Give the kid a chance

Joe Schultz in 1969 as manager of the expansion, one-and-done Seattle Pilots

Thirty-seven years before becoming the first and only manager in the brief, dreadful history of the Seattle Pilots, Joe Schultz makes headlines 94 years ago today by appearing as a pinch-hitter for Houston in a Texas League game. ‍

At the time, Schultz is a 13-year-old, eighth-grade student whose father – longtime major leaguer Germany Schultz – also happens to Houston’s manager in 1932.

Alas, the young Schultz does not get a hit in his pro debut.

He does, though, reach the majors in 1939 and spends all or part of nine seasons there as a backup catcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Browns.

Today, he is best remembered as being the manager and punchline of the 1969 Seattle Pilots, the hapless expansion team pitcher Jim Bouton chronicles in his seminal book Ball Four.

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