made 26 relief appearances, winning his only decision.

For the first two seasons of his professional baseball career the left-handed Ring relied mostly on his fastball. He had to develop a new pitching style when his speed deserted him after the 2003 season. His arm felt okay, but the old zip was gone. Now he uses at lot of off-speed pitches.

Jimmy Ripple
James Albert Ripple (1909-1959)

Ripple was an outfielder (1936-43), mostly for the New York Giants, but also with their arch-rival Brooklyn Dodgers.

He showed promise in his second season (1937) when he hit .317, but it was all downhill from there – except for a few weeks in 1940 after Ripple was traded to Cincinnati. His .307 average in 32 games helped the Reds win the pennant. Then Ripple turned into Mr. October and hit .333 in World Series, with a two-run homer that gave Cincinnati the win in Game Two. The Reds won the Series, but Ripple's days of glory were over.

Cincinnati let him go the next season after he hit .216 in 38 games. In 1943 he played briefly for the Philadelphia Athletics.

Eppa Rixey
Eppa Rixey (1891-1963)

Rixey was 6-foot-5 workhorse pitcher who compiled a lifetime record of 266-251 for the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds (1912-1933). Those 266 wins were the most by any left-handed pitcher until Warren Spahn surpassed him in 1959.

Rixey was a graduate of the University of Virginia, going from college directly to the major leagues. He later earned a master's degree in chemistry and spent 1918 as a member of the Army's Chemical Warfare Division.

A Cincinnati sportswriter nicknamed him Jephtha, much to Rixey's annoyance. His best season was 1922 when he won 25 games. He worked 313 innings that year and struck out only 80, but gave up just 45 bases on balls. He believed it was easier to outsmart hitters than try to throw the ball past them.

After he went to Cincinnati, he married and worked for his father-in-law's insurance agency, now named Eppa Rixey Insurance Agency. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1963, but died of a heart attack before the induction ceremony.

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