Billy Werber

Played For
New York Yankees (1930-1933)
Boston Red Sox (1933-1936)
Philadelphia Athletics (1937-1938)
Cincinnati Reds (1939-1941)
New York Giants (1942)

Smart on the Bases
Werber was one of the most aggresive baserunners of the 1930s, probably the most aggressive next to Ben Chapman. A story from his book, Memories of a Ballplayer, illustrates his craftiness on the basepaths.

"Charlie Gehringer had one flaw in his defensive play: He always positioned himself in front of the bag to receive the catcher's throw on attempted steals of second," Werber wrote. That meant he had to catch the ball and reach back to tag the runner, so I only gave him the toe of my shoe on the outside of the bag when I was stealing. Many times he could not reach me, so I stole more bases against Detroit than against any other team in the American League."