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James Laverne "Skeeter" Webb (November 4, 1909 � July 8, 1986) was a Major League Baseball infielder who played twelve season in the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals (1932), Cleveland Indians (1938 � 1939), Chicago White Sox (1940 � 1944), Detroit Tigers (1945 � 1947), and Philadelphia Athletics (1948). Born in Meridian, Mississippi, Webb attended the University of Mississippi before playing professional baseball. He began his major league career on July 20, 1932, with the St. Louis Cardinals at the age of 23. He appeared in only one game in 1932 and did not have a plate appearance for the Cardinals. Webb did not make another major league club for six years. In April 1938, he signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Indians, In 1939, he played in 81 games at shortstop for the Indians and had a career-high .264 batting average. Traded to the Chicago White Sox in January 1940, he was moved to second base where he played 74 games. His batting average dropped to .237 in 1940, and he relegated to the role of a utility infielder and back-up second baseman in 1942 and 1943. However, with the major league talent pool depleted, Webb won the job as the Sox' starting shortstop in 1944. However, he hit only .211 in 513 at bats for the 1944 White Sox. Traded to the Detroit Tigers at the end of the 1944 season, Webb was the Tigers' starting shortstop in their 1945 World Series championship season. Skeeter played 104 games at shortstop for the 1945 Tigers but proved to be a liability at bat. His batting average dropped to .199 in 1945, as Webb got only 81 hits in 407 at bats. Some believe that Webb was able to hold onto the starting shortstop job despite his weak hitting, because the Tigers' manager Steve O'Neill was his father-in-law. Despite his weak hitting performance in the regular season, Skeeter Webb played all seven games of the 1945 World Series as the Tigers' shortstop. He hit .185 in the World Series, going 5-for-27, though he did score 5 runs. In Game 7, Webb had his best performances, scoring two runs and fielding the final out of the Series. In 1946 and 1947, Skeeter stayed with the Tigers as a backup second baseman. He finished his baseball career playing in 23 games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1948, where he hit a career-low .148. He played in his final game on August 31, 1948. In 12 major league seasons, Webb played in 699 games, 368 at shortstop, 282 at 2nd base, and 7 at 3rd base. Webb had a career .219 batting average, a .263 on base percentage, and a .368 slugging percentage. Webb was born and died in Meridian, Mississippi. |
