Henri Rondeau

Henri Joseph Rondeau (May 5, 1887 – May 28, 1943) was an American baseball player. He played professional baseball as an outfielder and a catcher for 17 years from 1909 to 1925, including parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers in 1913 and the Washington Senators from 1915 to 1916. He also played in all or parts of 12 seasons with the Minneapolis Millers in the American Association.

Early years Rondeau was born in Danielson, Connecticut, in 1887. He played baseball as a boy in Danielson and began playing organized baseball as a second baseman for the Perseverance team out of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, in the Mill League.

Detroit Tigers On September 16, 1912, Rondeau was drafted by the Washington Senators in the Rule 5 draft, but the Senators then sold him to the Detroit Tigers two days later for $4,000. After watching him earn the backup catcher position during spring training, E. A. Batchelor of the Detroit Free Press described Rondeau as a "scrappy" player who regularly engaged in heated dialogue with umpires over ball and strike calls – a fighting spirit that Batchelor concluded would make Rondeau valuable to the Tigers. Rondeau appeared in 36 games for the 1913 Detroit Tigers, including 12 games as the team's starting catcher and four games as the starting first baseman. He compiled a .186 batting average with the Tigers. Clark Griffith of the Senators parted with four major league players in exchange for Rondeau, making him the most expensive recruit for the 1915 Senators. Rondeau appeared in only 14 games with the Senators in 1915, 11 as the team's starting left fielder and the others as a pinch-hitter, as his batting average plummeted to a career low .175 against big league pitching. He compiled a .333 batting average in 129 games for the Millers.

In three major league seasons, Rondeau had a .206 batting average and .311 on-base percentage in 99 games and 272 at bats. He played 59 of his major league games as an outfielder and 16 games as a catcher.

Minneapolis Rondeau returned in July 1916 for a third run with Minneapolis in between stints with the Washington Senators. This time, Rondeau remained with the Millers as a starting outfielder for nine more years, running through the 1924 season. He compiled a career high .382 batting average in 16 games during the 1916 season. In all, he batted over .300 seven times for the Millers: .382 in 1916.378 in 1913.333 in 1915 and 1920.312 in 1923.308 in 1914, and .302 in 1924. Minnesota manager Joe Cantillon in 1921 referred to Rondeau as "an institution" with the team.

Little Rock and Hartford After leaving the Millers, Rondeau played one more minor league season in 1925, splitting the season between the Little Rock Travelers and the Hartford Senators.

Later years Rondeau died in 1943 after a long illness at age 56 at his home in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. He was buried at Precious Blood Cemetery in Woonsocket.