NYCBL Who am I? 1.1

By Paul Casey Gotham

**** Some simple ground rules apply here: Try this without research. It would be easy to use a search or go to BaseballReference.com. Instead,release your inner James Joyce and show us your stream of consciousness as you decipher the answer. Add to that the teachings of Myagi: patience. If you don’t get the answer right away, give your brain a chance to work if for no other reason than to stay in the discussion. You may not have THE answer, but you might prompt another reader by asking the right question.

I was born in Mark Twain country near the mighty Chemung. I spent my time in the NYCBL in that same city. Actually the league was called the Northeast Collegiate Baseball League when I played. I made my name in the majors on the opposite coast. Yeah, I spent parts of 10 of my 13 seasons playing at the ‘Stick.  My last four years by the Bay I averaged  more than 110 games per season.  I didn’t do much standing next to the plate. I hit .246 for my career with 21 HRs – that’s for my career – not an average per season.  I did get one World Series at bat. Had my own Moonlight Graham moment getting a double in that one trip to the dish.  It didn’t matter much. It was the bottom of the ninth in a game that we were losing 13-3.  That we were able to play the game was significant. Loma Prieta put 12 days between games two and three.  I won one Gold Glove. Had a fielding percentage of .998 that year. I guess I didn’t give them much of a choice. I handled Burkett, Swift and Black among others.  We won 103 games and finished second that year. I wasn’t much of a fashion plate. You wouldn’t see me in GQ, Men’s Quarterly or anything like that. But I was given a nickname, of sorts, that had to do with my wardrobe.

Who am I?