Why the Time is Right for MLB to Bring Back Dwarfs

Bill Veeck is baseball's pioneering genius. He is the man responsible for, among other things, the first exploding scoreboard and the first game managed from the stands. He was the first American League owner to sign a black ballplayer. He hosted many promotions, most notably Disco Demolition Night, which resulted in a riot.

But Veeck is best known for using a dwarf to bat in a game.

In 1951 Veeck, then the owner of the St. Louis Browns, orchestrated a big day to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the American League. In conjunction with Falstaff Brewery, Veeck had 3-foot-7 inch Eddie Gaedel jump out of a papier-mâché cake between games of a doubleheader between the Browns and Tigers.

The stunt did not go over very well, with fans expecting a lot more out of Veeck. Little did they know that he had secretly signed Gaedel to a contract. When the Browns batted in the first inning of the second game, Veeck sent Gaedel up as a pinch-hitter. Gaedel strode to the plate wearing 1/8 as his uniform number.

The Tigers immediately protested but Veeck had a copy of his signed contract and the umpires inspected the document and allowed Gaedel to bat. He drew a walk on four pitches and the Browns immediately inserted a pinch-runner into the game. It was the only time Gaedel ever appeared in a game.

The American League immediately voided his contract. Major League Baseball also required all contracts to be approved by the Commissioner before a player could appear in a game following Gaedel's appearance.

Nobody has sent a dwarf up to the plate since Gaedel, but is it time for someone to try it again?

Despite popular belief, baseball did not ban dwarfs. The only thing keeping a dwarf from playing is that the Commissioner must sign off on his contract first. And in these politically correct times, I have no doubt the Commissioner would not dare invite a lawsuit based on the American with Disabilities Act by vetoing a contract based solely on an individual's size.

What would be the advantages of having a dwarf on a roster?

It would be virtually impossible for a pitcher to throw strikes to a dwarf. Nearly every plate appearance would end with a walk. In these days when on-base percentage is king, having a player guaranteed to get on base every time he came to the plate would be a wonderful thing for any team.

What would be the disadvantages of having a dwarf on a roster?

Unable to run at anything resembling a Major League player, the dwarf could not play the field and would have to be pinch run for immediately after his first plate appearance. Since teams regularly carry 12 pitchers, it would be hard to justify having one of five bench players being so limited.

However, Major League Baseball has an insane rule. After restricting the number of players on the active roster from Opening Day to August 31st to 25, MLB allows teams to carry as many people on the club's 40-man roster as it wants in September.

With teams allowed to have 20 bench players in the final, often crucial, month of the season, it is crazy not to have a dwarf on the roster.

Just think of the possibilities. Anytime the bases were loaded, you could pinch hit with your dwarf and automatically score a run with a walk. Anytime the game was tied in the ninth inning or the home team trailed by one in the eighth, the hosts could use their dwarf as a pinch-hitter and start the inning with a man on first base. The same thing would apply to the visiting team and the ninth inning or extra innings.

How important is getting the first batter of an inning on base? According to the base-out matrix, when the leadoff man gets on base, a team scores an average of .953 runs. By contrast when the leadoff hitter makes an out, a team scores an average of just .297 runs.

MLB was ahead of the curve when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947, seven years ahead of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case. It could once again be ahead of the curve by embracing dwarfs and the positive role they can play in tight ball games.

Because we all know the NBA will not do it.