The Most Notorious Giveaways, Stunts, and Spectacles in Baseball History

Bill Veeck understood attention better than almost anyone in baseball, and the 1951 St. Louis Browns needed plenty of it. In came Eddie Gaedel, wearing the number 1/8, stepping into a major league batter’s box against the Detroit Tigers at just 3 feet 7 inches tall. The whole scene must have looked almost unreal to fans at Sportsman’s Park: Bob Cain on the mound, a tiny strike zone at the plate, and a crowd realizing it was watching something it would probably never see again.