Charlie Ganzel

Charles William Ganzel (June 18, 1862 – April 7, 1914) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1897. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a catcher, for four major league clubs. His most extensive playing time came with the Detroit Wolverines (209 games, 1886–1888) and Boston Beaneaters (536 games, 1889–1897). He was a member of five teams that won National League pennants, one in Detroit and four in Boston (1891–93, 1897).

A right-handed batter and thrower, Ganzel appeared in 786 major league games, 579 as a catcher, 120 as an infielder and 100 as an outfielder. He compiled a .259 batting average with 774 hits and 412 RBIs. His total of 229 career errors as catcher is the 30th highest in major league history, and his total of 180 passed balls ranks 53rd.

Early years Ganzel was born in Waterford, Wisconsin, in 1862. Ganzel reportedly played several years of independent baseball in the Midwest before his major league career began in 1884.

Late in the 1884 season, the Apostles joined the short-lived Union Association as a replacement team, were renamed the St. Paul Saints and briefly became a major league team. Ganzel made his major league debut on September 27, 1884 with the newly renamed Saints and appeared in seven of the team's eight major league games, compiling a .217 batting average.

Philadelphia In 1885, Ganzel played with the Philadelphia Quakers (later renamed the Phillies) managed by Harry Wright. Ganzel appeared in 33 games as catcher, sharing catching duties with Jack Clements who caught 41 games. Ganzel hit poorly for Philadelphia, compiling a .168 batting average that was 73 points below the National League average for 1885.

Ganzel began the 1886 season with the Phillies, but the Phillies had acquired Deacon McGuire, still had Jack Clements and were amply stocked with catchers. Accordingly, Ganzel was released after appearing in only one game with the 1886 Quakers.

Detroit

After Ganzel's release by the Phillies, he was signed by manager Bill Watkins of the Detroit Wolverines.

Ganzel remained with the Wolverines for three seasons, serving principally in a backup role to Charlie Bennett. Defensively, Ganzel struggled in his first season at Detroit, committing 37 errors in only 45 games as catcher—the fourth highest total among the league's catchers. Offensively, Ganzel improved dramatically with a .272 batting average that was more than 100 points higher than his prior year's tally. Ganzel's performance also earned him a Wins Above Replacement (WAR) rating of 1.1 for 1886. Ganzel's playing time increased to 51 games as catcher, six more than Charlie Bennett's 45 games. Ganzel's defensive play improved in 1887. He reduced his error count from 37 to 33 while appearing in more games, and his 6.78 range factor was the third highest among the National League's catchers. On the offensive side, he hit .260 in 227 at bats. With high salaries owed to the team's star players, and gate receipts declining markedly, the team folded in October 1888 with the players being sold to other teams. On October 16, 1888, the Wolverines sold Ganzel along with Charlie Bennett, Dan Brouthers, Hardy Richardson and Deacon White to the Boston Beaneaters for an estimated $30,000.

Ganzel's most productive seasons in Boston were 1891 and 1892 when he appeared in 59 and 51 games at catcher, earned WAR ratings of 0.9 in both years, and helped the Beaneaters win consecutive National League pennants. He was also a member of two more pennant-winning teams in Boston, in 1892 and again in 1897.

In January 1894, Charlie Bennett lost both of his legs in a train accident, and Ganzel took over as the Beaneaters' number one catcher for the 1894 and 1895 seasons. Ganzel compiled career highs in 1894 in batting average (.278), runs (51), triples (6), home runs (3) and RBIs (56). took over as Boston's number one catcher in 1896 and 1897, with Ganzel again fulfilling a backup role. Ganzel appeared in his last major league game on September 21, 1897. and his younger brother John Ganzel was a first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, New York Giants, New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds from 1898 to 1908, and also managed the Reds and the Federal League Tip-Tops between 1908 and 1915. Two brothers and two sons also played in the minor leagues. Ganzel lived in Quincy, Massachusetts, for many years. He died from cancer in 1914 at the home of his daughter in the Norfolk Downs section of Quincy. He was buried at Mount Wollaston Cemetery in Quincy.