Summary: <p>Today we’ll be taking a look at Edd J Roush, a legendary Reds player best-known for two things: swinging a 48-ounce bat and being ejected for falling asleep in the outfield. Edd J Roush was a 5’11, 170lb farmboy, from Oakland City, Indiana, born with a twin (named Fred) in 1893. As a kid, Roush grew up on his family’s farm, gaining his strength the old-fashioned way by bailing hay and doing odd jobs that improved the power of his hands. When he would play pickup baseball games there was rarely a glove for him to use. Roush was a natural lefty, but with no left-hander gloves available he would switch between arms depending on the situation. Once he got to the majors he made the full-time move to lefty and didn’t look back. </p> <div style="float: left; margin-right: 20px;"><img src="http://thatonesportsshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/roush-fielder.jpg" alt="" width="435" height="640" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-2075"></div> <p>Roush bounced around the minors for a bit then hopped to the majors for good in 1916 with the New York Giants. On July 20, 1916 Roush, Christy Mathewson and Bill McKechnie were traded by the New York Giants to the Cincinnati Reds. Roush settled in center field with McKechnie to his side in right field. McKechnie, to Roush’s dismay was the quietest outfielder he’d ever worked with and refused to call pop flies, leading to the two of them having a heated exchange. It turned out the McKechnie had been gunning for the center field spot and was upset it was given to Roush. Once McKechnie had seen the speed and agility of Roush in action, he conceded that he couldn’t be mad about a better player getting the position. The two became lifelong friends and spent a majority of their careers together. </p> <h2>Swinging a Big Stick</h2> <div style="float: right; margin-left: 20px;"><img src="http://thatonesportsshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/roush-bat-231x300.jpg" alt="" width="231" height="300" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-2074"></div> <p>With the Reds, Roush had laser focus at the plate, winning the NL batting title in 1917 and 1919, hitting for a lifetime average of .323, never hitting under .321 while with the Reds (when playing a full season). The 48-ounce bat he swung is still the heaviest, regularly used bat in baseball history. It’s rumored that Babe Ruth swung a 54-ounce bat, but most sources point to a regularly used 44-ounce bat. An average bat in today’s MLB is 31 ounces, so Roush was using his farm-built strength to swing a stick a full pound heavier than today’s sluggers. </p> <p>Roush was not using the heavy wood for power, he was merely using it for solid hits. Over his 18 years, Roush only had 68 homeruns, while racking up 2,376 hits. He rarely struck out and was in the top ten for fewest strikeouts in 12 of his 18 seasons. This included one season in 1931 where he struck out 5 times, giving him 75.2 at bats per strikeout. </p> <h2>World Series Win</h2> <p>In 1919, Roush helped the Reds to a World Series Championship over the infamous Black Sox. Edd was a no-nonsense player and grew increasingly frustrated once he learned there was bribery going on in the Series. He had gotten wind that some of the Reds pitchers had been approached by the same bribers and put an end to all of it. Through the rest of his life he claimed that, even </p>
