| Pickles Dillhoefer | |||
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Full Name: William Martin Dillhoefer Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 5-7 Weight: 154 lbs. Born: Oct 31, 1917 in Cleveland, Ohio College: None Major League Debut: April 16, 1917 Died: Feb 23, 1922 in St. Louis, MO |
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Photo Provided by Matthew Dillhoefer |
| CAREER BATTING STATISTICS |
| BATTING | |||||||||||||||
| Year | Team | Avg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 1917 | CHC | .126 | 42 | 95 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 9 | .144 | .158 | .302 |
| 1918 | PHI | .091 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .167 | .091 | .258 |
| 1919 | STL | .213 | 45 | 108 | 11 | 23 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 6 | .267 | .278 | .545 |
| 1920 | STL | .263 | 76 | 224 | 26 | 59 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 7 | .304 | .326 | .630 |
| 1921 | STL | .241 | 76 | 162 | 19 | 39 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 15 | 11 | 7 | .289 | .315 | .604 |
| AVG | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | K | OBP | SLG | OPS | ||
| Totals | .223 | 247 | 600 | 59 | 134 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 48 | 35 | 30 | .000 | .283 | .000 | |
| BATTING | BASERUNNING | MISC | ||||||||||
| Year | Team | HBP | GDP | TB | IBB | SH | SF | SB | CS | SB% | AB/HR | AB/K |
| 1917 | CHC | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 | 10.6 |
| 1918 | PHI | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 | 11.0 |
| 1919 | STL | 0 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 | 18.0 |
| 1920 | STL | 0 | 0 | 73 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 0.0 | 32.0 |
| 1921 | STL | 0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 0.0 | 23.1 |
| HBP | GDP | TB | IBB | SH | SF | SB | CS | SB% | AB/HR | AB/K | ||
| Totals | 0 | 0 | 170 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 2 | .857 | 0.0 | 20.0 | |
| CAREER FIELDING STATISTICS |
| Year | Team | POS | G | PO | A | E | DP | FPCT |
| 1917 | CHC | C | 37 | 146 | 49 | 3 | 2 | .985 |
| 1918 | PHI | C | 6 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .923 |
| 1919 | STL | C | 39 | 122 | 35 | 5 | 6 | .969 |
| 1920 | STL | C | 74 | 291 | 72 | 18 | 6 | .953 |
| 1921 | STL | C | 69 | 170 | 53 | 11 | 8 | .953 |
| G | PO | A | E | DP | FPCT | |||
| Totals | 225 | 738 | 212 | 38 | 22 | .962 | ||
Pickles caught in the major leagues for five seasons from 1917 to 1921. During that time he worked
the backstop for three National League teams: Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis. The righty played in a total of 247
games, amassing a .223 batting average, 48 runs batted in, 12 stolen bases and, alas, no home runs.
During his rookie season in 1917 Pickles was fortunate to play on a Chicago Cubs team that also boasted Fred "Boner"
Merkle, who once committed probably the worst mental lapse in World Series history (but that's another story).
The next year Pickles was held to only six games with Philadelphia when he enlisted in the Army at Camp Merritt, New
Jersey on 5/22/1918 and served in the Quartermaster Corps during World War I. He was promoted to Sergeant on 11/4/1918
while serving in Europe (Germany). He was Honorably Discharged on 4/10/1919. [See MILITARY CATCHERS ].
Pickles then returned in 1919 for his final three seasons with St. Louis. His prowess started to show through in 1920
when he batted .263 with an On-Base Percentage of .304 and some great defensive work in 74 games notching up 291 Putouts
and 72 Assists. His steady play continued in 1921 when he had a .289 On-Base Percentage and a .241 average playing for a
team that also boasted great names like Rogers Hornsby, Jack Fournier, Heinie Mueller and
Austin McHenry.
Alas, Pickles' career ended after the 1921 season. Unfortunately, William Martin "Pickles" Dillhoefer died at the young
age of 27 on February 23, 1922 from typhoid fever following an operation to
repair injuries suffered from a hard body slam which occurred during an
off-season game. He was married to the former Massie Slocum.
Transactions
December 11, 1917: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Mike Prendergast and $55,000 cash to the Philadelphia Phillies for Pete Alexander and his personal catcher Bill Killefer.
January 21, 1919: Traded by the Philadelphia Phillies with Dixie Davis and Milt Stock to the St. Louis Cardinals for Doug Baird, Stuffy Stewart and Gene Packard.
Last Game: October 1, 1921