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Why Baseball Catcher Tom Needham Had To Choose Between His Job And His Fingers
Spoiler allert, the long-time MLB player did not choose his fingers
Baseball catchers take an absolute beating behind the plate. Swinging bats, errant pitches and bull-rushing runners all contribute to the dangerous environment. During the earlier days of the game, sparse and less effective equipment made playing the position even more of a hazard. Former backstop, Tom Needham, who spent more than a decade getting abused at the big-league level, was dedicated to his craft, but in later years found that his hands were ruined to the point that he was ashamed to even look at them.
Born in Ireland, Needham was a classic all-field and not hit catcher. In 11 seasons (1904–1914) with three different teams, the right-handed batter hit an anemic .209 with eight home runs and 119 RBIs in 523 games. He was much better with the glove, especially valued for his handling of pitchers, which was parlayed into a coaching career during his final days as a player and beyond.
While certainly not a star player,. Needham was valued for his wisdom and ability with a catcher’s mitt. Playing during some of baseball’s roughest times, he took more than his fair share of abuse, which he recounted in the waning years of his playing career…
