Val Picinich Biography
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- Born Sept. 8, 1896
In 18 seasons Picinich played in 1,037 games and hit .258. He caught three no-hitters in his first eight major league seasons and he was the personal catcher for Walter Johnson for four seasons. He was a minor league manager after his playing career ended. He died of pneumonia in 1946.\n', '
After spending one year at Princeton University, Picinich left school to pursue a professional baseball career with the Philadelphia Athletics. He debuted with the Athletics in 1916 and played with the team through 1917. From 1918 to 1922, Picinich played for the Washington Senators and was the personal catcher for Walter Johnson; he only sat out two of Johnson\'s games during that time. Picinich caught three no-hitters, all early in his career (one by Bullet Joe Bush, 1916; one by Johnson, 1920; and one by Howard Ehmke, 1923).\n', '
Picinich may have had his best season for the Cincinnati Reds in 1928. He played in a major league career-high 96 games that year and hit .302. The next year, Picinich appeared in 93 games, but his batting average dropped to .260. He seemed to struggle defensively that year, leading the league in two dubious categories: passed balls (9) and stolen bases allowed (75).\n', '
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