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Roger Bresnahan

Baseball is an outdoor sport in which a pitcher pitches a hard, fist sized ball to the hitting area of a batter. The batter hits the hard ball with a tapered, smooth, cylindrical bat made up of wood or metal. The batsman scores by running counter-clockwise within the four markers called the bases arranged at the corners of a diamond. Baseball is sometimes called hardball to differentiate it from similar games such as softball.

Roger Bresnahan is one of the former baseball players who hold the honor of being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Roger was born on June 11, 1879 in Toledo, Ohio. He was 18 years old when he broke into the big leagues as a professional sportsman on August 27, 1897 with the Washington Senators baseball team. He batted with a right handed style and was positioned as a catcher. He initially served for the New York Giants and listed a height of 5-09 feet with a weight of 200 pounds. He died on December 4, 1944 in Toledo, Ohio.

Roger played his first professional game on August 27, 1897 and last game on September 3, 1915. The Washington team drafted him first as an 18 year old pitcher who shut out the Browns by compiling a 3-0 mark, on six hits in his major league debut. Roger won three more games that season, but the Senators let him go the next spring when he insisted on more money than they would pay. The Cubs brought him up after two years in the high minors, played him for two innings, and lost him to McGraw's Orioles in 1901.

Roger played all nine positions for a variety of teams during his 17 year career stint. By 1905, he was the Giants' first-string catcher. Roger had another good year, hitting 0.302 average and catching 87 games. He caught all five series games against the Athletics, which meant Matty's three shutouts. It was Roger’s skillful defensive play and his leadership skills that led him to be among the best catchers. He was also an innovator, versatile player in early 20th century, introducing early shin guard equipment and experimenting with a protective helmet.

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