A Miner in the Majors

Daubert is stalked by the memory of life in the mines, plus, Soto misses Judge, "Here Comes the Pizza" turns 18, and more.

April 17, 2025

Pine Tar Letter
A vintage baseball card featuring Jake Daubert of the Brooklyn Nationals. The card shows a color illustration of Daubert wearing a blue cap with a white "B" and a red and white uniform. The background is red with the word "Superbas" and the letter "B" printed above his head. At the bottom, his name is written in cursive: "Jake Daubert of the Brooklyn Nationals." The card has a sepia-toned border and appears slightly worn at the corners. The lower right corner of the image features the Pine Tar Letter logo.

Today is the birthday of Jake Daubert, born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, 1884.

Arguably the best first basemen of his era, Daubert won back-to-back National League batting titles, led the league in fielding percentage three times, and appeared in two World Series. But despite his success, he lived in constant fear of returning to the coal mines.

One of three boys to Jacob and Sarah Hays Daubert, Jake began working alongside his father and brothers in the mines at age 12. He spent ten-hour days deep underground swinging a hammer, then played baseball on weekends and holidays.

In his late teens, Daubert began playing with increasingly better teams. In 1910, a scout offered him a $2,000 contract to join the Brooklyn Superbas. With a wife and two children at home, he was hesitant to leave the world he knew for the uncertainties of baseball — but his wife encouraged him to take the leap.

After a quiet rookie season, Daubert found his stride. A disciplined contact hitter, he would go on to hit above .300 in ten seasons, rack up a total of 165 triples, and record 395 sacrifice hits. His fielding was even better: during the bunt-heavy deadball era, he posted a career .991 fielding percentage at first base.

But the mines never left him. The same year he helped lead Brooklyn to the World Series, his brother Calvin was killed in a mining accident. “Look at these hands,” he once told a reporter. “See those black marks? That’s from mining, and even now, when I look at them, I sometimes fear that all my success is a dream and that I will wake up in the darkness of the mines again.”

That fear drove him to diversify. While still an active player he’d start a poolroom, cigar business, semi-pro team, an ice business, movie theater, and a coal washery — never content to rely on baseball alone.

He never went back to the mines. And in the end, he never really left baseball either. Diagnosed with gallstones and appendicitis after the 1924 season, he underwent surgery. A week later, he was gone. He was only 40.

Daubert once said of his time in baseball: “It is so much better than anything I supposed possible for me that I cannot believe it is merely the result of my own efforts. True, I have worked hard at all times and have always played my best. But I consider myself a very lucky man."

A baseball stat card for Jake Daubert features the Pine Tar Letter logo and presents a clean, retro design. It lists Daubert’s position as first baseman, noting that he batted and threw left-handed. He stood 5’10” tall, weighed 160 pounds, and was born on April 17, 1884, in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. His career statistics are displayed across the bottom: a batting average of .303, 56 home runs, 722 runs batted in, 2,326 hits, 1,117 runs scored, and 251 stolen bases. His on-base percentage was .360, with a slugging percentage of .401 and an OPS of .760. The layout is framed by a hand-drawn red border, with vibrant blue and red typography conveying the information clearly and stylishly.

MLB News

Soto <3’s Judge, Gender Reveals, and Here Comes the Pizza

  • Dad Stuff – Alex Bregman went 5 for 5 with two home runs against Tampa Bay before heading back to Boston for the birth of his child. Bryce Harper revealed he’ll be having a son by bringing out a blue bat — but didn’t have the same luck, going 1 for 5.

  • Scary Shot – Hunter Wendelstedt took a 90 mile an hour line drive to the noggin in a Mets vs. Twins game Wednesday. Early reports indicate he’s fine. Maybe time to give Umps some head gear.

  • Wish You Were Here – Soto told the Post that he’s getting fewer pitches in the strike zone now that he’s not hitting ahead of Judge on the Yankees. The Athletic crunched the numbers and confirmed as much. They also reported Judge’s response to the comments: “He just needs to keep being himself. He’s going to be just fine.”

  • MLB Honors Jackie Robinson – On the anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s first game, all of the MLB wore 42 on their jerseys. Some took an extra step. The Dodgers paid tribute by wearing Brooklyn caps, Jazz Chisholm wore baggier pants — mimicking Robinson’s style, and Jose Trevino wore Robinson-themed gear.

  • Here Comes the Pizza – The legendary pizza K from the Red Sox and Angels game turned 18 yesterday. Relive the moment here.

On This Day

Shea Stadium Opens

  • 1964 — The New York Mets played their first game at Shea Stadium, losing 4–3 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The ballpark would go on to host the Mets for the next 45 years, including two World Series titles and countless moments in Queens baseball history.