User:Rar111/Rip Radcliff

Rip Radcliff, born Raymond Allen Radcliff got his nick name as a youngster because he would sleep for such long periods of time like Rip Van Winkle, played 11 seasons in the big leagues and held a lifetime mark of .311 at the plate. He was not a big man except at the home plate where he swung a 32-ounce bat that was 35" long. A firstbaseman and outfielder he also had a stellar minor league career. He won the batting title in Paris, Texas in his first season as a ball player and never let up, later hauling in the Southeastern league crown with Selma, Ala and Texas League titles with Shreveport and Dallas. He wasn't a power hitter, just met the ball square on the nose where it was pitched. His best year in the homerun department was 1936 when he connected for 12 circuit clouts. And like most contact hitters Radcliff never wore the scorer out marking up strikouts. For two major league seasons he went to bat more than 600 times and compiled a total of 37 strikouts....Rip was never a spring hitter or good at pinch hitting. But he went on some terrific streaks. Twice he tied the all time American League record for connecting safely six times in a single game. Once he had a chance to break the marke but failed to hit on his seventh trip to the plate. Another time he hit safely in 11 straight times at bat, failed on the twelfth attempt, then hit safely three straight times. Respected and remembered by the men he played against, Radcliff somehow managed to miss the recordbook by an eyelash everytime the opportunity presented it's self. Like in 1940 when he was in a tooth and nail battle with Joe Dimaggio for the batting crown. DiMaggio had a .352 average when he was hurt and sat out the final week of the campaign. Rip, who had been within a strike of beating Dimag, went hitless in the days of what he calls the worst week of his career and finished at .342. Another parallel of Rip's career was his ability to cuff top-notch pitching around the park. Red Ruffing, Lefty Gomez and Bob Feller were soft touches for the slight southpaw swinger. In fact, he had a lifttime batting average of .636 against Feller even though he faced the Cleveland Comet in the days when Rapid Robert had all his steam. One guy who always gave Radcliff trouble was Monte Pearson of Cleveland and New York. But here's another strange twist: on two separate occasions - in the American Association and in the American league - Rip spoiled no hit games for Pearson...For those who might be prone to overlook The Ripper when it comes to enumerating the all-time stars, there's a logical excuse. You see Radcliff never played with a pennant winner. The third place finishes of the 1936-37 White Sox were the best among his clubs. But those who remember the playing days of the lean, likeable guy are well aware of his niche among the greats. That's why baseball people voted him a spot in Oklahoma's Baseball Hall of Fame alongside the Waners, Pepper Martin and the old "Meal Ticket" of the New York Giants, Carl Hubel.